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The Daily PollDO YOU HAVE insurance for your phone, and if so, has it come in use?
A report by the Central Bank found that one in five people are paying for cover for their phones that they no longer need; within that number people could be paying for phone insurance twice over.
Director of Consumer Protection Gráinne McEvoy said that there’s also “a gap between what most consumers believe their gadget insurance covers and what it actually covers”.
So what about you: Have you found phone insurance useful? As in, did your phone insurance replace or repair your damaged or stolen mobile phone?
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My phone was stolen earlier this year. I found it really annoying to have to pay excess for something wasnt my fault and then to not even get a new phone was very frustrating. I got a restored phone that wasnt as good as the one that was stolen.
@Patricia English: So you don’t agree with the idea of Insurance in general? Excess forms part of any insurance contract.
@Eternally Eternal: you are skipping most of her comment
@Eternally Eternal: Why, when the fees are exorbitant?
@Eternally Eternal: the idea of for-profit insurance, in general, is pretty hard to justify
@Wastrel: ahh hang on now… if there was no profit to be made, who would want to provide it? Do you reckon insurance should be state-provided?
Honestly, I’m all for making those useless piles in the Dail bar pull their weight but that’s just ridiculous.
@Patricia English: The excess is a pain I’ll admit but it’s part of every insurance contract regardless of it being health, home, car or gadget. I’m going to guess you mean a reconditioned or nearly-new phone rather than a restored one, again this is somewhat expected behaviour. If your two year old car was stolen you wouldn’t receive the the full value of the car rather a lesser amount based on the age. I do understand your frustration at the insurance products, I’m just trying to liken them to each other and dispel any thought that because it’s a phone it should somehow be different.
Phone insurance is useless, cracked screens etc won’t be covered due to the excess, so why bother paying for insurance when you’ll be paying to repair yourself. Better off putting whatever you’d pay for your insurance each month into a savings then if you do need a new one you can pay for it with the money you’ve saved
A phone case and screen protector is cheaper!
@John Judd: They’ll get stolen with the phone.
Slow news day?
Waste of money unless you are foolish enough to pay over 500 euro for a phone.
@Niallers: I am foolish enough to pay over 500 euro for my phone, it brings me happiness :)
@Niallers: I use my phone more than any other device, so why wouldn’t I splash out and get a high end model? Same reason people splash out on nice cars. Are they foolish for doing so?
After years of splashing out for the “high end model” at 55€ a month, I’ve finally seen the light and bought a Huawei P Smart for 150€. Each to their own obviously, but the “high end” phones are just a status symbol. For what I use the phone for, there’s absolutely no reason spending crazy money on a device that I can damage or lose.
@Hank Kingsley: To be fair they are more than a status symbol, I am into tech so my devices integrate with each other. I enjoy my phone and have no problem paying for what I enjoy.
@Sean Murphy: Only if it’s a BMW.
@David Daly: What devices are integrating, exactly?
@Niallers: I spent double that amount, don’t have bill pay so bought it outright. It’s over three years old now and still going strong. I consider it good value considering how much I use it.
@Hank Kingsley: Even the cheaper phones now have 4G capability. With 4g you can use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot running your smart tv/sat box/ laptop/ Netflix on your tv e.t.c. from it.
@Sean Murphy: YOu can get high end models for a lot less than 500. Just not Samsung or Apple branded but they have the same and more capabilities.
.no it’s a scam with the terms attached. Buy a case and screen protector.
I never understand the amount of people with cracked screens. I’ve had smartphones since they first arrived and always put it in a case. I’ve never broken the screen yet in the same timeframe I’ve had my car windscreen replaced twice.
I know accidents can happen but a few simple precautions should keep it safe. Same goes for having your phone stolen, be aware of your surroundings and don’t flash a high end phone in public.
@David McShite: aren’t you great. Never break anything and never have the misfortune of being robbed. Well done.
@David McShite: well I’ve never had my windscreen cracked so it seems to me like you’re a reckless and irresponsible car owner.
@Wastrel: Yeah, I keep deliberately swerving into the path of flying stones thrown up by an artic on a motorway.
@Emma Dobbyn: I stopped reading after you said I’m great.
@David McShite: I’ve never broken my windscreen or smartphone screen and I never use cases or screen protectors. I win
Yes found it helpful when my phone was robbed was a straight forward enough process once I reported it to the Gardaí
Central Bank report on phone Insurance and at the same Time thousands are waiting for a Report on the Con whole Life Policies that The Country was told a Report by Government was due in the Summer . Theses Policy’s have being described as Rip Offs by the most experts in the profession of Insurance and yet a Report is being suppressed by the Central Bank
Phone insurance a rip off. They seem to never pay up, always have an excuse of why not to pay your claim. With theft was told it had to be out of my hand, someone taking it from my pocket did not count, nor did someone swiping it when I put it down. Once dropped in puddle, phone needed to go to their technical laboratory for analysis, could take 3 months to get results and decide whether to replace, etc, etc.
@WoodlandBard: Had two phones stolen from my bag on holidays. Phones were replaced for me within 2 days of arriving home! No issues at all.
@WoodlandBard: my new phone was stolen out of my handbag some years ago and I got a replacement the following day.
Phone insurance is designed for careless people
bout as useful as car insurance …. car insurance is mandatory though …
Phone insurance just isn’t worth it. A good case and screen protector is a far better option. And if you lose the phone just buy a cheap replacement until you’re due an upgrade. You’ll save yourself money.
Dropped my phone and still had to pay 70e for it to be repaired despite it being insured. Was also left without any phone for a week as Carphone Warehouse didnt have any temporary phones available so had to spend another 40 quid on an old skool nokia . To be fair the phone did come back as good as new and faster than it had been before but I thought my insurance would have covered all the costs. The girl in the shop did say though that if I hadn’t of had insurance I would have had to pay 340e..so who knows, I’m still none the wiser as to whether my insurance is worth it.
A high end phone is yesterdays technology tomorrow, when you have to dump it at a loss … again.
signed up to geek squad insurance with car phone warehouse and pay 14.99 pm.. I’ve had 3 brand new Samsung s7 and one s8 and one pixel so far and longest I’ve waited is 24 hrs.. yes I’ve to pay excess but at 600 pounds plus its a hell of a lot cheaper… it’s irrelevant of the damage.. crack minor or major / stolen/ water damage its errelevant… massive benefit for me..
So I bought an iPhone X back in July got it home set it up and started using it. Bought Apple insurance at the same time. Following day I went to the “u know where” with it in my back pocket. Out it fell and from a height of 18” fell on to the bathroom tiles. There was a very slight crack in the corner. Over the next 24 hours the crack spread like a spiders web. I was pissed off! I took it to the Apple store in Dundrum Town Centre. The young lady took the phone out back and consulted with a tech who confirmed it was covered. Screen was replaced and I paid a €35 excess. Without coverage cost would have been €350. 7 day later they texted me to say it was ready. Yes I found it useful. Ps bought a screen protector which has since cracked twice!
Insurance, what a bunch of lizards.
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