Why gadget insurance makes sense
With gadgets now becoming an integral part of our everyday lives, it’s no surprise that 35% of Brits already have a standalone gadget insurance policy to protect their portable tech.
But the flipside is that 65% of Brits don’t have dedicated gadget insurance.
When asked about why they didn’t have gadget insurance, many people believed their contents insurance, packaged bank account or travel cover was sufficient. But that may not be the case.
Accidental damage cover isn’t always included with these other policies, so it’s important to check the policy detail to see what protection you’ve got.
And we certainly need protection: just over a quarter of those surveyed (26%) said they’d suffered an incident or accident with their mobile phone over the past year, with 16% saying they’d cracked their phone screen and 8% having damaged their handsets in water.
The number of people having phone accidents jumps to nearly half (46%) for those between 18 and 24, with nearly a third of those (28%) reporting a cracked screen.
Brits also tend to underestimate how much it costs to repair the latest smartphones, as those surveyed believed it would cost around £70 to repair a cracked screen, when in reality it costs more than £100.*
*MoneySuperMarket survey data. Correct as of July 2017
Do you need gadget insurance?
A good place to start is to work out the value of your gadgets and weigh up whether it’s worth taking out dedicated cover.
If you’re first in line when a new phone is released, and if you’re up to date with all the new portable tech, then you should definitely consider standalone mobile phone insurance.
You might have limited cover through an existing policy, such as contents or travel insurance, but you’ll need to check whether it’s adequate. And don’t forget that you have to pay an excess on these policies if you make a claim - and the excess here can be much higher than on a gadget policy.
Indeed, the relatively high excess on a contents policy, say, might mean it’s not worth making a claim for a lower-cost gadget.
What can gadget insurance cover?
The great thing about gadget insurance is that it can cover almost all gadgets and handheld devices. Here is a list of all the gadgets you could cover today:
- Mobile phone
- Laptop
- Digital camera
- Tablet
- Games console
- MP3/MP4 player
- e-reader
- SatNav
- Digital recorder
- Smart watch
Gadget insurance can protect you against theft, loss, accidental damage and, in some cases, mechanical breakdown.
With some policies, you can’t claim until a certain time period has elapsed after buying the cover (such as 14 days). Each policy is different, so check before you buy.
Some standalone gadget insurance policies will offer a like-for-like replacement in 24 hours so, if your business is dependent on your phone or gadget or you really can’t function without it, this might be something to look out for within your cover.
If you belong to a family of tech addicts you can take out a policy that covers all the household’s gadgets under one umbrella policy.
| Most insured | Mobile phone device |
|---|---|
1 | Galaxy S8 |
2 | IPhone X 64GB |
3 | iPhone 7 32GB |
4 | IPhone 8 64GB |
5 | IPhone 8 Plus 64GB |
6 | Galaxy S7 Edge 32GB |
7 | IPhone X 256GB |
8 | iPhone 7 Plus 32GB |
9 | Galaxy S8 Plus |
10 | iPhone 6s 32GB |
Mobile phone insurance
Most people take their mobile with them everywhere, so it’s no surprise that phones are the most commonly insured gadget.
When considering how gadget insurance can protect your phone, there are a number of limitations to consider. For instance, some insurers won’t insure a phone that’s over 6 months old, while others will happily insure phones that are 2 years old. To get gadget insurance for your phone you need to have a proof of purchase, but even then, most insurers will not cover a phone bought outside the UK. It’s always important to check the policy documents to make sure you are adequately covered.
(Most insured phones based on data provided by protectyourgadget.com correct as of December 2017)
How does our site work?
Moneysupermarket have teamed up with protectyourgadget.com who offer an external gadget insurance comparison service. ProtectYourGadget.com is a trading name of Comparison Creator Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (Registration Number 07336373). Comparison Creator Limited is an Appointed Representative of Moneyshake.com Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number 522581).