Gadget & mobile phone insurance

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 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.

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:

• Smartphones
• 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. 

Phone insurance

Most people take their phone 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 mobile gadget insurance 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.

(Data provided by protectyourgadget.com correct as of October 2019)

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