Everyone hates paying for something they don’t need. Which is why mobile insurance might seem unnecessary if you already have home insurance.
It’s a logical thought process for sure. But when it comes to the breadth of your cover and the speed and cost of making a claim, you might want to think again. Here’s some of the things you should consider.
Does my home insurance cover my phone?
Well, it might, but even if it does there are good reasons to take out a separate mobile insurance policy.
A home insurance policy should protect your phone if it’s stolen from your house in a burglary or destroyed in a fire. But it won’t protect your phone against accidental damage unless you pay extra for that cover. Nor will it protect your phone if you take it outside the house – unless you pay extra for that cover as well, and potentially you’ll need to list the item if it exceeds your single article limit.
So check your cover carefully – and check the small print to make sure phones are not excluded.
How do home insurance claims work?
Claims can take a long time to settle. Home contents cover is geared up to handle a huge range of potential losses – from furniture that’s burnt in a fire to the theft of expensive jewellery. So a company’s processes will be wide and varied – and not necessarily optimised for speed.
By contrast, at so-sure we aim to get any damage claim resolved within 72 hours. We’ve worked hard to hone our processes so that we can get your phone repaired and back to you, fully working, in that time. Home insurers rarely work to the same targets.
How much will a home insurance claim cost?
If you do claim for a lost or damaged phone on your home insurance, then you will have to pay the full excess – which may be a lot more than the excess on a mobile policy. With some insurers, you will have a compulsory excess and a voluntary excess (which helps bring the cost of your premium down) – so it can easily add up to £100 or more.
Keep in mind too that as nearly all insurers use previous claims as a pricing factor, claiming for your mobile phone on your contents insurance could result in your insurance premium increasing when it comes to renewal time. Oh, and depending on your insurer this may impact your motor policy too…
As incidents with mobile phones are the most common insurance claim, claiming on your home insurance can be a false economy. At so-sure, we don’t change your renewal premium when you claim, and we always check our prices to make sure we constantly deliver value.
See how we stack up against our competitors in terms of what’s covered and how long we take to repair or replace your phone if the worst happens.