In today’s modern world, your mobile phone is your life – it contains the contact details of your loved ones, precious family memories preserved forever in photographs, directions to your job interview and updates on your train times. The modern mobile phone has become an essential extension of one’s person – and if some accident or theft should occur, it can be a source of extreme trauma. Gone are the days where one could purchase a phone for cheap – in the current market, mobile phones can cost hundreds of pounds. The Office For National Statistics suggests that in the year 2015-2016, 32,337 individuals experienced theft of their mobile phone.
Due to the increasing high profile of mobile phone theft, many people are now considering the purchase of mobile phone insurance. However, as with any insurance policy, there are both benefits and drawbacks to consider before purchase.
The Benefits Of Insurance
In the year 2013, more than 6.5 million people in the UK purchased insurance. This suggests that there are a great deal of benefits to purchasing insurance. Your phone could be replaced quickly, without a large financial cost. In some cases, mobile phone insurers also offer attractive bonuses – such as add-ons in the form of cloud backup for stored content, extra data or cheaper home insurance. Insurance offers peace of mind – 1 in 200 people will become victims of mobile phone theft during their lifetime, and countless more will damage, lose or drop their phones in a moment of haste. Taking these arguments into account, it is clear that purchasing mobile phone insurance can be a sensible option.
The Drawbacks of Insurance
However, there are several drawbacks to take into consideration. Some active policies may not cover theft in certain circumstances – and it may take them longer to replace your handset than your own network provider. Additionally, making a claim on your device might increase your home insurance premiums by up to 10%. It’s also essential to read the small print when purchasing any policy, since some providers insist that the remainder of the policy is paid in full if making a claim part-way through the contract term. This can lead to unexpected and unwanted additional expenses.
Conclusion
There is such a wide range of mobile policies on the market in 2017 that the purchaser has to become a smart consumer and complete adequate research before making financial commitment. As demonstrated above, there are clear benefits and drawbacks to purchasing a policy for a mobile device. For many, it’s another additional cost on top of the already expensive purchase of a modern smartphone. However, nearly 1 in 10 people in the UK currently own a recurring smartphone policy, according to Protect Your Bubble – and this vast quantity of consumers appear to be content with their purchase. Ultimately, securing peace of mind may be worth the additional financial cost – especially considering the increasing crime rates.