How To Save On Your iPhone Insurance

In a recent walk in survey of 8 main High Street mobile phone retail shops, we found that if you purchased an iPhone with or without a contract, you could also purchase iPhone insurance at the same time to help protect your new handset. The issue with this insurance is the price, you will likely pay way over the top if you insure your new iPhone at the point of purchase.

To confirm this for yourself, carry out a quick comparison below. You will find the top internet only deals at the top of the table, with High Street store prices also included for your reference.

There has been some differing advice published over the past few months about whether mobile phone insurance (which would include the iPhone) is worth investing in. However, in their annual review, The Financial Ombudsman (FOS) stated that those that do want mobile phone insurance should avoid buying at the same time as they buy their new phone, as an insurance policy from an independent insurance provider could be half the cost.

Keep On Your Toes!

However, it is worth pointing out that not all independent insurance providers will offer the same levels of cover. It seems to be normal now for some online insurers to advertise the lowest premium prices to attract your attention, some of these policies are nothing more than an extended warrantee (we no longer list such policies in our comparison tables). Another trick of some providers is to offer a low monthly premium and offer several months free insurance, however, when you get to the checkout page you find that the 3 months free has been manipulated so the provider can display a questionable low monthly premium that is not reflected on the order form (we do not list such policies in our comparison tables).

Make Sure Theft, Loss and Water Damage Cover Is Included!

They are the 3 main reasons one would want iPhone insurance in the first place and they are the 3 main factors when it comes down to handset claims. Why would you want an insurance policy that did not offer protection for theft, loss and water damage? Time to be on your toes again, as some online policies may not offer cover for all 3 combined together. Loss is the big one to look out for, double check any policy to make sure loss cover is offered. It now seems common place for insurers to offer loss protection for an additional price of £1 or £2 per month, so you would want to keep your eyes open for this whilst ordering your insurance policy and double check that the loss cover option has been selected, however, the option to select a cheaper policy without loss cover is available for those who may want to make that decision.

What is the best way to pay for iPhone insurance?

Online policy providers normally give you a couple of options with regards to payment methods. Purchase the policy outright via one single payment with your credit or debit card, or monthly instalments by direct debit through your bank account.

It is always worth checking to see if the monthly direct debit cost over the course of the year will add up to more than the one off fee via a card payment (many insurers offer 1 month free cover so this would by monthly premium x 11 – but every policy is different so check the terms for full info). If the combined monthly premiums add up to more than the credit or debit card option, you may want to consider the single payment option for optimum savings, if this option is available to you. A final point to take note of with regards to payment is that many insurance companies will have it included in their terms and conditions that the policy is an annual agreement and that the full premium must have been paid before any claim will be processed. This is to protect the insurer from fraudulent claims, as scamsters have made multiple bulk claims after just paying one month’s insurance by direct debit, then paying a £50 excess fee, obtaining a new replacement iPhone, cancelling the insurance deal and walking away with a brand new iPhone for under £60. To top this, the iPhone that was claimed that was lost or stolen would then be sold abroad to countries where there is no IMEI database of UK phones so the scam artists would really be on a winner here. So its not hard why many insurance companies added this not so popular condition.

At the end of the day, you will simply need to select the payment option that best fits your needs.

Disclaimer: The information on this page is general information to the iPhone insurance market in general, it is not to be taken as financial advice. If you are unsure about anything, please contact an independent insurance adviser to help you make a decision.

Back to the iPhone Insurance home page or the iPhone 4 insurance comparison tables.