What does Mobile Phone Insurance Cover – and What does it Not? What You Need to Remember

Whilst mobile phone insurance has increasingly become a necessity, you still need to make sure that you know how to choose the right one – and that you know what you should expect with your coverage. Insurance cover can vary according to the provider, so you need to be aware of what your provider is willing to cover you for from the start.

But whilst it’s easy to find out what is covered in your phone insurance, it can be more difficult to find out what is not covered. Finding out what is not covered is also important so you will not be unpleasantly surprised in the end.

What does mobile insurance not cover you for?

There are different situations which may not give you cover for your mobile phone. These are categorized into the following: carelessness, theft whilst your phone is unattended, theft that does not include force, delays in filing a report of loss, and damage to your phone due to water.

When it comes to carelessness, it’s quite simple: you may not get cover if you have been proven to be careless with your mobile phone. This would include situations such as leaving your phone on the roof of your vehicle or leaving your phone in a taxi. But as mentioned, it depends on the provider if they will decide to cover you for situations like this. What you can do is make sure that you carefully read the various scenarios that constitute ‘loss’ which can be provided to you by the insurer so you know what you can expect.

Another situation which may not give you cover is theft whilst your phone is unattended, or theft not involving the use of force. If you leave your mobile phone on a table in a crowded restaurant and it’s no longer there when you come back, then this may be classified as theft whilst unattended. The same is true if your mobile phone gets lost or stolen from your suit or trouser pocket whilst you are in a busy restaurant or pub.

If you do not report your phone as lost right away, you may also not be covered by insurance. Some insurance providers may not give you cover if you have waited as much as 24 hours before filing your lost phone report.

Water damage is another situation where you might not get cover from some insurance providers, although the best mobile phone insurance cover will actually compensate you even if your phone gets damaged by water. What you can do in this case is simply look for an insurer which can provide you cover for water damage to your mobile phone, whether you drop it in the loo or accidentally leave it in your jeans and then have it washed.