Insurance Companies

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PDJ

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What is the point of having an excess? I pay a tenner a month for mobile phone insurance, lose it and have to pay £50 for the claim. Surely the whole point is that I pay insurance so I can claim if needs be? Excess is a disgrace.
 
Caveat emptor.

I wouldn't pay £120pa for a phone, let alone the insurance for it. Then again, I seldom use my mobile.

The Which? magazine often advises not to take out insurance policies of this nature.

Coincidentally, my daughter lost her phone recently. She (i.e I) paid under £100 for it in the first place and she's had it three or four years. (We could easily have paid nigh on £500 in insurance in that time.) We replaced it for about £100.

As Relkeel says, it's generally a bad bet.
 
True. The phone was insured for over a grand so I thought the insurance was a good idea. Not looking so clever now.
 
Originally posted by PDJ@Apr 15 2007, 01:44 PM
True. The phone was insured for over a grand so I thought the insurance was a good idea. Not looking so clever now.
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What phone have you got ? Does it do the talking for you ?
 
If you didn't have an excess, then the premiums would be considerably higher. Don't forget that the admin involved in settling a £100 claim is much the same as a £10,000 one.

With low-value products like phones and toasters it's more sensible to self-insure.
 
I didn't buy the phone. It is on contract for £45 a month. The phone has no doubt depreciated hugely now but I got it when it first came out.
 
They are going for £150 second hand on ebay but that is the older version. I couldn't find mine.
 
Originally posted by PDJ@Apr 15 2007, 12:22 PM
What is the point of having an excess? I pay a tenner a month for mobile phone insurance, lose it and have to pay £50 for the claim. Surely the whole point is that I pay insurance so I can claim if needs be? Excess is a disgrace.
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The reality is you pay excess (also known as a deductible) for each insurance policy, like it or not. The lesser the premium, the higher the excess. Or the higher the premium, the lesser the excess.

Also depending on how much you claimed with the insurance, a word of warning (as I am an underwriter), your premium could go up significantly the next period of insurance.

I don't know if this insurance you have is a plan type, but you know you can actually claim your damage to your mobile phone under your home contents insurance policy.
 
There's an excess on that one too though!! And I didn't damage my phone, I lost it so it might not even apply. Cheers for the advice though.
 
Originally posted by PDJ@Apr 15 2007, 08:50 PM
There's an excess on that one too though!! And I didn't damage my phone, I lost it so it might not even apply. Cheers for the advice though.
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Should fall under accidental loss or damage then.

Just make sure next renewal period, you ask whomever is the insurer what premium they will be charging you.
 
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