What Your Phone Warranty Doesn’t Cover

It’s tempting to rely on your smartphone’s warranty, rather than investing in insurance. Indeed, many people do just this. According to a recent study, only a third of owners in the UK insure their phones, which is a risky strategy, especially as there are many things that your warranty won’t cover you for. Here’s more information.

Where a Warranty Comes in Useful

All warranties vary slightly according to brand, but in most instances, they’ll cover:

• Software issues. Some phones have problems with their software right from the start, which manufacturers recognise is their responsibility to rectify. If you’ve tried updating the software and it still isn’t functioning properly, most networks will let you send the smartphone to them for repair or replacement.
• Malfunctioning handset. If the phone is malfunctioning due to a manufacturing fault (for example, the home key button wasn’t fitted properly) your warranty will cover this.
• Damage caused by poor manufacturing. If the phone falls apart (for example, the casing breaks without receiving any impact) then it’s likely that you’ll be covered for this too.

Be aware, most warranties only cover you for a limited period of time.

And the Bad News?

Most smartphone issues are caused by unintentional damage, and unfortunately, your warranty won’t cover you if an accident happens. For example, if you dropped the phone down the toilet, no matter how hard you plead that you didn’t mean to, your phone provider won’t acknowledge responsibility for this. Essentially, it’s a case of ‘your carelessness, thus your problem’.

Companies also inspect handsets carefully to check there’s no evidence of impact or liquid damage. If they have reason to believe that the phone was dropped, sat on or dunked into water, they won’t repair or replace it. As for loss or theft – sadly, you won’t be covered for this either! Even though having your smartphone stolen is unlikely to be your fault, it’s not the phone provider’s responsibility to compensate you for your loss.

If you want to be covered for loss, theft or accidental damage, you’ll need to take out a specialist smartphone insurance policy.

What About Home Insurance?

Home insurance will only cover you if the phone was stolen during a burglary of your house. Likewise, you can only make a claim if the smartphone was damaged by fire or flood in the property. It won’t cover you if you accidentally throw the phone down the stairs, for example; nor will it cover you if you drop it in the sink when you’re washing up.

Getting the Right Smartphone Insurance

Firstly, consider what type of phone user you are. If you’re generally careful and your phone is likely to stay stashed in your bag throughout the day, you’ll probably only need basic cover. But, if you’re out partying a lot and you’ve lost or damaged phones in the past, you might require something more comprehensive.

For example, our Ultimate Cover Plan ensures that you’re protected against:

• Theft. Our policy covers both pickpocketing / opportunistic theft and if someone stole the phone after threatening you with violence.
• Loss. Many insurers won’t cover you if you happen to accidentally leave your phone somewhere. However, if you forget your smartphone and saunter out of the café without it (only to never see it again), our policy will compensate you for the loss.
• Accidental damage. We cover a huge range of accidents; from sitting on your phone to dropping it from a great height. These things do happen, no matter how careful you try to be, and we recognise that.
• Liquid damage. Liquid causes a lot of problems for smartphones. Regardless of whether you tip a glass of wine onto it or drop it into the bath, we have you covered.
• Mechanical breakdown. Usually, your warranty will cover you for mechanical problems with the handset. However, if your phone isn’t in warranty anymore, we’ll happily step in.
• Cracked screen. Over a third of people in the UK are currently carrying around a broken or smashed phone, and in most of these cases, the damage will be to the screen. Having a broken smartphone screen is a real nuisance and can be expensive to resolve, which is why we’ve added it to our policy. If it’s making your phone unusable or dangerous, we’ll help you replace it.
• Accessories. We even cover your phone accessories too, such as chargers, carry cases, protective cases and hands-free mounting kits – up to the value of £150.
• Malicious damage by a third party. If someone intentionally damages your phone (who isn’t in your family), we’ll compensate you for the repairs required.