How to choose the best mobile phone insurance in India
Are you thinking of taking an insurance policy for your mobile phone? Read this article to know full details about insuring your mobile phone. The topic discusses what mobile phone insurance means. It tells the user why and how you should take mobile phone insurance policy for your newly bought phone. What is covered and what is not covered under mobile insurance policy is also described in this article.
Introduction
The information technology sector is one of the most progressive sectors in India. It has developed very fast over the last few years. We now find a mobile phone in almost every one's hands from a young student to an elderly professional or businessman. The use of mobiles is fast spreading to small towns and even villages wherever the telecom companies have provided networking facilities. The result is that the Indian mobile industry has become one of the largest industries not only in India but also across the globe. According to some reports, 15 percent of mobile users in the world are from India.
The technology of the mobile phones and their prices were not very high in the initial stages. So, the users never thought of insuring their mobile devices. Neither the insurance services were available for insuring mobiles. However, the situation has entirely changed now. We find that along with the low priced mobile phones, the quality and highly priced smartphones, laptops and tablets are available in the market. As a result, the incidence of theft, loss and damage of costly smartphones and other devices has increased. Consequently, some of the insurance companies have expanded their scope of insurance business to include mobile phones insurance. Some of the top manufacturers of smartphones are joining hands with one or the other insurance companies to insure their products. Very recently, Nokia India and the New India Assurance Company have tied up to provide handset insurance plans to the buyers of Nokia's new mobile phones. The service is to cover retail stores in 10 cities of India initially. Let us now discuss the various aspects of mobile phones insurance in India.What is mobile phone insurance?
As we have read above, the mobile phones, especially the smartphones, phablets, laptops, Apple iPad and the likes have become very costly. These devices have become very vital in our day to day lives. They always keep us in touch with one another. It is also obvious that the cases of theft or loss of these costly devices are on the increase every day. You can imagine how the user feels when his / her costly smartphone is stolen or damaged. This is more so when the budget of the user does not allow him to replace the lost smartphone. His helplessness to buy another smartphone to keep him in touch with his near and dear ones makes the condition all the more pathetic.
This is the time when the insurance company, with which you have insured your smartphone comes to your help. So, mobile phone insurance is the insurance of your mobile phone provided by an insurance company to cover up the incidents like theft / loss / damage etc. to compensate the cost of the smartphone in accordance with the terms and conditions of insurance. Of course, the insurance companies cannot get back your data of contacts and other information stored in the smartphone. For this reason, the user of a smartphone should always take a back-up of the data from time to time and store it in some other device. Why should you take an insurance cover for your mobile phone?
Have you heard of the term 'CRAVED' used for our mobile phones? If not let us know about it. This will make it clear to us as to why we should get an insurance cover for our mobile phone when we buy them. The term CRAVED is an acronym used for the words "Concealable, Removable, Available, Valuable, Enjoyable and Disposable". The thieves of mobile phones can easily conceal them. They can remove the original SIM and replace it with their own SIM. So, the phone becomes available to them and they can enjoy it without any fear of being caught. Even if they do not want to use it for themselves, they can easily dispose the smartphone in the secondhand mobile markets. The insurance for your mobile phone becomes all the more important, when you read the fact that over 20 lakh mobile phones are stolen or lost almost every month. The theft of smartphones is a lucrative source of income for thieves who can dispose them off very easily at good prices. You will be surprised to know that the secondhand mobile phones market in India is estimated at around Rs.400 crores. Most of the mobile phones involved in the secondhand mobile phones business are stolen phones. This is why it is necessary to insure your costly smartphones these days. Mobile phone insurance cover available in India
Having introduced the subject of mobile phones insurance and learning about what and why of mobile phones insurance, let us now proceed with the topic covering the facilities for mobile phones insurance in India and how to go about it. Unlike in the UK, where the banking companies like Lloyds, Halifax and Barclays covers the mobile insurance as part of accounts operation of their customers, the services of mobile phone insurance is offered by a few general insurance companies in India in conjunction with some manufacturers of smartphones like Nokia and other service providers like BSNL and Reliance. Let us discuss these aspects in detail. What does a mobile phone insurance cover under the insurance policy?
The insurance cover for mobile phones in India is flexible and is wide-ranging and can be tailored to meet the requirements of the customers. Usually, the following items are covered under a mobile phone insurance policy: What is not covered by a mobile phones insurance policy which we call exclusions
Some of the companies that offer Insurance Policy for Mobile Phones in India
The following is the list of the insurance companies which offer insurance covers for mobile phones in India: Some general rules regarding premium rates of mobile phone insurance policies
It is generally observed that the premium for mobile insurance policies will be about Rs.15-20 per Rs.1000 of the amount indemnified. Let us take an example. Say, you have bought an Apple iPhone 5 for Rs 45,000 and you declare the same amount to be covered while taking an insurance policy for your Apple iPhone 5. You need to pay Rs 675 to Rs 900 as a premium to insure your Apple iPhone 5 for Rs 45,000.How to get a mobile phone insurance policy and validity period of insurance?
Certain dealers and distributors help you to enroll for a suitable insurance plan when you buy a new mobile from them. You can also contact the offices of an insurance company in your city and find out the details about the mobile insurance policy. You should keep the original receipt of the purchase safe to process the claim, if any. The insurance cover is normally valid for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase. The liability of the insurer is restricted to the sum assured or the replacement value of the new phone on the date of the claim, whichever is lower. The partial losses or damages will be paid, like the cost of repair charges without depreciation on parts replaced and for loss or damage. General rules and procedure for preferring a claim for the insured mobile phone
In case of loss of the insured mobile phone, you have to follow the following steps to claim the insured amount: General information about depreciation of total loss claims
The following are the general guidelines for depreciation of total loss claims which must be confirmed from the insurer as these are just the general guidelines available which may be more or less the same with various insurance companies. The following slabs are usually applied when you prefer the claim as the claim will be subject to the depreciation of the insured mobile phone:
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hii lost my xperia z worth 38200 applied for insurance at oriental insurance company.how much percentage of insurance will i getting?lost exactly from 34days of purchase