Coughing up a lot for cracked mobile screens? may be an insurance can help
Mamtha.A@timesgroup.com
Chennai:20.11.2019
Frequent physical damages and rising cost of smartphone repairs — sometimes equal to cost a brand new phone — is driving more phone buyers to insure them. Insurers see a 50%-60% rise in policies sold covering mobile phones. Mobile insurance policies range between ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 for high-end phones.
“We have seen about 50%- 60% higher sales on mobile phone insurance compared to last year. About, 60%-70% of claims were requested against cracked screen, as the demand matches the customer’s concern,” Vivek Chaturvedi, head of marketing and direct (online) sales, Digit Insurance, said. Digit Insurance has seen loss claim ratio at 75% for its mobile insurance product.
A 26-year-old, Aparna Vijay, purchased an insurance for her iPhone. “I have finally bought a 12-month mobile insurance cover for my iPhone at ₹1,300, which is much cheaper than the five screen guards at ₹4,500 (₹900 each), which were replaced last year. Why use a phone case or a screen guard ruin that very experience.”
Unlike internal damages like software failure which are covered under protection plans offered directly by mobile phone companies, eligibility criteria for external damages to be covered under insurance policies differ from player to player. Online mobile insurer, Acko General Insurance’s Ashwin Ramaswamy, head of strategic partnerships, said, over 70% of claims are settled within 48 hours of the application submission. “We charge premium between the range of ₹149 and ₹2,999 (from low to high-end phones) on buyers. Screen damage is by far the single largest damage issue that we have received,” he added, which has a partnership with Amazon to sell mobile insurance policies, alongside phones. In the case of a phone loss due to theft, insurance companies entertain claims only with the First Information Report (FIR), without which the claim is rejected.
Likewise, any defects caused while repairing or cleaning the device is not eligible for a claim.
There are exceptional cases when insurers reject a claim as the damage to phone is caused by a friend or a relative. Chaturvedi, said, “In such case, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) linked covers will be helpful. Whether you use the phone or your family or friend does, this mobile insurance policy will be valid for all, as it is linked to the IMEI of the phone and not the user.”
DAMAGE CONTROL
Mamtha.A@timesgroup.com
Chennai:20.11.2019
Frequent physical damages and rising cost of smartphone repairs — sometimes equal to cost a brand new phone — is driving more phone buyers to insure them. Insurers see a 50%-60% rise in policies sold covering mobile phones. Mobile insurance policies range between ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 for high-end phones.
“We have seen about 50%- 60% higher sales on mobile phone insurance compared to last year. About, 60%-70% of claims were requested against cracked screen, as the demand matches the customer’s concern,” Vivek Chaturvedi, head of marketing and direct (online) sales, Digit Insurance, said. Digit Insurance has seen loss claim ratio at 75% for its mobile insurance product.
A 26-year-old, Aparna Vijay, purchased an insurance for her iPhone. “I have finally bought a 12-month mobile insurance cover for my iPhone at ₹1,300, which is much cheaper than the five screen guards at ₹4,500 (₹900 each), which were replaced last year. Why use a phone case or a screen guard ruin that very experience.”
Unlike internal damages like software failure which are covered under protection plans offered directly by mobile phone companies, eligibility criteria for external damages to be covered under insurance policies differ from player to player. Online mobile insurer, Acko General Insurance’s Ashwin Ramaswamy, head of strategic partnerships, said, over 70% of claims are settled within 48 hours of the application submission. “We charge premium between the range of ₹149 and ₹2,999 (from low to high-end phones) on buyers. Screen damage is by far the single largest damage issue that we have received,” he added, which has a partnership with Amazon to sell mobile insurance policies, alongside phones. In the case of a phone loss due to theft, insurance companies entertain claims only with the First Information Report (FIR), without which the claim is rejected.
Likewise, any defects caused while repairing or cleaning the device is not eligible for a claim.
There are exceptional cases when insurers reject a claim as the damage to phone is caused by a friend or a relative. Chaturvedi, said, “In such case, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) linked covers will be helpful. Whether you use the phone or your family or friend does, this mobile insurance policy will be valid for all, as it is linked to the IMEI of the phone and not the user.”
DAMAGE CONTROL
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