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Can home insurance cover mobile phones?
Can home insurance cover mobile phones?
This is a quite frequent question for a homeowner. Mobile phones have literally become the artificial extension of many people, they gather so much personal data to be probably the most valuable asset after the house itself and car, well beyond its economic worth. Well, things are pretty simple.
Every homeowner’s insurance policy covers the house contents and belongings: personal property coverage includes mobile phones, as well as other electronic devices unless otherwise specified. The most bought H03 policy covers mobile phones under named perils, which means your mobile phone is protected against the hazards that are specifically listed in the paperwork; if something happens that isn’t written, then you won’t be reimbursed.
While with H03 you have your mobile phone be safe from damage and loss, caused by the most common perils such as fire, hail, the weight of ice/snow, theft, acts of vandalism; the H05 policy grants you more complete coverage, being it ‘open peril’ which means your device is ensured on virtually anything could occur to it. For both and every other policy, mobile phones are not covered from breakage, loss, or misplacement due to negligence.
Here comes the limitation of home insurance: you may want to protect the phone from daily risks. So, you have to add two coverages to your standard policy:
- Accidental damage coverage: this accounts for any inadvertent damage caused to the device, such as dropping or letting it go under water, as long as it clearly happened on a sudden
- All risks insurance/away from home coverage: apply to mobile phone and other gadgets like watches, wallets, jewels that you bring outside if/should they are damaged, misplaced, or stolen. (This might not be standard for some insurers)
If you don’t own the house but are a tenant, then your landlord’s homeowner insurance isn’t enough, since it only applies to the building and not to its contents. Being the case, you should buy an H04 policy to have your belongings safe under the rented house: in this way, your mobile phone can be covered.
Another possible case is that you are living in an old house and bought an H08: since the personal property coverage is more limited for this policy, you should check more carefully your insurer conditions. Mobile phones might have protection limited to fewer perils, compared to the other policies.
As for other items, if you’re covered for the loss you will pay the arranged deductible, and that will be for every time you file a claim. Not necessarily is convenient to lean on the insurance settlement, and it depends on the deductible you chose: for instance, an amount of $1,000 applied to the contents coverage refers to whatever item falls under the coverage, meaning that it might overweigh your mobile phone value, also there is the possibility you get a dissatisfactory product.
The point is: sometimes it would be better to assign the repairment to a dedicated shop or use the manufacturer warranty; theft would be another story, of course. The whole game is to choose the right coverage: on the other hand, you may decide to rise the specific limit for the cell-phone in a customized policy, if you got a pricy smartphone. Most policies have limits for every item written in the paperwork, and allow you to add things to be covered. Mind also that a claim will have an effect on the insurance premium, which you will see when renewing the policy.
Most of the insurers will compensate with a replacement model of the phone, rather than a totally new one. Of course, there are also cash limits: most of the time, they will be wide enough; if not, then you can buy a rider for your policy, which can cover the surplus.
What about mobile phone insurance?
Gadget insurance is a dedicated policy that generically refers to any device that is portable, thus including mobile phones. If you are a homeowner, you may still choose to have mobile phone insurance, as an alternative to customizing your home policy.
Manufacturers and cell- phone carriers offer their own insurance that covers damages and losses, including theft; there also independent operators who can be cheaper, but with more limited coverage. Prices and conditions will vary greatly.
It is definitely up to you to decide if to buy insurance apart from a homeowners policy. With mobile phone insurance, you have more flexibility and perhaps convenience, while you have to think ‘that’s another policy to be paid’. Patience and knowledge are king and queen.