Mobile Phone Insurance - Essay Example

Mobile Phone Insurance Question In today’s world, the probability of seeing someone checking mail on the phone, playing a game of choice, checking hotel reviews online or using social media applications is relatively high. Most of the people understand that the phone is slowly becoming an integral part of life and any damages to the phone could warrant so much loss of data and inconvenience too (Brignall 2012). The important thing to note is that companies have also realised they can cash in on such aspects by dealing with the various gadgets that are costly, and which would be stressful to an owner if lost (Brignall 2012). To this effect, a host of insurance companies created mobile phone insurance to provide cover for phones that are lost, damaged or stolen. Several companies have presented different options that make it easy to provide insurance cover for the mobile phones, and people have to choose dependent on the cover that suits them best, as well as the benefits that emanate from such dealings (Cai, Li, Xia, & Giannelli 2010: 49). Several ways of looking at the way of dealing with such an issue is actually dependent on the person making the payments. Some people will be content by knowing that they have an extra source of security for their expensive gadgets. The problem is that this peace of mind could come at an extra cost that they ought to have reduced at the very start by choosing the best MPI in the market. Some, however, will see the money paid to be quite high and unrealistic. They will wish to have their phones remain as they are without any cover (Brignall 2012). Nonetheless, it is important to understand that when companies are designing their MPIs, they are aware that customers will require different covers and will come up with different gadgets that vary in price. The company must understand this and place it into consideration as a way of appealing and satisfying their employees. The goal is to assure them that they will get the best through their indulgence and utility of covers from their companies (Cai, et al. 2010: 78-79). The delivery of services must meet the clients’ needs; hence, a need to work on carrying out their feasibility studies to understand what is missing. For instance, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) carried out a survey seeking to understand the impact MPIs have on clients (King & Carey 2013: 212). There were existing gaps brought about by ineffective product governance in companies, the products were not tailored to meet the needs of the consumers, the terms and conditions were unfair or unclear to customers. The idea of having an MPI is dependent on the reason for choosing one. It is difficult to convince everyone to take up the MPI but it should be noted that more than 10 million customers chose MPIs over risking the state of their gadgets. Personal decisions, therefore, will matter the most when dealing with the significant interest in having the MPIs (King & Carey 2013: 213-5). Question 2 My friend, a twenty-two year-old girl should think twice about getting an insurance cover. According to the money advice service, it is important look at the reason for choosing an MPI. Since your phone is expensive and you have no other cover on any other insurance that covers mobile phones, you should opt for one of them (The money advice service 2015). Despite being careful in tending to your phone with no history of stolen or broken phones, it is important to look at the possibility of using this one to get into the model that will cover you in advance. It will also save you a lot when it comes to future attributes. This will make it easier for the replacement to be apt and with a better phone or like the one you are using now (The money advice service 2015). Choosing the right policy is a process that requires careful considerations because the wordings of the policy, as noted by the financial Ombudsman, are very important (Ombudsman news 2013). To make sure that you do not miss any of your money, it was important to read the cover appropriately and understand what was expected of you. Your actions would either push you to get a cover or lose out. Some of the covers as noted by the financial ombudsman are not really presented with any options that could deal with the theft of the phones (Ombudsman news 2013). For some companies, the theft of a phone would mean having been story and the involvement of force recorded. If you went to the club and during that moment, someone picked out of your pocket or bag, the company would not have any claims to solve. Instead, the insurance money would just disappear without you benefiting from it. Nonetheless, if you believe there was a flaw in the contract based on the wordings of the contract, it would be advisable for you to take up the issue with the ombudsman and have your case heard by an independent body (Ombudsman news 2013). Question 3 Knowing which cover to pick is an uphill task. Some of the banks offer good covers but are more suitable for people who have a joint account. When one of the partners takes up a cover, it is for both and not just one of them. This may not be the case for you, hence the need to look for an alternative that will still be affordable. Given the fact that your bought your Samsung S4 model from Vodafone, it which means you will be looking for a chance to get a new insurance for an existing phone. You have to look for the different covers that will benefit you the most, based not only on the wording of the policy but on also on what is being covered. The importance of these covers is what they cover because some will cover loss, theft and damage but under different amounts. The role of this is to understand what works best (Glaser 2011: 49). According to Tony and Dan, MPIs take up different categories depending on the phone model and the amount one wishes to payoff monthly or annually (Tony & Dan 2015). One of them is the iPhone category, which could go for as much as £65 per year or slightly above £5 monthly. The Samsung phones and a couple of other android phones get a £60 annual cover. Those who have budget phones also get covers starting from £16 annually. Those houses that have a family mobile could have a quote of close to £120 annually, mainly through bank accounts (Tony & Dan 2015). Tony and Dan picked the Nationwide FlexPlus cover because of its policies and the ability to support its claims and activities with a sound policy statement offered by the company. For their MPI, the company offers £120 per annum for multiple phones taken by the client. Any excess will be charged at £50 for android phones and £100 for iPhones (Tony & Dan 2015). The company only offers a maximum value of £1000 per phone, regardless of its make and features. The age of the phone is not capped when looking at the handling of claims. When one is aboard, the cover still applies and the speed of handling claims is seen as being a few days after reporting. The replaced phone could be new or of the same model, hence no guarantee that the phone will be better than what client owned (Glase 2011: 50). Some companies offer a free three-month cover for one who registers for a full year, making the business so competitive and left to the clients to make good use of their skills to meet their demands. The idea is to entrench new morals that will identify and maximise on the growing attributes that define and refine the working sessions for the sake of the clients’ benefits. The idea is to have a policy that will identify the benefits and maximise on any claims based on the agreement sought (Tony & Dan 2015). Some of the big banks offering MPI include Barclays, which offers an annual cover of £90 for one phone or two in case of a joint account, and a standard excess of £100 for an iPhone in case of loss or £50 for other phones in case of loss. The maximum claim for one phone is £1000. Lloyds offers an annual cover of £119 for one or two phones in case of a joint account. It charges a standard excess of £100 for an iPhone or £50 for other phones. The maximum claim per phone is £2000 (Tony & Dan 2015). Question 4 I do not advise you to pick up an insurance cover. The reason for my apprehension is the fact that these covers could backfire and the money goes to waste. Sometimes, the amount offered will be lower and following up may seem quite strenuous and expensive compared to what will be offered eventually. Free services do exist that could allow you to save your information and protect it in case of any loss. Applications have emerged that allow the users of such phones to erase their data or transfer it to backup servers in case of loss (Cai, et al. 2010: 96-8). The covers could come in handle but the probability of you using them is minimal. References Brignall, M. (2012) ‘Is mobile phone insurance worth it?’ [online] available from http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/jan/20/mobile-phone-insurance, [Accessed: 24 March 2015]. Cai, Y. T. M., Li, M., Xia, J. & Giannelli, C. (2010) Mobile Wireless Middleware, Operating Systems, and Applications: Third International Conference, Mobilware 2010, London: Springer. Glaser, K. (2011) Inside the Insurance Industry, Manchester: Lulu Enterprises Incorporated King, J., & Carey, M. (2013) Personal Finance: A Practical Approach, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ombudsman news. (2013) issue 114, [online] available from http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/114/114-mobile-phones.html [Accessed: 24 March 2015]. The money advice service. (no date), Home insurance, [online] available from https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/do-you-need-mobile-phone-insurance, [Accessed: 24 March 2015] Tony & Dan, (2015) ‘Mobile phone Insurance, [Online] available from http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-mobile-phone-insurance, [Accessed: 24 March 2015]. Appendix One Information Sex female Tendency Budget £50/year Phone type Samsung S4 Existing or new phone insurance Existing phone Table one: showing friend’s details Appendix Two Table two: showing specific product comparisons Read More