25 November 2024
Does home insurance cover mobile phones?
6 minutes
Home and contents insurance policies cover the structural elements of your home and your personal belongings. But does home insurance cover mobile phones? Generally yes, most home insurance policies will cover mobile phones as one of your personal belongings. However it is important to note that this coverage can be relatively limited in scope.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at mobile phone coverage on home insurance, and what is commonly covered and not covered by home insurance policies. We’ll also look at different options for how you might extend your coverage. As always, it’s important that you check your policy documents, especially the small print, to ensure that you’re familiar with the details of your specific policy.
Home insurance and your belongings
There are normally three main types of home insurance if you are a homeowner:
- Buildings insurance, which covers the physical structure of your house
- Contents insurance, which covers the personal belongings inside your house
- A policy which combines buildings and contents insurance into the same policy
Note that if you don’t own the home you live in, tenant’s insurance will generally cover your belongings in the same way as contents insurance. Buildings insurance will be your landlord’s responsibility.
For the purposes of this article we will focus on contents insurance. This protects personal belongings such as furniture, electronics, jewellery and clothing against events such as fire and theft.
When you take out contents insurance, you’ll generally estimate the value of all of your belongings and ensure that you are covered for that amount. You can do this with the help of a contents calculator tool online, which can help you estimate the total value you should look to cover. In general, you don’t need to provide a full list of your belongings to your insurer, they are more interested in the total amount of coverage that you’re after.
Can I claim my phone on home and contents insurance?
So, does home insurance cover a lost cell phone?
Your phone will normally be covered by your contents insurance as one of your personal belongings. In this case, your phone may be covered by events within the home such as:
- Theft, for example if your phone is stolen from your property
- Natural disasters, for example a fire or flood that affects your home
If your phone is stolen or damaged and your claim is successful, you will generally pay an excess and your policy will pay out the value of your phone up to the policy’s single-item limit. We’ll talk more about single-item limits in the next section.
Perhaps most importantly, in general, home insurance will only cover your mobile phone while it’s inside your home. So if your phone is stolen while you’re outside of your home, this likely won’t be covered by your home insurance policy. Your contents insurance may offer optional extras to your standard contents insurance to extend your protection.
It’s good to know that, if your claim is successful, some insurers will offer “new-for-old” cover. This means that, if your two-year-old phone is damaged in a fire, your insurer may pay the value of a new phone of the same model despite your phone’s age. Some insurers however may take wear and tear into account when they pay out, so make sure that you read your policy documents so that you know what to expect when you make a claim.
Single-item limits
It’s important to note that many contents insurance policies have a single-item limit, often of around £1,500. This refers to the maximum amount that an insurer will pay out on one item.
If the value of your phone exceeds your single-item limit, you will need to contact your insurer to ensure that you can protect your phone to its full value. If you don’t, then you may risk not receiving the full value of your phone if it is stolen from your home or damaged in some way.
Your insurer may wish to see proof of the value of individual high-value items, so if you are contacting your insurer to tell them about your phone you will likely need your receipt.
What exceptions might there be to home insurance coverage?
As we’ve talked about already, your mobile generally won’t be covered by a standard home insurance policy if you are outside of your home. So if your phone is stolen while you’re on a night out, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to claim on your home insurance.
In addition, a standard home insurance policy also typically won’t cover the following:
- General wear-and-tear: For example if your phone is old and stops working
- Accidental damage: For example dropping your phone on the floor, or putting it in the washing machine
- Intentional damage: For example if you break your phone on purpose (for some reason)
You may be able to purchase additional cover to your standard policy to increase the breadth of its coverage but these will generally mean a higher premium.
What optional extras might extend your coverage?
As we have seen, standard contents insurance policies without add-ons give fairly limited coverage for your mobile phone. However many insurers will offer more comprehensive cover for an additional fee.
Since mobile phones are very likely to be possessions that you carry around with you when you’re outside the house, many insurance providers offer mobile phone or gadgets and possessions insurance as an add-on to contents insurance. This extends your home insurance cover to your possessions outside of the house, and generally offers protection against loss, damage, or theft. This has the added benefit of also protecting other personal possessions, such as watches, jewellery and laptops, outside of your home. It may even cover you when you’re abroad.
- Mobile phone insurance is a specific type of insurance tailored towards mobile phones, and can offer coverage for a wide range of incidents including theft, accidental damage, and your phone stopping working unexpectedly. You may also be able to add coverage for things like unauthorised charges to your phone (such as unauthorised calls or transactions made using your e-wallet), and loss or damage to accessories such as your headphones or mobile phone case. Standard policies may vary, so be sure to check the terms of any policy before you take it out.
- Gadget insurance can provide a range of cover for all your gadgets such as smartphone, laptop, cameras, games consoles, and headphones. Typical gadget policies protect against accidental damage, theft and loss, accessories and mechanical failure. You can generally insure either a single device, or multiple devices under the same policy. Gadget insurance generally offers a broader range of coverage than home insurance by itself, so it can be a good idea if you want peace of mind for all of your personal devices and accessories.
If you have bought a new phone, it will likely come with a warranty which can cover you for mechanical damage. Your phone’s warranty will generally last between 12 and 24 months from the date of purchase, and the manufacturer may repair or replace your phone for free if it stops working. However, the protection that a warranty offers is quite limited, and won’t cover accidental damage, loss, or theft.
Most contents insurance policies don’t cover for accidental damage as standard, but you can often add accidental damage cover to your home insurance, which means that you’re covered for accidental damage in the home.
This would ensure that if you crack the screen while playing with your children, or drop your phone in the loo, you’ll be covered. Make sure that your insurer covers electronics as part of accidental damage insurance just to be on the safe side. Electronics could incur an additional cost.
What could be the downsides of claiming for a mobile phone on contents insurance?
While different policies vary, it is worth considering the downsides of claiming on your home insurance for your mobile phone.
Firstly, the excess on contents insurance can be quite high, and may get close to or even exceed the value of your phone itself. This may mean it isn’t worth making a claim, and then you risk not being covered at all.
It’s also likely that any claim made on your contents insurance can raise your premium when your insurance comes up for your renewal, so you may end up paying more further down the line for any claim that you make.
In addition, home insurance claims can take a while to process, so it could be that you are without your mobile phone for quite a long period of time. Tailored insurance such as gadget insurance often has a service that provides you a replacement device within a few days.
Taking care of your phone
Of course, it is worth bearing in mind that even if you do have a good insurance policy, it’s a good idea to take all the steps that you can to protect your phone. This can include:
- Using a good case and screen protector to protect your phone from drops and bumps
- Keeping your phone safe when you’re out and about, for example in a zipped pocket or a bag
- Use an app which can help to trace your phone if it is lost or stolen
- Keep a note of your phone’s IMEI number, make, and model, so that you can get your phone blocked and prevent unauthorised use if it does go missing. You can normally find your IMEI number in your phone settings, by pressing *#06# on your handset, or looking behind the battery
How Howden can help
Through our strong relationships with selected insurers, we can help you find the right policy for your needs. Whether you’re looking for home insurance, contents insurance, or gadget and possessions insurance, speak to our team today. We’ll not only help to save you money but will ensure all your valuables are properly protected.
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