Up until 10 years ago, our cell phone ownership/usage was not that common.  Our cell phones looked a lot like  Zach Morrison’s phone off of Saved by The Bell and we probably carried it in a bag the size of a woman’s purse. Printers and copiers were enormous and extremely expensive and you would almost never find one in a home.  If you were lucky your parents had satellite TV (you remember… the dish in the back yard that you had to play around because it was usually stuck directly in the middle).  But today we have an unbelievable amount of electronic gadgets in our house.  For example, in my own home you would find:

• two desktop computers with monitors
• two laptop computers
• 1 printer
• one combination fax, scanner, copier
• three TVs
• 1 VCR
• one digital video camera with tripod for our home recording studio
• one audio mixing board, one microphone, one amplifier, two external soundcards, and a 500GB hard drive, all for our home recording studio
• two DVD players
• two ipods
• one satellite TV system with a 24″ dish on the roof
• two iphones

You may not have that many but I know some who have even more.  Electronics have boomed over the last ten years as the price for them has decreased just enough that the average Joe can afford them.

But are your electronics covered?  If something happened would you be able to turn around and replace them all?  There is a lot of misinformation today regarding electronics and how it is treated by insurance companies. Most people seem think their homeowners or renters insurance policies will cover their electronics.  WRONG…and unfortunately they won’t usually find out their wrong until they submit a claim.

Sure, some of the property is covered, but there are limits and exclusions that would shock you! And don’t forget that your policy deductible will also apply.

The reason I bring this all up?  I’ve found the solution!  I have our electronics insured thru Worth Ave Group.  After reading thru their site and saw that they’ll cover us against against accidental damage, fire, flood, theft and even natural disasters for a full calendar year, I was sold.  They were also cheaper than the rest companies selling electronic coverage.  Some of them wouldn’t insure our iPhones because they weren’t brand new, some wanted to sell me warranties instead of insurance (not a good idea) and the list goes on and on.  So, anyway, check out Worth Ave Group and see what you think.

Can you imagine where we’re we’ll in another 10 years?

Mobile phones are an indispensable part of out lives, giving us with the latest in telecommunications and entertainment right at our fingertips. They are some of the most complicated and sophisticated devices in today’s society and most advanced phones cost a lot of money. But with their high price tag and their portability they have become increasingly vulnerable to theft. Not only this, most phones are also easily damaged because they are very compact and delicate. It is often very expensive to replace a lost or damaged handset and it can go as far as £400 for latest smart-phones. The best way to protect them is to get mobile phone insurance which will cover for the replacement of the devices in the event of their damage or theft.

It is very important to know whether your phone really needs the protection of a mobile phone insurance. Most PAYG phone users using cheap and affordable phones will find that it is better to find a cheap new deal than paying monthly premiums. The same might not be true for those who are using phones on contract. Often expensive handsets are made available through contract deals in very subsidised rates and replacing the phones could be a nuisance. Moreover one still has to keep paying the monthly charges even if he/she does not want the phones replaced. So it is always advisable to protect expensive phones on contracts with a suitable insurance cover.

Most companies that provide mobile phone insurance in the UK offer various protection plans that come for a monthly premium of as less as £2. Apart from theft, many phone insurance policies cover even malicious damage, theft, accidental damage and loss. Some network providers also offer their own emergency insurance on all standard phones. Typically charges are around £70/year for mobile insurance irrespective of handset value. However some providers might have different premium payments for expensive smart-phones. Orange that usually charges £70/year for standard phones charges £170 on smart-phones. It is always best to check out the best available options before getting the insurance cover. It is also necessary to compare them withf certain stand-alone covers from specialist online insurers.

It is important to ascertain if some other aspects of mobile phone insurance like overseas cover, quick replacement time, fraudulent calls cover and water damage cover are also included in the insurance plan that you might be interested in. Depending on what type of a protection you require for your mobile phones you can shortlist various deals. While most contract phones would certainly require a protection from fraudulent calls, not everyone will need an overseas cover.