Insurance is a very vague concept. For one, this is because of its numerous kinds including health, auto, home, life, and so many others. Frankly, some of the kinds are more common and subscribed to than others.
Regardless of the kind, one point remains that this sort of liability coverage offers several benefits. Some of the benefits of having this sort of liability coverage include:
- Risk management
- Financial protection
- Asset protection
- Business continuity
- Economic stability
- Long-term planning
- Securing better deals when applying for credit lines
- Peace of mind
- Regulatory requirement – For example, certain regulatory bodies would not issue licenses to establishments that are not duly insured
It is worth mentioning that there are several other benefits aside from the aforementioned ones. If interested in finding out more about the benefits, you can visit: www.yourarticlelibrary.com/.
Mobile phone insurance happens to be one of the several kinds available today. As its name suggests, it is supposed to offer liability coverage if the insured mobile phone is damaged and/or stolen. There is a lot more to be known about it. So, keep reading to find out more.
A Breakdown of Mobile Phone Insurance
There is quite a lot to know about this kind of insurance. Knowledge of these things can help you make sense of having your mobile phone insured or otherwise. It can also help people hoping or planning to get this liability coverage agreement to make the right choices. To this end, discussed below are some of the things to know about it:
Coverage Types
People need to read and understand every bit of an agreement before agreeing to it. In this context, this is because there are several types of liability coverage. As a result, you need to be certain of the type that you are subscribing to and if it best suits you.
For example, some types would not provide any sort of liability coverage if the gadget is damaged. Such options would only suffice if the gadget is stolen. It is the reverse in some cases.
Some options specify when liability coverage can apply. In addition to this, the degree of liability coverage that can be secured is another thing that is determined by the type of coverage opted for.
Premiums
Insurance is not charity. It is a liability coverage service by the insurer and it comes at a cost. Premiums are the continuous cost of using this service.
More often than not, premiums are paid monthly. However, this may not be the case in some situations. This is because some issuers have flexible payment solutions that allow insured parties to pay premiums using unconventional timeframes. For example, some insured parties are known to pay premiums every 12 months or even quarterly.
Premiums are important because it is the basis for which the insured party can lay claim to liability coverage if/when the need arises. In other words, not paying premiums can make requests for liability coverage void if/when the need arises. As a result, it is very important and insured parties need to see it in this light.
The amount paid is determined by several factors. In the context of mobile phone insurance, some of these factors include the following:
The Worth of the Gadget
How costly or cheap the gadget cost determines the amount paid to a large extent. The more costly the phone is, the more the insurance company demands.
The reason is that insuring an expensive phone means that the insurer would be responsible for offering financial compensation if it becomes damaged or stolen. By and large, this depends on the type of agreement.
Age of the Gadget
Generally speaking, it costs less to insure a new phone than an old one. The reason is that an old phone is more likely to get (especially) damaged. Mild issues with the phone can develop into massive issues over time. As a result, insurers are likely to demand more in premiums if you are insuring an old mobile phone.
History of Insured Party
The insurer would be interested in finding out about you before insuring your mobile phone. One of their inquiries would be about how careful you are with your phone. Let us do a comparison to further buttress this point.
Imagine that MR. A. did use his previous phone for over 5 years and only had to repair it once. The repair did happen after the third year and it was a minor repair service.
On the other hand, Mr. B. has used 3 phones within the same timeframe – 5 years. Mr. B. lost the first 2 mobile phones barely one year after their purchase and the third one was damaged beyond repair.
In light of this information, who do you think the insurance company would charge more in premiums? It is definitely MR. B.
The reason is simply because Mr. B. is more of an insurance risk than MR. A. This is because experience has shown how MR.B. is likely to need to trigger his liability coverage very soon after being insured. In other words, the history of the insured party is a determinant of how much would be charged by the insurance coverage in premiums.
By the way, this is an example of how insurance services also promote responsible behavior. You can click here for more information on this. Speaking of responsible use of mobile phones to avoid damage and even theft, below are some helpful tips:
- Use of screen protector
- Use of protective case
- Avoid exposure to water
- Avoid exposure to extreme temperature
- Proper handling of gadget
- Installation of security applications
- Ensure secure storage of gadget
- Use of strong and unique passwords
- Use of screen locks
- Activation of “find my device” settings on your mobile phone – There are provisions for this on various kinds of mobile phones
All of the aforementioned increases your chances of keeping your phone intact and avoiding theft issues. So, take notice of them going forward.
The Kind of Insurance
There are various insurance plans by insurance companies. Generally, the more rewarding plans are usually more expensive. In other words, people who subscribe to such get to pay more in premiums than those who opt for lesser rewarding plans.
For example, the more rewarding plans may have an agreement stating that very little amount would be paid in deductible if/when the need to trigger liability insurance arises. Speaking of deductibles, more about that is discussed below.
Deductibles
Insurance is a vague concept as pointed out early on. The fact that it is an ancient concept dating back to several centuries ago is partly responsible for this. As a result of its vagueness, many people who have no sort of this kind of liability coverage have misconceptions about it.
One such misconception is that the insurer is entirely responsible when damages or theft occurs. Well, this is far from the case and this is where deductibles come into play.
The deductible is an agreed amount that the insured party has to pay before the insurer can provide liability coverage. For the record, deductibles are entirely different from premiums.
While both are responsibilities of the insured party, premiums are paid even without the need to trigger liability coverage. Deductibles only come into the picture when there is a need to trigger insurance coverage.
It is worth mentioning that both – premiums and deductibles; are closely linked even though they are different. For the most part, insurance agreements with low deductible amounts usually come with higher premium payments. On the other hand, insurance agreements with high deductible amounts usually come with lower premium payments.
Claim Process
Insurance companies usually have guidelines for seeking insurance claims. These guidelines must be followed if/when the need to trigger liability coverage arises. Failure to do this would usually mean that demanded claims cannot be secured.
The provision of necessary documentation to prove the need for liability coverage is often an important part of the claim process. For example, a report from the police department can be demanded as proof that the mobile phone was indeed stolen.
For those asking why all this is necessary, one of the reasons is so that the insurance company can protect its interest. This is especially true as there are unscrupulous individuals who want to pull a fast one on insurance companies. For example, such people may never have lost their phone in the first place.
Waiting Period
One of the aforementioned points stressed the need to go over the insurance agreement and understand it before consenting to it. Well, this point cannot be overemphasized as a lot depends on it.
The fact that there may be a waiting period is one of the reasons for this. What exactly does a waiting period mean?
It means that liability coverage cannot be triggered until after a certain period. Let us assume the waiting period of 6 months.
This means that you cannot claim liability coverage if the phone gets damaged or stolen within the first 6 months. For the record, this would be the case even though you would be paying insurance premiums during the waiting period.
On a Final Note
Various kinds of insurance exist. One such is mobilforsikring, which is the Norwegian translation of mobile phone insurance. This article has discussed a couple of things to know about this kind of insurance.
In light of these, you should choose the right mobile phone insurance plan. As mentioned early on, this requires thoroughly reading and understanding every bit of the insurance agreement. Clauses such as waiting time and several others should be paid particular interest.
