Insurance for mobile phones in India

In almost every part of world theft is the common problem and with the invention of new high tech gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, iphones etc the incidents of theft has risen tremendously. It is just like people go for home insurance for theft of the house property, or auto insurance, here people go for mobile phone insurance.


In India there are over 30 crore mobile users, and research indicates that every month more than 20 lakh mobile phones are lost. The stolen mobile phones market is so gainful that the second hand market is estimated to have an annual turnover of Rs.200 crore in India. Mobile phones have been identified by the police as CRAVED (Concealable, Removable, Available, Valuable, Enjoyable, Disposable) items that are highly attractive to thieves and this will be exacerbated as phones become more sophisticated and start to offer users advanced functionality. (Source TRAI)

Some of the salient features for insurance policies offered by Indian insurance firms are:

• Mobile cover in India is flexible and is wide-ranging in order to meet the requirements of the customers.
• Mobile coverage entails fire damages, theft & fortuitous external damages
• Variable surplus can be provided as per the requirements of the client
• The coverage has flexible rate of premiums as per the density of hazards and cost insured

What all are covered


A mobile's insurance cover saves against a variety of risks like fire, theft, riots, strikes. But, many have a more comprehensive coverage bringing within sweep malicious damage, accident and fortuitous circumstances.


Commonly mobile's insurance covers

• Fire.
• Riot, strike, malicious damage and terrorist activities.
• Theft.
• Accident.
• Fortuitous circumstances.

What not covered

• Mysterious disappearance.
• Theft from unattended vehicles, except from fully enclosed car that is securely locked.
• Theft, loss or damage during the hire or loan to a third party.Mechanical and electronic breakdown or derangement.
• Any mechanical or electrical breakdown/derangement except due to accidental external means
• Mere breaking/ scratching or cracking of fragile items unless caused by accident to themeans of conveyance.
• Overloading and experimentation involving imposition of any abnormal conditions.
• Damage by wear and tear, moth, mildew, vermin, atmospheric or climatic condition or gradual deterioration, inherent defect or from any process of cleaning, repairing or maintenance.
• Loss or damage due to war or nuclear perils, loss by water or from any water borne craft.
• Intentional or willful act of the insured party.

There are many other exclusions which will vary from company to company which should be read before buying a mobile phone insurance.

Compenstation

Compensation varies according to the company offering Insurance. Commonly Compensation will be equivalent to cost of replacement by new mobile of same specifications and capacity, including all taxes and duties

Companies offering Insurance Policy

Some renowned insurance companies offering Insurance Policy for Mobile Phones in India are

• National Insurance Company,
• Oriental Insurance Company,
• New India Assurance Company and
• United India Insurance Company

Apart from Insurance firms even mobile companies are offering Mobile Phones insurance in India. BPL, Nokia, BSNL and Reliance are some of the firms offering coverage for the cellular phones. BSNL provides coverage on Alcatel and Nokia handsets for Rs 20 per month. Some private mobile firms even offer free coverage to their clients


Negatives

• The conditions are many and cannot be fulfilled and claiming is a himalayan task.

Links


http://www.newindia.co.in/per-mobile.asp
http://www.royalsundaram.in/your-business/all-risks-insurance.aspx#
http://www.icicilombard.com/app/ilom-en/Businessproducts/Corporate-Cover.aspx


Disclaimer: All informations published in this blog post is only for general information and is as per the informations published on concerned website. Please check the concerned websites before buying a mobile insurance.