There is nothing that quite describes the feeling of dismay you feel when you see your cell phone flying gracefully through the air towards the pavement, or when it hurtles towards the water. Your stomach lurches as you ‘take a hit’ that is going to cost you money and cause a lot of inconvenience.
The truth is that you are not just losing a phone; you are missing a part of your life. That crunch or splash that accompanies your loss means your connection to your loved ones, your directory, chat line, calendar, camera, watch, banking, e-mail link and even entertainment has come to a temporary – and costly halt.
At this stage, you either breathe a sigh of relief because your phone is insured, or curse because it is not, and you know that your loss is going to be made even harder because of the hole you now have in your pocket. Often, the loss is financial because many people regard a cell phone as a short-term investment and do not insure what is actually a valuable asset.
According to MiWay, there are many reasons that a phone should be insured. Here is what should be considered:
• Insurance cover is more dependable than a phone case. A protective case cannot guarantee that a phone is not damaged nor can insurance, but insurance cover does ensure that your phone will be replaced.
• As phones have become more sophisticated, their prices have increased exponentially. Buying the best cell phone, you can afford, then watching your uninsured R16 000 beauty crash and die is something that should be avoided.
• It simply does not make sense to spend a lot of money on a phone and then not spend a little on insurance to make sure that your dependable, around the clock ‘secretary’ and ‘assistant’ can be quickly replaced when it has to be.
• Insurance covers events that your phone’s guarantee does not.
• Not having your phone insured could mean having to downgrade. Phones are imported, and the rand is struggling against major currencies, making them even more expensive. So, if you are not insured, there is a real possibility that you will have to buy a ‘lesser’ phone than you want. Otherwise, replacing it with what you have lost is going to cost a lot more.
Cell phone insurance comes down to a simple question, says MiWay Insurance, and that is: ‘If I lose or damage my cell phone or if it is stolen, could I replace it without feeling some financial pain?’
Before insuring your phone, spend some time doing research. Find what the policy offers and make sure that the phone you are insuring is covered for the correct value.
It’s never too late to insure your companion. An upgrade may be just weeks away, but at least you are covered in the meantime and know that your new phone will be covered the moment it slips into your pocket or handbag.
04 September 2019 MiWay