Difference Between Mobile Phone Insurance & Damage Protection Plan

Last Updated on May 20, 2021 by Rupesh Patil

A mobile phone insurance plan is different from a damage protection plan, although you may think both the plans offer the same thing – give your device complete protection. The difference is simple. A mobile phone insurance will cover your phone and provide a resolution based on the insurer’s decision of your claim, which is based on how and where the phone has been damaged. There is typically a myriad of rules an insurance buyer has to follow to protect his device, failing which his claim for damage could be rejected. A comprehensive damage protection plan on the other hand will cover your phone and provide you a resolution irrespective of how and where the phone has been damaged.

If you see ‘insurance’ mentioned anywhere in the mobile phone insurance plan, it simply means that the provider’s plans are insured by an insurance underwriter. An insurance-backed plan will protect you from the risk of any kind of financial loss associated with your phone but depending on how and under what circumstances the phone was damaged. A comprehensive damage protection plan differs significantly from that of an insurance plan because a damage protection plan covers your device irrespective of how and under what circumstances your device was damaged.

For instance, if you have mobile insurance and unfortunately, you damage your device while driving and talking on the phone, you have a reason to worry about. Your phone will not be covered by the insurance company because according to them, you are not supposed to be talking on the phone while driving. You will be held liable for the damage. If the insurance company learns about this, it will be very difficult to have your phone repaired, unless you pay for it yourself.

Let’s take another example, say your phone is with your friend and it starts ringing. Your friend is at a distance, so he throws the phone and you miss catching it. The phone falls flat and the screen is left damaged. Again, if you narrate the exact story to the insurance company, there is no way you’re getting a claim because frisbees/balls are meant for throwing and catching, not mobile phones. So your claim will be denied.

In a damage protection plan the cause of damage does not matter. As long as your screen or phone is damaged it is repaired. At the time when your phone gets damaged and you urgently need to get it fixed, a company’s ‘No Questions Asked’ policy can turn out to be really useful. Not to forget, insurance companies also put their customers through a long and stringent process for validating the claim. This may involve onerous requirement for documentation, telephonic/physical surveys, deductibles, and even after this there may be no service assurance. A Comprehensive Damage Protection Plan on the other hand, requires minimal documentation and gives you complete service assurance. So before you buy a plan, do read the fine print and T&Cs to see the nature of the plan and its coverage terms.