Handset insurance

Mobile handset theft and loss continue to cause concern. In Ireland, for example, up to 15,000 mobile phones are stolen every year and 2,000 are lost, stolen or damaged every week (Source: The Sunday Times, 19 March 2006).

O2 offers optional mobile phone insurance policies through reputable third-party insurers.

We recommend insuring mobile phones unless the owner regards them as ‘disposable’ due to age or contract expiry.

With the onset of 3G services and more sophisticated handsets, the replacement value of our mobile phones, which are heavily subsidised by O2, may be far greater than the customer perceives.

There has been some concern that mobile phone insurance does not offer value for money and that loopholes in the small print of provider policies may disqualify consumers’ claims without them understanding why.

We believe our own schemes are both appropriate and good value but recommend that all customers read and understand the terms and conditions of their policies.

Whether insured or not, O2 recommends that customers write down their phone’s unique code number – found behind the battery or by keying *#06# into their handset.

In the UK and Ireland, customers can give this number to our customer services teams after a mobile has been lost or stolen and block the mobile phone on all networks within 24 hours, making it useless to a thief. In Germany, the SIM card can be blocked if a phone is stolen. 

In Ireland, if their mobile phone is faulty, customers are offered a courtesy mobile phone while it is undergoing repairs.