Worthless insurance rip off

[Tombailey1]

My son dropped his iphone 11 on monday and smashed his screen. No other damage to the phone. Called ee this morning to claim on insurance to be told they cant repair the phone (without even seeing it) and it will need replacing. The repair excess would be £25 but for replacement  id have to pay an excess of £100. I took the phone into the ee shop in peterborough who stated that this was 'normal'. The phone is still working which i demonstrated to the shop assistant but he continued to state that the phone needed replacing. Called the insurance while i was there who then informed me i could take the phone to an apple store to get it repaired. The nearest apple shop is 45 miles away so this really doesnt work either. I have ended up having to purchase a replacement. This was not made clear when i purchased the insurance and it creates a mockery of being insured. I have never had this happen in the past. They are simply using small print to trick the customer into purchasing the insurance. I have been with ee for multiple yrs now and have 4 phones with them. I am shocked by their lack of care. As soon as these contracts end we will move them all away from ee. Their insurance is pointless.

[Tombailey1]

Yeah - to me this is just deliberately complicating a policy to confuse customers. There are other insurances out there that dont do this (i know ive previously had them). I would expect the person selling the insurance to ensure this is acknowledged at the point of sale. If i was aware i would have gone elsewhere for my insurance as to me this clause negates the policy.

[bristolian]

Apple is well known for charging more than comparable products that do (pretty much) the same thing in most cases!

[Chris_B]

@Tombailey1    Did you read the policy fully and understand it before you agreed to it ?     It now only after the fact you  believe it negates the policy..   Thats agreeing to something and when it doesn’t suit claiming it’s wrong even though you did agreed to the policy.    

 As for the £25 access are you sure about that? Because that seems awfully low.     It’s £25 if you have Apple Care Plus a part of your insurance policy. 

[Tombailey1]

Hi chris_b - i bought the phone insurance over the phone. I asked about the excess at the time but was not informed about the requirement to take your phone to an apple shop. I previously had cover on other devices none of which have ever required me to take devices anywhere. This policy is awful and needs to be made clear at the point of sale.

The £25 excess was shared with me by ee when i called them whilst in the ee shop.

[Minkey1]

I had a 33yr career in General Insurance. I’d never buy this type of cover. It’s wholesaled to non insurance outlets and reliant on non insurance people fully explaining the cover to customers whose interest starts and ends with “I’m insured”.

The retailer mark up means that value for money is often poor. Instead I’d ensure that my portable possessions were covered for Accidental Damage under my Home Insurance.

But if I did buy it, I’d read the policy. Always better to do it at purchase rather than at claim.

[Tombailey1]

Yes - but my issue is a broken screen requires a replacement unless you go to an apple shop.