How to claim on your gadget insurance

Whether you have lost your phone during a walk in town, or damaged your laptop while carrying it around, we are here to help you put things back in order.

With our phone and gadget insurance, you can be certain that you are in the right hands and to help, we’ve pulled together this guide to help you understand your next steps.

Firstly, you need to check your cover

• Your policy documents highlight your cover. Check these in the first instance to ensure you’re covered for whatever has happened to you.
  Your policy documents would have been emailed to you when you first took out the policy, or when your most recent renewal was processed – you can also find them online.
• As a last resort please contact us and you can ask one of our Customer Service Agents to resend them to you.
• It’s also worthwhile seeing which claim documents you may be asked to provide as part of your claim.
  
  

How to make an accidental damage claim

1. You can start your claim at our claims portal, or you can call us on 0333 999 7905 Mon–Sat 08.00–17.30 in order to submit your claim over the phone. 
   
   To log your claim on the portal, you will need:

• Your policy reference number which you can find find on your policy documents or on your bank statement. This would be your Direct Debit reference number or;
• The email registered on your policy.
• When completing the form, we would need you to provide as much detail of the incident as possible to enable our assessors to assess your claim thoroughly and quickly.
  
  For example, if you are registering an accidental damage claim, the questions you would need to cover in your incident details are:
  
  
  • When did the incident occur?
  • Where was the phone kept prior to the incident?
  • Who was in possession of the phone at the time of the incident?
  • What events led up to the incident?
  • At which point was the phone/gadget damaged?
  • Did I take the right precautions beforehand?
    
    

How to make a mechanical breakdown claim

We know that gadgets don’t live forever. There comes a point where they start malfunctioning or even suddenly shutting down completely.

Smartphones and any other gadgets that start displaying mechanical faults is not always a result of a particular incident. In time, all technological gadgets tend to naturally deteriorate usage.

Firstly, we would need you to check whether you are still covered by the manufacturer warranty. If so, you can take your phone directly to the manufacturer to carry out the repair free of charge.

Alternatively, you can find out how you can start a mechanical breakdown claim with our phone insurance in the steps below:

• Follow the instructions up to step 2 above.
• Here are some questions that we might ask you to answer and which you could include in your “incident” details:
  - When did you notice that your device was no longer working properly?
  - What issues did it have?
  - If you have taken it to an independent repairer, what actions did they take to repair it?
  - Have you tried following any troubleshooting solutions?
  
  

How to make a loss claim:

There is nothing worse than being occupied with hundreds of activities throughout the day, and then coming home to realise that your phone is no longer where you last left it. Should ever this happen to you, you can rely on our phone insurance for a full cover protection.

Here is how you can make a loss claim:

• Follow the instructions up to step 2 above.
• Here are some questions that we might ask you to answer and which you could include in your incident details:
  - When did the incident occur?
  - Who was in possession of the phone at the time of the incident?
  - What events led up to the incident?
  - When did you notice that your phone was no longer in your possession?
  - Have you blacklisted the phone and its IMEI with your Network Provider?
• With every loss claim, we would always ask for a loss reference number which you can obtain by reporting your loss on reportmyloss and immobile.com.
  
  

How to make a theft claim:

Before you switch the panic mode on, you would need to think about whether you may have left your phone somewhere and forgot about it.

In some cases, we might think that our phone got stolen when in fact it was accidentally lost. If you are sure that your phone has been stolen, you would need to report it to the police and obtain a crime reference number as soon as you can.

Here is how you can submit a theft claim on your phone insurance:

• Follow the instructions up to step 2 above.
• Below are some questions that we might ask you to answer and which you could include in your incident details:
  - When did the incident occur?
  - Where was the phone kept prior to the incident?
  - Who was in possession of the phone at the time of the incident?
  - What events led up tp the incident?
  - Where you in a public place at the time?
  - When did you realise that the phone was missing?
  - Was there an active SIM card in the phone at the time of the incident?
  - Have you contacted the police to report the theft and obtain a crime reference number?
  - Have you blacklisted the phone and its IMEI with your Network Provider?

How long will my insurance claim take to process?

After you have submitted your documents that may have been requested to support the assessment of your claim, please allow our claim assessment team 2 working days to process all the information before responding to you. At this point we will confirm our decision, or ask for further information.

When do I pay the excess?

Once your claim has been authorised, you will need to pay the excess on your policy before we can proceed with the repair or replacement of your device.

The excess amount varies depending on the value of your device, and can be found in your policy documents.

How do I pay the excess?

Simply choose one of the following options to pay your excess:

1. Click on the link in the email confirmation that we sent you about your claim being approved in order to pay online – we accept most major credit cards, or;
   Call our Customer Service Team at 0333 999 7905 Mon–Sat 08.00–17.30 to complete the payment over the phone.
2. Once your excess has been paid you will either need to send your phone to us, or we will provide you with a replacement device depending on the type of claim you have made.

How do I send the device for repair?

For accidental damage and mechanical breakdown claims, you would need to send your device to us for repair. Before you do, please ensure that you have completed the following:

1. Back up your data.
2. Remove your passcode.
3. Disconnect your device from your Google Account (Android) or from iCloud/Find my iPhone (Apple).

Once you’ve done the above, you can proceed to posting the device. Please ensure that you:

1. Package your device safely to prevent further damage.
2. Include your full name and claim reference number in the package.
3. Send it via tracked delivery through a courier of your choice.
4. Send it to the correct address which you was provided to you via email. If in doubt, give us a call at 0333 999 7905 Mon–Sat 08.00–17.30, or email us at i2gcustomerservices@citymain.com.

Do you cover the postage costs for sending the device for repair?

Unfortunately not. The only time we would cover the postage costs would be for guarantee returns if you have experienced problems with the repaired device.

How long will the repair/replacement take?

Our timescales for repairs are 5-7 working days once we receive your device. For replacements please allow 3-5 working days. If your device is deemed beyond economical repair, we will happily replace it for you.

Our aim is to always try and source the same device as the original. In the event that we are unable to, due lack of stock or other reasons, we will contact you to offer different options of similar device models as the original for you to choose from.

Once we receive your confirmation, we will order the chosen device, either new or refurbished, and despatch it to the address registered on your policy.

If you need to change your delivery address, give us a call at 0333 999 7905 Mon–Sat 09.00–17.30 or email us at i2gcustomerservices@citymain.com at your earliest convenience to update it.

Not happy with the outcome of your claim?

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your claim, you can contact our Customer Service Team at 0333 999 7905 Mon–Sat 09.00–17.30 to raise an appeal. You might be asked to submit further information for our assessors to review before continuing.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the appeal, you can call our Customer Service Team at at 0333 999 7905 Mon–Sat 09.00–17.30 to raise a complaint.

Find out how to submit a claim.