Claiming stolen phone on house insurance

[northernladuk]

Personal question but not putting it in General.

Situation : My 22 year old had his Iphone 15 Pro stolen in London the other week. Got a crime number and all that. Away from home is covered in the policy so in theory should be covered

Question : Is it worth claiming phones on house insurance? I haven't spoken to them yet. Last time I spoke to them about cost/cover of expensive watches they cancelled my renewal. When I enquired why it was because I spoke to them about the watch even though I didn't go ahead or change the policy so asking this before I speak to them. I'm worried the price will go up just because I've informed them a phone was stolen even though I didn't claim.

My excess is something like 350. 15 pros seem to be about £1k but I don't know how much it loads my insurance for a claim and for how long. If I'm only claiming a couple of hundred quid, if it loads me 100 quid for five years it's just not worth doing.

Anyone any experience?

[WTFH]

You'll get a new 15 pro for around £800 on fleabay.
Was the phone owned outright or on a contract?
When was he thinking of upgrading?

If it was me, I'd not bother claiming it.

[northernladuk]

You'll get a new 15 pro for around £800 on fleabay.
Was the phone owned outright or on a contract?
When was he thinking of upgrading?

If it was me, I'd not bother claiming it.

Outright and he'd only had it 3 or 4 months. He got it when the prices dropped with the announcement of the new one.

I'm tempted not to bother either but insurance is such a rip off nowadays if it's worth a couple of hundred back overall then I'm tempted on principle. The idea that everything is covered in your home yet it's not worth claiming anything under say £1500 paints the whole cover in a new light i.e. virtually worthless unless it's a massive claim. What's the point of having away from home and accidental damage when I dont' think I have anything work £1500 that I take away or can accidentally damage. Yes I know, same for us all, life is hard, suck it up buttercup, so rant over.

[ladymuck]

I'd only claim on insurance if I couldn't afford to replace an item that was lost/stolen/damaged. To me, that's basically what it's there for.

[NotAllThere]

You'll get a new 15 pro for around £800 on fleabay.

Probably the actual phone that was stolen.

[northernladuk]

I'd only claim on insurance if I couldn't afford to replace an item that was lost/stolen/damaged. To me, that's basically what it's there for.

That's a fair way of thinking. It stings but if I could get my head in to that space it would be easier. I do think there is a grey area in the 2k to, I dunno, 5k, 10k range where I can afford it but don't see why I should. I don't think my ability to spend more to replace something should be the yardstick to what I can claim on insurance but I do see your point. Makes it pretty clear in my case though.

[fiisch]

What do you pay roughly for annual buildings/contents now, and have you any other claims in the last 5 years?

Making some very broad assumptions, let's say you pay £250/year now having not made a claim in last 5 years.
New iPhone 15S of same spec, £800. Excess £350.

So if you claim, you're getting an immediate benefit of £450.
When your renewal comes in, assuming no previous claims, I would guesstimate premium increase to at least £375 based on my experience as an underwriter many years ago (hypothetical as there's hundreds of factors at play determining price). This increase vs what you pay currently will reduce as time goes by and the claim gets older....

It's very marginal, but I suspect over the next 3-4 years, you'd repay at least the benefit you're getting by claiming, if not with a bit of interest. I think your excess swings this in favour of not claiming, plus it gives your son the opportunity of an upgrade....

[northernladuk]

What do you pay roughly for annual buildings/contents now, and have you any other claims in the last 5 years?

Making some very broad assumptions, let's say you pay £250/year now having not made a claim in last 5 years.
New iPhone 15S of same spec, £800. Excess £350.

So if you claim, you're getting an immediate benefit of £450.
When your renewal comes in, assuming no previous claims, I would guesstimate premium increase to at least £375 based on my experience as an underwriter many years ago (hypothetical as there's hundreds of factors at play determining price). This increase vs what you pay currently will reduce as time goes by and the claim gets older....

It's very marginal, but I suspect over the next 3-4 years, you'd repay at least the benefit you're getting by claiming, if not with a bit of interest. I think your excess swings this in favour of not claiming, plus it gives your son the opportunity of an upgrade....

That's exactly what I was thinking. The very best out of it is cash flow getting the 450 up front but then paying it back over a few years. Bearing in mind it's not my phone and it's so marginal I'd rather keep a clean sheet and move on from this one. But at least I know the score with values and house inurances going forward, as well as LM's new way of thinking.