Business mobile phones have become essential tools in the last few years, ensuring employees can continue working from anywhere.
They’re not just for communication anymore.
Even complex tasks can now be completed using nothing more than a business mobile phone and a good internet connection.
But with more employees working from phones, the potential for a phone to get damaged while on the move is greater.
And the consequences of losing a phone from your business for an extended period of time are serious.
By buying your business phones through a dedicated business mobile phone provider, you can ensure you have the support to pick the right phones with the right plans to get the best ROI.
But is it worth insuring your phones as well to ensure if anything goes wrong and one breaks, you can repair or replace it quickly?
Whether or not you decide to insure your business property, there’s a few things you should consider from any insurance policy.
How much will it cost you?
The price of your insurance policy will usually be determined by the quality and volume of the phones you’re insuring.
If you’ve got older phones of lower value, it will cost less to insure them.
If you’ve got a large number of premium mobile phones, you’ll pay more.
Depending on the number of phones you have and whether you get your insurance through a broker or direct, you might be able to get a discount on the price of your mobile insurance.
Do you want to pay a higher excess?
Most insurance policies come with the option to include an excess, which is how much you’ll pay towards any repairs or replacement yourself if you need to make a claim.
The higher the excess you’re willing to pay, the lower your monthly premiums will be on your policy.
But before you dive into a high excess to bring your monthly payments down, make sure you can afford it.
A higher excess may seem appealing when it comes to lowering your monthly premiums, but it’s going to cost you if you ever need to make a claim.
What are you covered for?
When signing an insurance policy, it’s important to know exactly what you’re covered against.
You might think that by having insurance in place you’ve got blanket coverage for any incident or eventuality that leads to your phone breaking or malfunctioning, but it’s not always the case.
For example, are you covered if you take your phone abroad and it breaks while you’re out of the country?
Not all insurance policies will cover this as standard so you need to be sure.
The last thing you need is to break your phone and realise your insurance doesn’t cover it.
How flexible are the insurance policies?
Because you might use your business phone more than other people, or need to take it abroad, or work in an industry where your phone might be at greater risk of breaking (like in construction for example) you might need an insurance policy that’s adapted to you.
Does the provider you choose offer this?
Or are you left to manage with an off the shelf policy that doesn’t really give you the protection or reassurance you need?
Is a replacement phone part of the deal? (and how quickly can you get it)
Anytime your phone is out of action is potentially time when you’ll be less productive and as a result, not making as much money for your business as you could be.
If your phone breaks, you need it back up and running as soon as possible.
But depending on the type of damage, or if your phone has malfunctioned and needs more serious repairs, what are you meant to do in the meantime?
You should make sure any insurance policy comes with a replacement phone option, and know when you can expect your new phone to arrive.
Are you covered by your existing business insurance?
If you’ve taken out any kind of business insurance, it’s possible that you’ll already be covered for any damage to your business phone or from loss due to theft.
It’s worth checking because you don’t want to get insurance on a device only to end up paying twice.
But when it comes to your phone, it might be worth taking out additional insurance if your business insurance doesn’t provide the kind of cover or help you need.
You might be covered for damage or theft for example, but will your existing business insurance guarantee a replacement phone or quick repairs?
Having specific cover for your phone can keep you protected without costing you or your business a huge amount.
The alternative, being left without your business phone, could be much more damaging to you.
If you’re thinking about a business phone and need an upgrade or more information about buying a dedicated phone for your business, you can get in touch with us and we’ll be able to help.
