Mobile Phone Insurance

Is it not possible to get mobile phone insurance in Hong Kong? By that I mean the insurance that replaces your handset if it gets lost or stolen. It's hard to believe that no company offers this, but I can't see it mentioned anywhere in Hong Kong via a Google search. Can anyone help? If it is available, what is a reasonable rate for insuring a decent smartphone, like say an iphone?

What's worse, if you have to do a warranty replacement on your phone, you may have to pay through the nose if your phone is scratched or scuffed. This is the case even if it is a fault that has nothing to do with the exterior!


Example one: My BB Curve stopped working. The fault was clearly internal, and the PCCW tech verified it as such. It was 10 months old so in warranty. In Europe or the US, I would have received a new phone no questions asked. In HK, I had to pay over HK$1000 for a replacement.


Example two: My iPhone had a divot in the glass (I dropped it and was very unlucky that it fell on a rock). The screen behind the glass was fine. In the US, Apple stores replaces the glass as you wait for a few hundred Honkies. In HK, Apple service wanted me to buy a replacement phone for HK$2260! This being HK though, I went across the street to a cell phone market stall and they replaced the glass for $800.


Moral of the story: Get a good case and a good screen protector.

If you've got household insurance, I presume you've checked that your policy definitely doesn't cover loss, theft or damage?

If you have household insurance you can pay a small additional sum (under $200) to cover the iPhone which will cover, replacement for damage eg. dropping, theft and loss. I'm sure it would cover other mobiles so worth checking.