Nokia India Announces Insurance Service For All Nokia Phones, Hope It Will Be A Success.

Nokia India today announced the alliance with New India Insurance to help you when you lose your phone. The insurance facility not only covers all handsets in the Nokia range but also offers pickups in 6 cities, cashless service and a mail in facility as well.

If you check the stats, 43% of Indians lost their mobile phones in the last year and that’s keeping in mind so many cases are not even being reported. This is nothing to get surprised of as Indian Telecoms have no easy way to track down mobiles using IMEI number. The procedure is not only unknown but also takes a lot of manual effort.

How much will Nokia Insurance Cost?

This will completely depend on what kind of Nokia Smartphone you would like to insure. Starting at a minimum price of Rs 50, the insurance plan will cost you 1.25% of the mobile price. Consumers can roll in the plan as soon as they buy the device by providing their personal details. The plan will be rolled out from 14th of March.

What is covered under Nokia Insurance?

Accidental Damage either outside or inside the phone which means Cracked Screen and Liquid Damage.
Theft i.e. either stolen because there was a housebreak or because of any other act like runaway.

What happens when you lose your mobile ?

You need to call in the help line within 24 hours and register your call. In case of damage, you get a free pickup and drop service but in case of thefts, you will need to file a written report with police authorities for both SIM and Phone.

Since this service is Cashless, it will allow claimants to submit their devices at the nearest authorised service centre and have their claims processed. If the damage is within purview of Insurance, the device will be repaired and be delivered back to the consumer at his door step.

During this period, the consumers will also be provided with standby handsets and chargers.

Other Features of Nokia Insurance :

Only available for devices bought in India.
Insurance facility also offers pickups in 6 cities, cashless service and a mail in facility as well. (Delhi & NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad Chennai and Kolkata.)

You can SMS, Call, or walk into a Nokia branded retail store in case of loss or damage.
One year validity with no possibility of extension.

Editors Thought:

This is a great initiative by Nokia especially for a country like India where this rate is high. However, for the service to become a real success there are lot of hurdles in its way.

How do you define accidental coverage. What if the consumer intentionally drops the mobile because its 6 months old and customers wants to grab a new one.

Theft: A mobile gets stolen and can be reused anywhere else. The infrastructure of tracking a mobile via IMEI number is weak. Does the insurance company plans to track it. If yes then how long ? What if a consumer keeps it off for a period of one year and starts using it again ?
There is no word on if the Insurance will cover charges for any calls made from the stolen mobile. I am sure that there will be separate plans for Postpaid numbers as they are more venerable to this situation but even pre-paid consumers will be concerned about this.

I would really like to revisit and know the result of the service in coming months to find the success of this service. Keeping the hopes high!!