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Investing in mobile phone insurance

It has happened to all of us at some point. Maybe it was maybe it was in the toilet, maybe it was out on the boat, or maybe it was in a taxi. However it may have happened, we all know the feeling of losing or breaking a mobile phone.Mobile phones have become extremely important in our everyday lives. We use them to call our parents, message our spouses, see our friends’ updates, check our work e-mails, and more. We store our contact details along with countless photos, songs, notes, downloaded apps, and preferences in these tiny devices. We keep them close to us for a large part of the day and when they go missing or when they are irreversibly damaged, we feel the loss instantly in a rush of panic.This emotional connection is the source of the first wave of panic, closely followed by the memory of the cost associated with that phone. Mobile phones vary in price and, in Bermuda, can cost as much as $1,500 for the latest smartphone.Imagine that you researched phones for months, comparing screen displays and camera megapixels, battery life and available apps.You finally selected your ideal phone and paid about $600 for it. You did not mind because you knew it was a worthwhile investment; this phone would be an integral part of your life for at least the next two years. After carefully customising your preferences and meticulously saving your contacts, you proceeded to take hundreds of pictures using your phone’s 8 megapixel camera while on vacation a few months later.When you arrived back in Bermuda, you were showing your fabulous pictures to a friend out on the boat when you hit a wave and the phone flew out of your hands into the water, never to be seen again. In addition to the inconvenience of losing the photos, contacts, and preferences, you had to go back and spend another $600 on the same phone.Now, imagine that scenario with phone insurance. You selected your phone, paid $600 for it, and opted to add $9 to your monthly bill for phone insurance. When your phone tragically went overboard a few months later, you did not have to pay another $600 to get the same phone again.Phone insurance is a specialised product that protects you against theft, loss, or damage to your mobile phone. You can obtain coverage for $9 per month or $99 per year. When first thinking about it, you might be tempted to avoid incurring an additional monthly expense. When exploring it further, however, you will likely realise that you cannot afford to skip out on phone insurance if your phone is above a certain value. The amount of money it saves when the inevitable happens is substantial. The peace of mind it provides is invaluable.In Bermuda, phone insurance is available at Digicel, which acts as a licensed agent of BF&M. More information can be found at www.digicelbermuda.com.Aziza Ahad Furbert is a Marketing Executive at Digicel Bermuda.