Most UK mobile owners would defraud their insurance for a better phone

 

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Posted on 30 Jun 2010 at 13:54

In a survey carried out by price comparison website www.rightmobilephone.co.uk, 66 per cent of respondants said they would consider making a false claim on their mobile phone insurance.

Perhaps more remarkably, 18 per cent admitted that they had already broken a phone in order to claim on their insurance policy. Of these, over one fifth says that they'd deliberately broken their phone because it looked scratched or worn.

It appears that not all of the phone frauds really thought things through that well, though: 64 per cent broke their phone with intention of getting a different or more up-to-date handset. However, insurance policies only cover you for a like-for-like replacement, so fraud is definitely not the way to go if you want to get rid of an annoying or ineffective phone.

Of those who said they'd consider making a false claim, 26 per cent would be prepared to say their handset was lost or stolen in order to get a second phone, which they could either keep for themselves or sell to make money. Making an insurance claim for a stolen phone requires a crime reference number from the police, which indicates that they'd be prepared not only to lie to their insurer but also to the police.

Neil Hugh, co-founder of rightmobilephone.co.uk commented that “the fact that a fair few would be prepared to say their phone was lost or stolen to get a second phone is quite alarming, but perhaps it calls for stricter guidelines to be brought in to prevent customers taking advantage of insurance companies.”

While it is indeed an alarming possibility, we're inclined to hope that trying to defraud your mobile phone insurance is the kind of plan that more people consider than act on - rather like our aspiration to go on a year-long road trip and write the next Great American Novel (problems of nationality notwithstanding).

Author: Kat Orphanides