iPhone must-have crowd inflates UK gadget insurance claims
Insurer reckons new models push up fraud
Apple gizmo fans are committing more insurance fraud in a move to upgrade their iPhones to the latest model, a UK insurer has claimed.
Supercover Insurance said claims for iPhones would typically shoot up 50 per cent during the month in a which a new model was released.
It said that four out of 10 claims made during such a period were fraudulent. The company claimed that some people deliberately trashed their phone to ensure they got an upgrade to the latest iPhone model.
"While most customers take out insurance because they value their iPhone, we started to notice increases in claims as new and upgraded iPhones were launched," said Supercover director Carmi Korine.
"For short periods around new model or upgrade launches, claims for lost, stolen or damaged iPhones go through the roof.
"The issue appears to be that most iPhone owners can only go for so long realising that they're a generation behind the latest must-have spec before they resort to extreme measures."
According to the firm, the iPhone was the fastest growing type of insurance cover within the gadgets sector in the UK. Around 60 per cent of iPhone owners were more likely to take out cover than other mobile phone users, it said.
Supercover claimed that around 40 per cent of insurance claims it received around the launch of a new mobile model were potentially phoney. The company typically ditches around a quarter of all such claims. ®
COMMENTS
Simple solution
Rather than sending the user cash or the new model, why not simply send them a replacement that's the same model as the one they just trashed?
That way they don't get anything out of it, except of course the inconvenience of having trashed their phone and having to wait for a new one.
Perfect plan
Apple likes to get rid of all old models from the shops? That's even better then - simply take all those "obsolete" iPhones that would otherwise have been destroyed and sell them on to the insurance company at a massive discount, to be used as described in Jaymeister's cunning plan. That way everyone wins: the insurance company gets to discourage fraudulent claims, Apple gets a bit of extra cash for stock that would otherwise have been destroyed, and people who leap into two year mobile phone contracts without thinking it through get a valuable lesson.
Maybe the real reason is....
When a new improved model comes out the old one realises actually how shit it is, the fact that it's "just a phone" when it thought it was an "important life choice" and commits suicide?
I can hear them now, little "plops" as the iPhones fall off bridges only punctuated by the larger splashes of the iPad while their owners mumble "what was I thinking? I looked such a cock, I'm a Dom Jolly of the iPhone world".
HELLO, I'M ON THE BUS! NO IT'S SHIT
You don't need an iPhone in jail...
...and happily the UK prison authorities have made a move recently so you CAN'T have one ! Bring on that "inhuman and degrading treatment" for the must-have-it fraudsters...
Seriously misinformed FUD
C'Mon man, if you;re gonna make false claims, at least have a BS link to back it up.
I have an iPhone 2G that's over 2 years old, has been dropped enough times to have scratches and dings all around the metal, not a scratch on the screen, for which i don't even use a screen protector, and it's still getting 90% or better it's advertised battery life. My 3GS which was bought mere days after release is in pristine condition, and also gets 90+% of it's battery life. These things are near bullet proof, unless you torque the screen by sitting on it. No moving parts, hermetically sealed, solid metal construction, few build a hardier device, and I've never met ANYONE who argues that until you. The LiPo batteries that have 5000+ life cycle charges in the iPhones are far superior to the Li-Ion in most phones, and don;t have explosive risks either (2G had Li-Ion). Also, the connector ports are metal in-cased, not plastic, and you;re FAR less likely to damage it by dropping it with headphones or a charging cable attached.
I've had a number of PDAs and Smartphones. The Palm devices rarely lasted 18 months before needing warranty service. RIM were not much better. Any device with a removable battery would break the connector that held it in after a few hard drops and I'd need to buy a new one (not to mention ejecting the battery across the room/road). The keyboards would gum up and need cleaning regularly too.
I've owned and serviced a lot of Apple product. Short of common component failures beyond their control (A Western Digital HDD in a Mac is as likely to fail in a PC), they build with higher durability and quality from day 1, include heartier power supplies and superior motherboards that handle voltage irregularities better, and overall QUALITY is what Apple is KNOWN for.
Apple devices hold as much as 50% of their retail value 4 years in, and are priced nearly identical and often CHEAPER than competing class equipment; and currently undercut Dell's price in every model from the Mac Pro to the mini with the exception of the 17" MBP. No there's not $400 Mac, with good reason, NO ONE sells a machine with a GPU and this build quality at that price, not a single vendor. The "Mac Tax" has been a forgotten myth for years, and assholes like you refuse to accept that.
