They’re the UK’s cheapest iPhone insurance policy (along with Insurance2Go who are also priced at £4.99). Hey, I’m a cheapskate I’ll admit it. Why pay more than you need to is my policy. Why is why I’ve been assigned the task of reviewing Better Buy Insurance’s iPhone policy.(Or BBI as I’m going to have to start calling them as that really is a mouthful.)
BBI are a mobile phone insurance specialist. According to their website (www.betterbuyinsurance.co.uk), BBI offer up to £600 worth of mobile phone cover. So, perfect for iPhones. At £4.99 per month, they offer one of the cheapest policies out there (see our big iPhone insurance guide for details of the others) and, actually, in terms of features (cover for theft, breakdown, travel cover etc) they’re up there with the most expensive policies. You can actually get them slightly cheaper £4.17 per month if you’re willing to get insurance without loss, but personally I think I’m quite likely to lose my phone so I would definitely keep it in).
My mission (which in true Tom Cruise style I chose to accept) was to find out whether at £4.99 they’re an absolute bargain, or whether there’s a reason they’re so cheap.
The facts…
- Pricewise (£4.99 per month), BBI have one of the cheapest iPhone insurance policies available in the UK (that I could find)
- Cover for:
- Theft
- Damage
- Water/Liquid Damage
- Loss - 30 days travel cover (this was average, but some companies offered 60 days and some even 90 days)
- No minimum contract
Full details and terms and conditions can be found on their website, betterbuyinsurance.co.uk
Other Important Points:
Better Buy Insurance’s excess is as follows:
- Damage: The first £50 of a claim
- Theft or Loss: The first £75 of a claim
Customer Service & Reviews
Reviews for Better Buy Insurance were mixed. It’s hard to know which reviews are genuine and which aren’t with insurance companies, as competitors seem to try to sabotage each other quite aggressively. They do have a Facebook page however which we checked out. Lots of people ‘like’ them (in Facebook terms) so that’s a good sign, although they were running a lot of competitions (not a bad thing) so perhaps the reason people liked them was to be entered into a draw. Who knows.
One thing that should be pointed out is that BBI have three price tiers: £19.99 per year, £49.99 per year and £59.99 per year. It’s the last policy at £59.99 that I’m recommending as this includes cover for everything. The premium at £49.99 doesn’t include cover for loss and I did notice a few people that had signed up at this level didn’t seem to be aware of this. It is quite clear on their website though, so read the facts people!
In Summary…
Things I liked about Better Buy Insurance:
- They’re cheap (or well-priced) at £4.99.
- They’re mobile phone insurance specialists. It’s always good to use a specialist I think.
- Lots of people seem to like them on Facebook.
- They’ve been in business (insuring mobile phones) for 6 years.
- Most of the reviews I found were very complimentary
I wasn’t so sure about:
- You have to pay on an annual basis (as opposed to a monthly direct debit). Even though you can cancel anytime, I prefer my payments to come out in small chunks.
All in all, the pros outweighed the cons. You can find out more about BBI here (betterbuyinsurance.co.uk) or….if you’ve insured a phone with them, maybe you could leave some feedback in the comments below! That would be really amazing 
