Whether it’s an iPad for the flight, a Kindle for the poolside or a nice camera to capture your trip, taking electronic devices overseas with you is practically essential in this day and age.
Travelling with such valuables exposes them to risks they might not otherwise face. From damage to theft and loss, there are any number of things that could go wrong, leaving you to foot the bill for replacements.
That is, unless you have an insurance policy which protects your devices against such mishaps.
There are two main options for gadget travel insurance. You either take out a travel insurance policy that includes cover for your devices, or you take out a standalone gadget insurance policy which offers overseas cover.
Coverage varies from one travel insurance policy to the next, which means some will protect your phone and other devices as standard, while others will charge extra for protection. And, even when a policy does provide cover for your gadgets, there will be limits to the protection it affords you.
For example, Post Office offers a gadget upgrade to its travel insurance policy for an additional fee which covers everything from phones to drones. However, the policy won’t pay out if your phone is stolen from your accommodation as a result of not being locked in a safety deposit box.
Meanwhile, Staysure’s optional gadget cover protects an unlimited number of gadgets against risks such as accidental loss, theft, accidental or malicious damage and liquid damage – but only up to £2,000 per item. If you were travelling with high-end photography equipment, it’s entirely possible your gear would exceed this amount.
These limits and exclusions are set out in each provider’s policy wording documents, and usually on their websites. If you’re in the market for a travel insurance policy, it’s important to check these documents and consider whether the policy you’re looking at is sufficient to cover the gadgets you’re planning on taking.
Specialist protection
The second option is to buy a gadget insurance policy to sit alongside your travel insurance policy, and there are many gadget insurance policies that offer worldwide protection for your gadgets.
Protect Your Bubble offers worldwide cover against damage, theft and loss for an iPhone 14, Apple Watch and Kindle e-reader for around £16 per month. CoverCloud offers similar cover for around £17 per month.
If you’re only planning one or very few trips overseas this year, it might be more cost effective to add gadget cover to a single-trip travel insurance policy rather than buying a gadget insurance policy designed to cover you all year round.
Whichever you choose, the important thing is to carefully vet the provider’s policy wording documents to see what’s included and excluded before you buy.
Also, whatever quotes you get from a provider, consider how the prices compare to the cost of replacing, for example, a stolen iPhone 14. It’s likely that the cost of cover will be multiples lower than the new handset.
