Nokia and New India Assurance launch handset insurance plan

Nokia India today announced a partnership with New India Assurance (NIA), a leading public sector  general insurance company. The partnership will provide Nokia’s consumers a handset insurance plan to safeguard them against risks of mobile handset loss and damage. This includes thefts, burglary, malicious acts, riots among others, as well as damage that is beyond the purview of the consumer’s standard warranty.

Starting from a minimum premium of Rs 50, the plan will cost 1.25% of the purchased handset’s value. To avail themselves of this insurance plan, consumers purchasing their handsets from a Nokia Branded Retail Store have to provide a few personal details and receive their insurance certificate and payment receipt.

The plan will be available from March 14, 2013 on all Nokia devices purchased through Nokia Branded Retail stores across the country, initially in Delhi and the National Capital Region, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Cochin.

 Kannan Gopalakrishnan, Director, Retail, Nokia India, “The mobile phones has today emerging as the consumers most preferred personal device and users are consistently increasing their investment in new technology. As India moves from being a volume to a value market, consumers are willing to pay more for their mobile phones. The NIA insurance plan is aimed at safeguarding Nokia consumers against the angst caused by loss, theft or damage of their devices, while offering them an affordable and effective solution to protect their investments. We believe with the changing consumer landscape and the growing penetration of smartphones in India, this plan is sure to see strong uptake amongst our consumers.”

In order to enhance consumer experience further, New India Assurance and Nokia have mutually agreed and tied up with an IRDA licensed insurance broker, who will facilitate the plan by way of Value Added Services to Nokia consumers. Consumers can avail of these services at an additional fee of Rs 50 per device irrespective of the device cost. In order to report claims with NIA, customers have to contact the call centre managed by the insurance broker. The value added services include -

Free pickup and drop services in six cities, viz., Delhi & NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad  Chennai and Kolkata. This includes free pick up (within 24 hours of a call being registered) and drop of the device in case of damage, or of documents in case of loss or theft. In case of thefts, consumers will need to file a written report with police authorities and report the loss of SIM to the concerned network service provider and acknowledgement to be furnished.

Cashless service will allow claimants to submit their devices at the nearest authorised service centre and have their claims processed. If the damage is within purview of insurance, the device will be repaired and be delivered back to the consumer at his door step.

In the interim period, consumers will also be provided with standby handsets and chargers.