Mobile Insurence Do's N Dont's

What is always lost, but never found? Not an umbrella, anymore. It's your mobile.

It's estimated that 15 mobiles are stolen every one minute in Mumbai. Pickpockets have also become 'mobile' with their mobile-snitching techniques. It's time that you insure your favourite talking gizmo.

Small phones, big covers

A mobile's insurance cover saves against a variety of risks like fire, theft, riots, strikes and terrorist activity. But, many have a more comprehensive coverage bringing within sweep malicious damage, accident and fortuitous circumstances.

Are mobile owners only protected from risks? The United India Insurance Company says that owners or users can be saved from loss or damage risks. But most insurance policies do not give this protection. If you loan your mobile or a friend hires it for a while, the damage, loss or theft incurred during the process cannot be claimed.

Call drops

What is not covered under your mobile insurance scheme?

If there is damage due to war and nuclear peril, the insurance company is not responsible. If there is a holocaust, the assumption is that everyone will run for cover. Obviously, not for insurance cover.

Detention or confiscation by customs or any government authority means mobile insurance is also held back.

Left your mobile in an unattended vehicle? The insurance policy steers clear, of paying claim. However, you can be easily compensated for your mobile if you prove that the mobile instrument was stolen from a fully enclosed car, which was securely locked!

• 
  

A woman, who had mobile snatched by a motor-cyclist, as she was about to cross road got compensation, but one medical shop owner who placed mobile on counter for a moment, turned towards the shelf and found it missing was denied claim.

The reason was he had left it unattended, was negligent and no force was used to steal the cell phone. Carelessness and theft is not one and the same thing.

The list of exclusions is long. Some are man-made, some attributed to nature and some machine-made.

For example, if you overload the mobile, experiment with it involving abnormal conditions or cause loss or damage during cleaning, repair or maintenance the insurance company's responsibility ends.

Where atmospheric or climatic conditions, vermin or fall into water or fall from a water-borne craft damages the mobile, the claim is disallowed. If the mobile suffers damage due to mechanical and electrical breakdowns or has inherent defect, suffers from wear and tear or gradually deteriorates, no claim is entertained.

Some strange ring tones

Hello! If you have taken a general cover, and feel safe from thieves then a shock awaits you. Have you extended protection to misuse of instrument?

If not, then compensation may not be given. Guard against different worded meanings. Terrorist activity and misuse go hand in hand, everybody knows. But, if you just thought terrorists were taken care of, it may be asked whether "misuse" cover has also been paid for.

• How safe are mobile phones?

If the mobile is robbed from premises or property, force should have been used. But, where travelling by public transport a handset must have been forcibly snatched or physically stolen or taken with threatened force. Otherwise, the claim is defeated.

Once a woman was refused mobile insurance because there was no copy of FIR of police complaint. Only a non-cognizable report was lodged that somebody took it away, the insurance company said. The lady took the insurance company to the courts. The court ruled in favour of the consumer, rewarding her Rs 8,700 claim amount and compensation as well.

The premiums people pay

National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company, New India Assurance Company and United India Insurance Company cover mobile phone insurance. They fix compensation equivalent to cost of replacement by new mobile of same specifications and capacity, including all taxes and duties.

If a mobile is worth Rs 7,500, the premium is Rs 150 now. The rate is Rs 20 per value of Rs 1,000 of sum assured. An excess of Rs 2,500 is charged for each and every claim processed.

Where mobile companies provide insurance, there are different schemes. BSNL offers insurance cover on Nokia and Alcatel mobiles for Rs 20 per month. BPL, Reliance and even Nokia had mobile insurance schemes, but all were withdrawn.

• 
  

Some private mobile companies may give free insurance cover but the fine prints says that battery, charger, external aerials, handset are not included, leaving one to wonder what is really covered under such schemes.

These tunes are not good enough

One handy tip for mobile insurance is to take a policy for one year. As mobile rates are falling at a faster rate, premiums also keep becoming lesser and lesser. Nokia 2100, which cost Rs 7,000 initially, now comes for less than Rs 5,000 now.

Take a mobile insurance policy, when you go in for a household, jewellery or burglary cover, because there is scope for negotiation on all.

An office, which gets mobiles of employees insured, is given preference. Volume discount is also handed out, if 25 mobiles are covered.

It is estimated that there are 138 million people using mobiles in India. If you want to hear shrills and trills of the cell phone, not cacophony over insurance claims, know the fine print.

A mobile left on a car's bonnet, roof or in boot is not considered worthy of claim consideration. Guard your handset against such misdemeanours.

One bright suggestion made by a mobile-insurance-affected consumer is that the mobile should be attached to a tag and slung around the neck.

The insurance company also does not pay in case your mobile mysteriously disappears. Keep watching the handset, so that it doesn't, one day, vanish into thin air.

Star Announces Mobile Platform — Plus

Star Mobile Entertainment has announced the launch of its new mobile platform, Plus, to offer a variety of services on all GPRS-enabled mobile phones. Plus will offer television show clips from the Star TV network, TV guide, information services such as city-wise directories, search and Yellow Pages, mobile banking, mobile shopping, sports and movies, on the go. The mobile platform is slated for a commercial release in February.

Television entertainment content will be offered in the form of 'mobisodes' which are re-edited mobile phone versions of TV shows from Star Plus, Star One, and Star Gold, along with content on sports, movies and music. The information services Plus are offered by HDFC bank, MakeMyTrip.com and TravelGuru.com, Infomedia Group and Universal Music.

In addition, consumers will be offered previews of ringtones, wallpapers and games before downloading them. They may also want to be part of the Plus Community will soon allow its members to participate in mobile blogging and other user generated content on Plus. The Plus community currently offers 'Midnight Chat' on Channel [V] and shopping services.

Viren Popli, senior vice president of Star Mobile Entertainment said, "Plus empowers mobile consumers to do more with their mobile phones. The GPRS mobile phone user can now access a wide choice of video content and services such as yellow pages, buyer guides, banking, travel and shopping, among other things. Plus has an easy to navigate menu that takes you where you want to go, quickly and easily. Plus truly brings to life, the anything-anywhere-anytime capability of mobiles." Popli said the objective of Plus is to drive mobile usage in areas other than voice and text.

The application will be free to download on any GPRS enabled mobile phone while users will be required to pay a monthly free for unlimited access to Plus services. However, users will be charged separately for data downloads, such as wallpapers, ringtones etc. Popli said that though they haven't tied up with any mobile operator yet, they are aiming to charge their customers approximately Rs. 2 a day, which is Rs 60 a month as subscription fee. He did not divulge any detail about prices of downloads.

However, Popli mentioned that Plus will offer more options to its customers, after it ties up with multiple mobile operators. He said Plus will also look to offer TV content from other channels in future. Moreover, he said they are already working on the Hindi version of Plus and will introduce other Indian regional languages soon.

Frequent mobile phone use can trigger mouth cancer

London: The use of mobile phones for long periods may trigger mouth cancer, shows a study by researchers in Israel.

Previous studies had generated conflicting results. While some researchers had said they found a link between cancer and excess mobile phone use, a few scientists had rejected the claim.

In the new study, scientists looked at the lifestyles of 402 people with benign mouth tumours and 56 with malignant ones. They were compared to a control group of 1,266 people.

The study found that five years of frequent use increased the chances of developing a tumour in the mouth by around 50 percent compared with people who had never used one, reported the online edition of the Daily Mail.

Those who used mobiles the most were more likely than normal to develop parotid gland tumours, the scientists said.

Google maps for mobile

Google has released version 2.0 of 'Google Maps for mobile', its innovative mobile mapping- and local search- application. And, Google Maps for mobile v2.0 is a beta version of the Google "My Location" technology that uses cell tower ID information to provide users with their approximate location, thus helping them determine where they are, what's around them, and how to get there.

GPS technology is the most common source of location information till date. But, it is supported on less than 15 percent mobile phones sold today. Google's "My Location" technology is such that users who don't have GPS-enabled mobile phones, will also be able to get the benefit of location information. "My Location" technology is claimed to be faster than GPS; besides being able to cover the inside of buildings unlike GPS; and results in slower drainage of batteries vis-a-vis GPS. How "My Location" works is by taking information broadcast from cell towers, and sifting through it using Google's algorithms to estimate a user's current location on the map. The "My Location" feature can be disabled if not required. "My Location" technology is available on most smart phones; including all color BlackBerry devices, all Symbian Series 60 3rd Edition devices, most Windows Mobile devices, newer Sony Ericsson devices, and some Motorola devices. Google Maps for mobile with "My Location" can be downloaded by pointing one's mobile or desktop Web browser to www.google.com/gmm. The full range of mobile products/services available from Google is viewable at mobile.google.com. Meanwhile, 'Google Maps for mobile' was first launched in the US in November 2005, and enables users to view interactive maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses, get point-to-point driving directions, and view live traffic updates -- all -- while on the go.


Current user? Wanna share your experience with others? Write your review..

Mobile Manners

The mobiles industry wants as many people as possible to enjoy the benefits of mobile telecommunications and encourages individuals to use their mobile phones in a responsible manner and to be considerate and aware of situations where using their mobile phone might annoy others.

1. When in doubt, always go out
When possible go outside or to another room to make your call if your call might disturb others. Also, features such as text messaging answering services, call diversion and vibration alert can be used to receive important calls without disturbing others.

2. If you cant turn it off, use silent mode
If you need to keep your phone on for important calls, then turn it to silent or vibrate mode. Its the ring of a mobile phone in inappropriate places and times such as at the tennis or in restaurants which annoys people the most.

3. When required turn your phone off and check its off
There are some places where people should never talk on a mobile phone or send text messages and where the ringing of a mobile phone or message alert is considered highly unacceptable, such as: movies, stage shows, weddings, funerals, concerts, speeches, classrooms and lectures. In these cases, turn your phone off and remember to check its off before you enter the venue. You can always check your voicemail, text messages or your answering service afterwards.

4. Keep your conversations private
Peoples sense of personal space varies in each situation. Making a call in a busy pub may be okay, but talking loudly in a confined space like a lift or on a train tends to infringe on others personal space. Be aware of where you are and who you are with and what others are doing before deciding to make or accept a call. In some situations it might be better to send a text message.

5. Speak softly
Mobile phones have very sensitive microphones that can pick even the softest voice, so there is no need to shout. If you are having trouble hearing the other caller, check that you have the volume on your phone set high enough.

6. You dont always have to answer- use your messaging service
Its a natural reflex to answer your phone if it rings, however, if you forget to put your phone on silent or vibrate mode and it rings at an inappropriate moment, send the call to voice mail or your answering service (usually by pressing the hang-up key).

7. Talk to the one you're with
If you receive a call during a conversation, send the call to your voicemail or answering service. Your first priority should be to the person you are with. However, if you are expecting an important call let the person youre with know before the call arrives and excuse yourself before accepting the call.

8. Dont send inappropriate messages
Messaging is a great way to communicate, but dont send offensive or threatening text, voice, picture or any other sort of message, because it is a criminal offence to use a mobile phone to menace or harass someone. Also receivers can save messages and easily identify you as the sender.

9. Respect others' privacy when using in-phone cameras
In-phone cameras shouldnt be used anywhere a normal camera would be considered inappropriate, such as in change rooms or toilets. You should ask for permission before you take someones picture. Also bear in mind that some venues do not allow the use of cameras and may refuse entry to anyone with one.

10. Ban the ring: not the phone
Wherever conversations are normally acceptable, venues can help by asking people to turn their phones to silent or vibrate mode rather than turning it off. This approach will help with compliance, especially for people who need their phone for important calls. Venues can also assist by reminding people to set their phones to silent mode, before they enter.