Nationwide mobile phone insurance

Nationwide offers mobile phone insurance cover as part of its FlexPlus account. We looked at what the policy includes and how you go about making a claim.

Who is Nationwide?

Nationwide is the world’s largest building society, with over 15 million members. It offers a range of banking and financial services, as well as home and life insurance.

Mobile phone insurance from Nationwide is provided by Assurant General Insurance Limited, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and authorised and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority.

What are the types of cover available?

Mobile phone cover from Nationwide is available as a freebie with the bank’s FlexPlus account. The account also includes travel insurance and breakdown cover for a £18 monthly fee.

Cover limits

Nationwide’s FlexPlus mobile phone insurance includes cover for the following elements:

• Loss
• Theft
• Damage
• Worldwide cover
• Breakdown (including faults)
• Unauthorised network charges up to £2,000 for pay-monthly contract phones, and up to £250 for pay-as-you-go phones in the event they are lost or stolen
• No limit on the number of phones you can register for cover
• A maximum of four successful claims in any 12-month period
• Cover for mobile phones up to a maximum value of £1,500
• Cover for accessories which are involved in the same incident as the handset, up to £250 per claim

Claims process

To make a claim for mobile phone insurance with Nationwide, you’ll need to take the following steps:

• Go to the Nationwide website and log in to your account to start the claim process – you can create an account if you don’t already have one. You can also claim by calling 0800 11 88 55.
• You will need to register the phone details if you haven’t done so already.
• You will need to provide as much detail about what happened as you can.
• To claim for theft, you will need to obtain a crime reference number from the police.
• You will need to have a debit or credit card handy to pay your excess.

If you’re making a claim for a damaged or faulty iPhone, you’ll need to remove your Find My iPhone account from the handset as part of the claim process.

Managing your policy online

As a Nationwide customer, you get access to an online account where you can manage your policy, view your documents and make a claim.

How to contact

You can contact Nationwide’s customer service team by calling 0800 11 88 55. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am-8pm, and Saturday and Sunday 9am–6pm.

You can also write to:
Lifestyle Services Group Limited
PO Box 98
Blyth
NE24 9DL

Customer reviews

Online customer reviews are for Nationwide as a bank.

On Trustpilot, Nationwide has 1.8 out of 5 stars and a rating of “Bad”, based on more than 6,500 reviews.

Things are a little brighter on Reviews.io, where Nationwide has 2.2 out of 5 stars based on more than 190 reviews, with 30% of customers saying they would recommend the bank.

Customers praise the helpful service, but many complain it takes a very long time to get through to customer service on the phone.

Pros and cons

Verdict

Mobile phone cover from Nationwide is fairly comprehensive – it includes loss and theft cover as standard and cover is available worldwide. However, you only get four successful claims per year.

The policy comes free with a FlexPlus account, so, if you have one of those, it’s a no brainer – the cover on offer should be sufficient.

If you don’t have an existing account and you’re only after insurance for your phone, you will probably be able to get better cover for less money elsewhere. However, as the FlexPlus account comes with additional benefits, such as travel insurance and breakdown cover, you should weigh up everything on offer and decide if the £18 monthly fee would be worth it for your needs.

Frequently asked questions

• How do I claim on my Nationwide phone insurance?

  To make a claim on your insurance, you’ll need to log in to your online account and go through the claims process. Alternatively, you can call the Nationwide team on 0800 11 88 55.

  You’ll need to supply as much detail as possible, including a crime reference number from the police for theft claims. Have a debit or credit card handy to pay your excess with.

• How much does it cost?

  Mobile phone insurance from Nationwide comes free with a FlexPlus account, which costs £18 per month. The account also includes travel insurance and breakdown cover.

• Do I have to have a Nationwide bank account to get mobile phone insurance?

  Yes. Mobile phone insurance from Nationwide comes free with the bank’s FlexPlus account, so you will have to open one before cover can be offered.

Written by

Ronny Lavie

Editor

Ronny Lavie was a deputy editor at Finder, specialising in insurance content. She has almost a decade of experience writing about financial topics, including five months spent as the interim managing editor for the Fintech Times newspaper. Ronny has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from London Middlesex University. See full bio