Nokia India and New India Assurance have joined hands to provide a ‘one of its kind’ handset insurance plan to buyers of new phones from Nokia branded retail stores in 10 cities.
This handset insurance plan will be available from Thursday at 143 Nokia branded retail stores in 10 cities to start with, Kannan Gopalakrishnan, Director-Retail, Nokia India, said here on Tuesday. The cities where the value-added service is being rolled out are Delhi and National Capital Region, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kochi.
Gopalakrishnan said this plan would cover every device in the Nokia portfolio and sold through Nokia brand stores. “We see handset insurance as a big differentiator. Our desire will be to scale it up as quickly as possible. As a first step, we are announcing 10 cities as a differentiator,” he said.
On the importance of insurance for handsets, he said many people in India lose their mobile phones. Last year, 43 per cent Indians either lost their mobile phones or it was stolen, with the majority (59 per cent) losing it, the Norton Mobile Survey 2012 showed.
Nokia consumers can safeguard themselves against risks of mobile handset loss and damage through the handset insurance plan, Gopalakrishnan said.
The plan will cover Nokia devices against third party threatening to use violence resulting in damage or theft of device. It will also cover among other things loss of device through housebreaking and theft by violence.
Starting from a minimum insurance premium of just Rs 50, the plan will cost 1.25 per cent of the purchased handset’s value.
The insurance cover will be valid for one year from the date of purchase, said Segar Sampathkumar, General Manager, The New India Assurance Co Ltd.
Gopalakrishnan said insurance was not renewable beyond the first year of purchase. “Our tie-up with New India protects you for the first year of purchase.”