Nokia India has announced a unique partnership with New India Assurance (NIA), wholly owned by the Govt. of India. The partnership will provide Nokia’s consumers the benefits of a highly affordable and comprehensive 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. The insurance plan also covers accidental damage to the exterior/interior components, damage caused by external impact on the device due to dropping and damage caused by accidental entry of fluid in the device’s internal circuitry.
Starting from a minimum insurance premium of just Rs. 50/-, the plan will cost 1.25% of the purchased handset’s value. To avail 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, handout and payment receipt at the store itself.
The plan will be available March 14, 2013 onwards 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.
In order to enhance the consumer experience further, New India Assurance and Nokia have mutually agreed and tied up with an IRDA Licensed “Insurance Broker”, which is facilitating and administering the plan by way of providing Value Added Services exclusively 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 New India Assurance Company Limited, 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. 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.
- Standby devices and chargers: In the interim period, consumers will also be provided with standby handsets and chargers.
The above arrangement between Nokia and The New India Assurance company was necessitated because in 2012, 43 per cent Indians have had their mobile phone lost or stolen, with the majority (59 per cent) losing it, as per Norton Mobile Survey of 2012.
