Are people in the UK cutting back on gadget insurance as winter bills and inflation take their toll? It seems so. The latest data for insurtech EIP says the average number of UK policy cancellations between the five months of May 2021 and September 2021 versus the same period for 2022 (i.e. May 2022 to September 2022) has increased by 33%.
But EIP see this as something of a blip. “Some of the increase in policy cancellations may well be down to a return to pre-pandemic norms,” the company notes, adding “particularly when you consider that the number of UK customers taking device insurance is still seeing an overall net growth.”
The full article from EIP is here by the way.
One trend that may be causing the cancellations is that people are holding onto their phones, laptops and games consoles for longer. Partly that is down to the abilities of modern smartphones, tablets etc which makes upgrading seem a bit pointless, unless you really, really, need super duper 4K screens and the latest photo editing software built in, rather than downloading an app.
But there is another factor and that is the new religion of climate change, which has millions of converts, many of whom are under 35 years old. They see recycled, refurbished tech as being inherently better than new stuff; fewer product miles, no slave mining for minerals etc. They have a point.
But for insurance brands, the harsh truth is that if a refurbished smartphone only costs £10 per month for data and has an actual replacemetn value of about £50-£100, many people won’t insure it, not worth it.
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