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Should I take out dongle insurance?

Our Broadband Expert says...

Mobile broadband, put simply, is broadband on-the-go. When you sign up to a mobile broadband provider, they will supply you with a USB modem, or dongle, which you can plug into any computer or laptop, and use to connect to the internet wherever you are.

When it comes to insuring your dongle though, it can get complicated. My guide below should help answer a few of you questions:

Vodafone mobile broadband

Vodafone (www.vodafone.co.uk) currently offers a wide range of mobile broadband deals, including 1 month, 12 month, 18 month and 24 month contracts:

I gather from your question that when you signed up to their 18 month contract, Vodafone offered you the option to insure your mobile broadband USB dongle for £6.95 a month, and you felt pressured by the sales person into taking out the policy.

While I cast no aspersions about the sales team at Vodafone, customer services teams can be persuasive when it comes to selling you extra products, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the product they are pushing is best for you. There are plenty of alternatives if you don’t want to take out the policy.

Mobile broadband insurance alternatives

If you don’t want to sign up to the insurance your mobile broadband provider offers (which although should be fully comprehensive, can also be pricey) there are a few other options available to you to protect your USB from loss, theft or damage.

You may find that your dongle is already covered with your home contents insurance, as some policies will also cover possessions outside the home (as mobile broadband is mobile, you’ll probably be using it everywhere). Direct Line for example, allow you to sign up to the policy extra ‘Personal Possessions,’ which covers your personal effects and valuables, including cash and credit cards, laptops and iPods, outside the home. It’s always worth reading your home contents policy summary before taking out insurance on any new product, as you may already be covered.

The other option you have is to take out an insurance policy with somebody else to cover your USB dongle. Insure-your-mobile.co.uk offers insurance packages to cover your dongle priced from just £2.49 a month.

Using another dongle

While Vodafone claims that buying another dongle could cost as much as £600, I feel this may be a bit of an exaggeration. If you’re not covered by insurance and your USB is stolen or damaged, it shouldn’t cost too much to replace it.

Like a mobile phone, mobile broadband works with a SIM card. If you lose this you will have to phone up Vodafone, or whoever is your mobile broadband provider, and ask them to send you a new SIM. These are normally reasonably priced.

You will then have to get a replacement dongle to put it in: you could buy this from an electrical retailer selling laptops and computer equipment, such as Currys, or from a provider with a pay as you go deal, though it may be locked to a particular provider. They normally retail at between £40 and £250. You may have to get this ‘unlocked’ though, which may add a little more to the cost.

The alternative is finding one on eBay, like you said in your email. However, as with any purchase from the online auction website, you run the risk of buying something that is not exactly what you want or need, and not being able to return it.

What do I suggest?

Before you take out Vodafone’s policy, I recommend adding up the cost of everything to see if the insurance is actually worth the money. If it is £6.95 a month, for 18 months, that comes to £125.10. If a new dongle (pay as you go) is only going to cost you £50 or so, the insurance is not worth it. Other insurance policies may be cheaper though, so it is worth checking to see if you can find another provider to cover you.

However, if your USB is covered by your contents cover anyway, there is no point in forking out for extra insurance.

Hope this helps you to decide what to do.

NB Best buy tables (orange background) are always current.

Examples in the text of the article (white background) are correct at time of publication.

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