Cell phones have become an extension of daily life, since we store financial, personal, work and even leisure information on them, however, only 8.8% of the population invest in insuring their smartphone in case of theft or damage, according to the consultancy The Ciu.
Ernesto Piedras, general director of TheCiu consultancy, points out that, despite the importance that mobile devices have acquired in the daily life of consumers, there is still no insurance or forecast culture in case of theft or damage. The lack of education on digital issues and the low awareness of the importance of protecting the information stored on smartphones are factors that contribute to this low insurance penetration.
“We need to induce an education and induction mechanism towards this assurance because all the information we store there is like leaving bills in an open window,” said the specialist. “We have photographs of family members, bank details, passwords, open applications and despite this we see that there is still no habit to protect all that information”, he adds.
The study “Habits of mobile consumers in Mexico 2019” carried out by the Deloitte consultancy revealed that 32% of users were interested in buying some type of policy for their mobile device due to the type of information that consumers keep in said devices. Additionally, iPhone users showed greater interest in protecting their phones compared to Android users, with 35% and 27% purchasing insurance, respectively.
This trend in interest in contracting insurance for smartphones occurs at a time when users are increasingly investing in higher-end devices, with an average cost of 4,500 pesos and up, seeking to keep the same device for a longer period.