A report by a UK insurance company says phony claims for iPhones soar every time a new model launches.
Since the November 2007 launch of the first gen iPhone in the UK to the iPhone 3gs, claims on iPhones increase by 50% during the month after a new model is launched, Supercover Insurance director Carmi Korine said in a statement. Her company estimates that four out of 10 of those increased claims are abruptly-mangled iPhones that owners hope to have replaced with the latest model.
“While most customers take out insurance because they value their iPhone, we started to notice increases in claims as new and upgraded iPhones were launched.
“For short periods around new model or upgrade launches, claims for lost, stolen or damaged iPhones go through the roof.
“The issue appears to be that most iPhone owners can only go for so long realising that they’re a generation behind the latest must-have spec before they resort to extreme measures.”
It might be worth faking the break: Korine notes that although 40% of the claims received after a new iPhone model launch were suspicious the company rejected about 25%.
Just don’t be too obvious: the insurer requires that you send in the phone. One over-zealous early adopter claimed the phone had been “dropped” when he or she had evidently driven a car over it.
