Insurance coverage for mobile phones proposed

There is now a proposed law that would mandate mobile phone network service providers
to offer insurance coverage for mobile phones.
Rep. Eric L. Olivarez (1
st
istrict! "ara#a$ue %it&' is author of () *+,+ or -The .obile
"hone /nsurance 0ct1.
1.obile phone insurance ma& seem trivial at first! but considering the prevalence of
snatching! robber& and theft in the countr&! especiall& in .etro .anila where almost all people
own mobile phones and ma2orit& of said owners have high end models! surel& mobile phone
insurance can be a good cost3saving solution for the public!1 Olivarez argued.
Olivarez pointed out the increasing number of people availing of monthl& plans for their
high end mobile phones and gadgets and! whether the& have the phone in the possession or not!
the& still are liable for the 4* months line rental.
-5etting one6s phone stolen! broken! destro&ed or otherwise lost can be such a hassle and
can cause unnecessar& e7penditures on the part of the user!1 the author said! adding that -insuring
one6s phone is a simple wa& to protect oneself against the e7pense and inconvenience of having
to replace mobile phones.1
(e further pointed out that in man& countries! the& alread& re$uired their respective
carriers to offer mobile phone insurance to their customers or clientele.
-/n the "hilippines! however! little is known or heard of this kind of insurance and the
benefit of which is not being emphasized enough to help mobile phone users make a well3
informed decision regarding the same!1 Olivarez added.
Records from 8anuar& to 9ovember in 4,,: alone! the 9ational Telecommunications
%ommission said it received a total of ;1+ actual cases of missing cellular phones! a figure 1,
percent higher compared to the previous &ear.
/n the same &ear! .etro .anila registered the highest number of cases at <;=. The total
figure does not even include numerous unreported incidents of cell phone losses.
-The said statistics have been constantl& increasing as the &ears went b&! reaching more
than 1!=,, cases of reported missing phones for the &ear 4,1+! with .etro .anila still being the
area with the highest cases considering its population and the lifest&le of the people!1 Olivarez
added.
The bill is now under consideration b& the %ommittee on Transportation chaired b& Rep.
%esar >. ?armiento (Lone istrict! %atanduanes'. (+,' dpt
NR # 3474B
MAY 22, 2014