The latest 3gs iphone models are not a low value pieces of technology, there is also a marked difference in the price between the two memory size versions, being the 16 gb and the 32gb versions of probably the most popular phone in the world. I personally believe that Apple have managed to keep the price of the iPhone at an artificially high price to help keep their flagship product as a desirable item.

When you take out a Iphone contract with your network provider, you will have received your Iphone free of charge, or, heavily subsidised by your network provider. They are able to do this as you have agreed a contract with them which will guarantee them 18 to 24 months of exclusive future business for them, where you have agreed to pay them a minimum monthly fee for the full term of the contract. This can be a considerable sum of guaranteed revenue for the network over the coming months or even years.

If for what ever reason you needed to replace your Iphone, such as theft or accidental damage, you would find that your network provider will not offer you another subsidised iPhone as a replacement, unless you were in the last couple of months of your term of contract.
Instead, you will be left to foot the full retail price for a replacement model. It’s worth mentioning at this point, that if a new model was introduced in this time frame, the value of the new model is just about guaranteed to be substantially higher than your current models value, bear in mind that your current model may well be discontinued, so your only option would be to purchase the very latest model at the full perceived retail price.

To protect yourself against the financial penalty of replacing your Iphone, many people choose to add their Iphone to a home contents insurance policy. In some cases this can prove to be an ideal solution, but, this really does depend on your insurance provider and I would advise you check really hard that the following will not apply to you first.

Firstly, check out if there is an extra fee to pay for a single valuable item, as some insurers may charge you a fee to add your iPhone to your contents policy, this cost may be more than a stand alone iPhone insurance policy would cost for 12 months of cover.
Secondly, check the excess fee you would have to pay in the event that you did make a claim, as again, it is quite possible that the excess fee could again cost more money than a specialised independent Iphone insurance policy would cost in the first place.

The third and could well prove to be the most costly item, would be to check that if you made a claim for your iPhone on your contents policy, would you loose your no claims bonus, or would your premium for your household and or contents insurance increase the following year. I have seen reports on the internet that some people have had large premium increases after making a claim for a relatively low valued item and it could be for more than a year!

So just by checking the terms and conditions of your home and contents or iphone insurance policy could save you some of your hard earned cash and you know exactly where you would stand in the event you needed to make a claim for your iPhone.