A lot of companies offer after-sales insurance service, however, Vodafone India has just entered this business with its ‘Vodafone Red Shield’ program. Smartphones don’t come with damage insurance and this is what the company is willing to offer.
Called ‘Red Shield’ program, it offers a protection cover of up to Rs. 50,000 on newly purchased smartphones as well as those that are up to 6 months old. It is an application available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
This service is available only to Vodafone Red prepaid customers, with a validity of one year right now. The insurance cover for your smartphone is being provided through New India Assurance Co Ltd.
“Smartphones have become a way of life and to ensure hard earned money spent by our customers on acquiring expensive handsets remains insured, we’ve launched this first of its kind mobile security offering that builds in a unique combination of features like theft protection, accidental physical & liquid damage, virus protection and many more security features,” said Arvinder Singh Sachdev, Business Head- Kolkata & Rest of Bengal, Vodafone India.
What All is Covered in Insurance?
Vodafone says that this is the first type of insurance that offers insurance against theft and handset damage. The type of damage being talked about is beyond the basic damage on the smartphones we might see. It also comes with malware protection, call blocking and anti-virus protection alongside these features.
Since it is available to postpaid customers, the charges of this insurance will be credited to customer’s monthly bill. Availing this shield program will set the customers back by Rs. 720 a year, or Rs. 60 a month. The premium for this insurance will be borne by Vodafone itself.
Another aspect which makes Vodafone Red Shield unique is that customers can claim insurance cover up to two times in a single year.
How to Avail Vodafone Red Shield Service
To avail this service, Vodafone customers can download Vodafone Red Shield App and then SMS DSS to 199 from their handset. The app will diagnose the mobile handset and approve if it matches the criteria.
The value proposition of this program is quite attractive since it is only Rs. 60 every month and you don’t have to pay the premium either. Vodafone will have a door-to-door pickup and drop service for damaged phones, which is good for working customers.
If you’re a Vodafone postpaid customer and do not want to go for expensive insurances that are pretty much useless, this offer might be the best for you. We hope Airtel and Reliance Jio are listening and launching a similar offer for their customers soon.
It is only for postpaid customers not prepaid.