Cellphone insurance covers your phone for theft, loss, accidental damage and water damage, anywhere in the world. At King Price, cellphone insurance is added to your portable possessions policy, which means your phone is itemised on your schedule and protected the moment it leaves your house, your hand or your pocket. With the average new flagship phone costing more than a month’s salary, cover that pays out quickly is the easiest way to avoid swallowing the full cost yourself.
What is cellphone insurance?
Cellphone insurance is a type of cover that pays to repair or replace your phone if it is stolen, lost, damaged accidentally or damaged by water. It sits under your portable possessions policy, alongside laptops, watches and jewellery. Because phones travel with you, they need their own line on your schedule and their own monthly premium.
What is portable possessions insurance?
Portable possessions insurance covers the valuables you carry with you every day. Items like phones, laptops, cameras, watches, glasses and bicycles are protected against accidental damage, theft and loss, anywhere in the world. At King Price, items worth more than R2,000 should be specified individually on your policy.
What is an IMEI number?
IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity. It is a unique 15-digit number that identifies your specific handset. You can find it by dialling *#06# on your phone. King Price uses your IMEI to confirm the exact phone you are claiming for matches the one on your schedule.
What you will learn
- Why cellphones must be specified separately and are not covered by home contents
- What the brand-new cover option pays out for
- The IMEI rule that catches a lot of clients off guard
- How to claim if your phone is stolen or lost
- How to make sure you are not under-insured
How does cellphone insurance work at King Price?
Cellphone cover is added on top of an existing King Price policy. You list the phone on your schedule with its full replacement value, the IMEI number gets recorded, and you pay an extra monthly premium for that specific phone. The moment the phone is paid up and on cover, it is protected worldwide.
Here is the process step by step:
- Get a quote and add cellphone cover to a King Price portable possessions policy.
- Provide the phone’s make, model, IMEI number and replacement value.
- Pay the additional monthly premium for that phone.
- Use the phone (a call or an SMS) at least once after cover starts so it is recognised on the network.
- If something goes wrong, register the claim through the King Price app or website.
You can cover more than one phone on the same policy. So if your partner, your teenager and your mom are all on a family plan, you can specify each handset separately.
What does cellphone insurance cover?
King Price’s brand-new cellphone cover option pays out for these events:
- Theft. Your phone is taken from you, your bag, your car or your home.
- Loss. You leave it in an Uber, on a beach, in a restaurant or anywhere else.
- Accidental damage. You drop it on a tile floor, sit on it, slam it in a car door.
- Water damage. It goes for a swim in the bath, the sink, the pool or the kitchen tap.
If the phone can be repaired, King Price arranges the repair. If it cannot, you get a brand-new replacement phone. There were two other cover options in the past, called like-new and screen-fix, but King Price is no longer selling those to new clients. Brand-new is the current active option.
What is not covered
Cellphone insurance has some firm rules. Cover does not apply if:
- The IMEI on your phone does not match the IMEI on your schedule.
- The phone (with that IMEI) has not been used since cover started, with at least one call or SMS on the SIM.
- You changed phones or SIM cards but did not tell King Price before claiming.
- The damage was caused intentionally by you or someone in your household.
- The phone is owned by your company or someone else, not you.
That last one matters. You can insure a phone under King Price for personal use AND business use, but only if the phone belongs to you. If your employer owns it, it is their job to insure it.
Cellphone insurance cost in South Africa
Premiums depend on the phone’s make, model, replacement value and your risk profile (factors like where you live and how you have claimed before). A R5,000 mid-range Android will cost you a fraction of what an R30,000 flagship iPhone or Samsung will cost to insure. Premiums are paid monthly and reviewed annually.
A few cost realities worth knowing:
- The premium is calculated on the full cost of replacing the phone with a new one, not what you paid two years ago.
- Each cellphone has its own excess structure, set out in your policy schedule.
- Insure for less than replacement value and your claim is paid proportionately. Under-insuring to save R20 a month often costs you thousands at claim time.
Pros and cons of cellphone insurance
Pros:
- Replaces a stolen, lost or broken phone without you having to find R20,000 to R30,000 cash.
- Covers you worldwide, including overseas trips.
- Pays out for theft, loss, accidental damage and water damage on one policy.
- Available for personal AND business use, on phones you own.
Cons:
- Adds a monthly premium to your overall insurance cost.
- Strict IMEI and SIM rules mean a small admin slip can leave you without cover.
- Phones must be specified individually, so admin builds up if you cover several.
Common mistakes people make with cellphone insurance
- Assuming home contents covers it. It does not. Cellphones must be specified on a portable possessions policy. Even sitting on your kitchen counter, the phone is not covered until it is on the schedule.
- Insuring the phone for what they paid, not replacement value. A R25,000 phone bought on contract two years ago still costs R25,000-plus to replace today. Under-insure and the claim payout drops proportionately.
- Forgetting to update King Price after an upgrade. New phone, new IMEI. If you upgrade and do not update the schedule, the old IMEI is on cover and the new phone is not.
- Changing the SIM or phone number without telling King Price. This must happen before you claim, not after. Otherwise the phone is not covered.
- Never using the phone after cover starts. Cover only kicks in once the phone has been used (call or SMS) on the registered SIM after the policy started. Buy a phone, leave it in the box, claim later, that is going to fail.
Tips to get the most out of cellphone cover
- Note the IMEI number the day you take out cover and keep a photo of it somewhere safe.
- Insure the phone for the full retail replacement value, including VAT.
- Make at least one call or send an SMS within 24 hours of cover starting.
- If you upgrade, update your King Price schedule the same day.
- Set up Find My iPhone or Find My Device. It will not stop a thief, but it helps police and supports your claim.
- Save the King Price number 0860 50 50 50 in your phone (and in your partner’s phone) for emergencies.
- If your phone is stolen with your SIM in it, blacklist the SIM with your service provider straight away.
Cellphone insurance checklist
Before you claim, make sure you have:
- The IMEI number of the phone (the one on cover)
- The blacklist reference number from your service provider
- A police case number for theft or loss
- Your King Price policy number
- Photos of the damaged phone (for accidental or water damage claims)
- Proof you have used the phone since cover started
When you should consider cellphone insurance
- You spent R8,000 or more on your phone.
- You commute, travel for work or use ride-hailing apps regularly.
- You take your phone to the gym, the beach, restaurants and braais (so basically everywhere).
- You have kids who borrow it, or it has fallen victim to little hands once already.
- You rely on your phone for work, banking and authentication apps.
If your phone going missing for a week would derail your life, you need cover.
How to claim a stolen or lost cellphone
Follow these five steps in this order:
- Blacklist the phone with your service provider (Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Telkom Mobile or Rain). Get a reference number.
- Report the theft or loss to the police and get a case number. The police will need the blacklist reference number, so do step 1 first.
- Register the claim via the King Price app, the website or by calling 0860 50 50 50. Have your blacklist reference and police case number ready.
- Arrange a new SIM card with your service provider. King Price handles the phone, but the SIM is on you.
- Submit any extra info the claims team asks for, like your IMEI history.
All claims must be reported within 30 days of the incident.
How to claim a damaged or water-damaged cellphone
- Take photos of the damage from a few angles.
- Register the claim via the King Price app, the website or by calling 0860 50 50 50.
- Hand the phone in for assessment when the claims team requests it.
- King Price arranges the repair, or pays out a brand-new replacement if the phone is beyond economical repair.
Real world example
A graphic designer in Joburg has an iPhone 15 Pro on her King Price portable possessions policy, insured for the full replacement value of R28,000. On a Friday night, she leaves the phone on a restaurant table and only realises it is gone two hours later. By Saturday morning she has blacklisted the SIM with Vodacom, registered a case number at her local SAPS, and lodged the claim through the King Price app with both reference numbers attached. Mid-week, the claim is approved and a brand-new replacement phone arrives. Total time off the network: about four days, in line with King Price’s average phone claim turnaround of 5 days.
Cellphone insurance vs handset insurance vs network cover
| Cover type | Where you get it | What it usually covers | Worldwide? |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Price cellphone insurance | Add-on under portable possessions | Theft, loss, accidental damage, water damage | Yes |
| Network handset insurance | Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Telkom | Theft and accidental damage on the contract phone | Often limited |
| Bank or store add-ons | Some banks and electronics stores | Varies, often cracked screen and theft only | Often local only |
Reading the fine print matters. Some network and bank options exclude loss entirely, only cover the contract phone, or pay out a like-for-like refurbished unit instead of a new one.
Related topics
- Portable possessions insurance: what to specify and what not to
- Laptop and tablet insurance under portable possessions
- How King Price’s claims process works
- Insurance lingo 101: excess, IMEI, replacement value and more
Frequently asked questions
No. Cellphones, bicycles, hearing aids, drones, contact lenses and prescription glasses are never covered under home contents at King Price. Even if your phone is stolen from your bedside table, you need it specified on a portable possessions policy for the claim to pay out.
The premium depends on your phone's make, model, replacement value and your personal risk profile. A R5,000 phone costs much less to insure than a R30,000 flagship. Get a quote from King Price on 0860 50 50 50 or via kingprice.co.za to see the exact monthly premium for your phone.
Your phone is only covered if the IMEI on the actual handset matches the IMEI on your King Price policy schedule, AND the phone has been used (a call or an SMS) on its SIM at some point after cover started. If you upgrade or swap phones, update the IMEI on your policy before you claim.
The average phone claim turnaround at King Price is 5 days, based on January 2026 figures. Faster claims happen when your blacklist reference, police case number and IMEI are all submitted upfront.
Only if you own it. You can use a personally owned phone for work purposes (income-generating use is allowed for phones, laptops and tablets you own) and still claim under your King Price policy. If your employer owns the phone, your employer needs to insure it.
Both. King Price's brand-new cellphone cover option pays out for theft, loss, accidental damage and water damage. Loss includes leaving your phone in a taxi, a restaurant or on the train.
Yes. Like all specified portable possessions at King Price, cellphone cover is worldwide. So a phone stolen in Mauritius is treated the same as one stolen in Mbombela.
Summary
- Cellphone insurance at King Price falls under portable possessions and covers theft, loss, accidental damage and water damage.
- Home contents will never cover your phone, even at home. Phones must be specified individually.
- The IMEI on the phone must match the IMEI on the schedule, and the phone must be used (call or SMS) at least once after cover starts.
- Insure for full replacement value to avoid a proportional payout.
- King Price phone claims are paid in an average of 5 days.
How King Price can help
If you want cellphone cover that pays out for theft, loss, drops and dunkings, King Price has it ready to add to a portable possessions policy. Get a quote at insurance.kingprice.co.za, on the King Price app, or call or WhatsApp 0860 50 50 50, and one of the king’s court will sort it out from there.
