My Samsung Galaxy was fixed in Jan 2023 by this company. I received the phone and it was working fine until the last few weeks. The phone screen was intermittently switching on and off and the phone was overheating.
I took it to my Samsung repair centre. I was horrified when I got the report of the phone and they refused to repair the phone.
The repair by Assurant used the wrong screws, camera lens were scratched, components not secured properly, battery faulty, glue around the phone.
Verry shabby workmanship.
Rightly or wrongly, that is what happens when the cheapest possible insurer is used (in this case, as part of a packaged account). I wouldn’t trust anyone apart from Apple to repair my phone. I don’t know what it is like on the Android side - do the individual manufactures offer their own protection plans?
Have you contacted Assurant? What do they say about it? In my eyes, they owe you a new phone, but it will be a battle I’m sure!
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Assurant is the company behind Samsung Care+ these days (it used to be Allianz) which makes this quite surprising, I’ve heard about them doing bad jobs on repairs for Apple devices but bundled or not I would have assumed they’d do the job properly for a device made by an OEM they have a direct relationship with.
This. So much this. Packaged accounts are good value on the face of it but when your phone is repaired by a complete cowboy you’ll be thinking twice. This is why I’d much prefer a travel/lifestyle package like Amex Plat over an insurance bundle. I’d much rather pick who I trust with these important things.
I don’t think most manufacturers do anything like Apple Care+. Samsung did something for their Folds and Flips in the beginning but not sure if they have changed the offering.
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And here’s me living on the edge with no packaged account or phone insurance anywhere.
Have heard some fairly bad stories over time.
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This is exactly why I will always go with Apple Care+ with Theft and Loss.
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I have heard people moaning about them taking a month to sort their claim out - and then people at the insurer saying that’s not so long etc.
It might not be long I’ve no idea, never had to get insurance myself yet. But certainly when we used home 
insurance it was very quick.
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I just got my iPhone 12 screen repaired by assurant and have complained to Monzo because:-
- runs far too hot during use
- raise to wake no longer works
- when using the side button to wake there is a significant time lag
- sometimes there are grey and black bars horizontally along the screen whilst FaceID is kicking in. The phone is working but the screen is not, leading me to inadvertently open and use apps.
- often the touch screen stops working and the app I’m using then crashes
- the battery runs out significantly quicker than it used to
- There is now an error message stating the part is not genuine (to be clear this would be fine if the rest of the phone worked!)
Never again. This will cost me a genuine screen replacement plus I’m out the excess.
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Monzo’s insurance is just bad. Criminally so. It really should be illegal to do it this way. Screws you if you use it, wastes your money if you don’t.
Did Apple even touch it and provide a screen repair after that? They have every right to refuse, because Monzo have voided your consumer protections and your warranty with Apple.
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Most third-party phone insurance is; almost every bank uses Assurant. Probably something about cost.
A damaged screen wouldn’t be covered under warranty anyway so it doesn’t matter whether the warranty has been voided or not. They may refuse a service if it’s not been done by an authorised provider given the perceived risk of tampering with the battery.
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It actually depends on the damage. There are certain issues that could be deemed to be defects as opposed to accidental damage in some situations, and in some other cases, they’ll make exemptions at their own discretion.
The rest of your device is also protected by a warranty. A screen repair like this voids it entirely. Your phone could be a month old and have 11 months left under warranty. Nothing will be covered at all after this repair.
Maybe a little bit hyperbolic 
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In fairness to Monzo this is fairly typical of any phone “insurance”. A good few years ago I worked for a high street phone brand which offered phone insurance (think warehouse and Squad) and their policies caused no end of issues in terms of poor quality repairs etc.
I think in honestly these days I’d just walk into Apple and pay for the repair. Loss is clearly different.
But what I’m really really saying is while Monzos phone insurance is poor, it’s no worse than any other similar offering. Which is a shame.
Premium could be so much more but it’s just a lowest denominator option.
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There are many better, cheaper* options though.
*depends how much perceived value you get out of the account perks and travel insurance.
I don’t disagree, my phone insurance is not with a packaged account for this exact reason.
But I’m just saying that while Monzos insurance is poor, it’s no worse then many other “options” over there.
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I am getting it fixed on Wednesday. Complaint in, they asked for a selfie with photo ID before they will even look at it 
but I’ve asked them to reimburse me for the apple screen replacement (£239) and the excess (£75) for inconvenience caused. I think that’s fair but they probably won’t!
The functionality is WAY worse than I thought - turning the screen on can take several minutes and it’s no longer accurate to do things like leave voice notes or highlight text properly. Im raging!
Seems like assurant is very wide spread in the world of bank insurance but I will never send anything to them again. The reviews are also terrible. Question is do I self insure from now on or get the genuine replacement and then sell the phone and upgrade with apple care?
What makes me mad is how well I take care of my phone - it’s pristine - and I haven’t cracked a screen since early 2018. This incident has basically rendered this phone worthless and it’s a service I’ve paid for!
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I’d ask for compensation too. It’s also caused you distress, and you’re now having to spend time taking additional steps to remedy as a result of their insurance product.
And then escalate it to the ombudsman (assuming that’s who we still go to in these situations).
The one thing they might get away with not having to pay is the new screen repair cost, if they can argue that’s what you’d have had to pay if you didn’t get it repaired through them anyway.
Going forward, I’d self insure, and if you want insurance come next upgrade, go for Apple care+ with theft and loss cover.
Post office insurance might be worth looking at too. Or anyone, really, who allows you to take it to Apple (or other authorised service providers who use genuine parts) for repairs under insurance.
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The Ombudsman will shoot it down. They only award compensation for direct, quantifiable losses suffered as a result of a Bank’s action and won’t agree compensation for distress, time or such.
And Monzo don’t strike me as the goodwill payment just to make you go away type.
The ombudsman will look at whether they’ve treated you fairly. If they’ve done this to your phone and don’t at least return your excess, I think they would find against Monzo.
As for compensation,
This isn’t right, and they absolutely do award compensation for distress. From my ombudsman decision RE Monzo charging me pennies in overdrafts charges because of their internal clock:
I’m not satisfied
B have fairly compensated C for the distress and inconvenience caused. So, I’m asking
B to pay £50 and to rectify any impact to C’s credit file
That was in addition to the ÂŁ25 Monzo had already compensated me for prior to taking it to the Ombudsman.
I really, really hate the Ombudsman, too. I was told in their decision to me that they can’t award compensation for inconvenience, distress, time or such things and so they haven’t.
If they don’t apply consistency in their decision then what’s the point of anything anymore? They also don’t seem impartial and appear to find in favour of banks unless it’s an open and shut case against them.
Where is one supposed to go if they don’t trust the Ombudsman?
But sorry, don’t mean to hijack this thread – hope Monzo reimburse you, OP!
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