I think it’s fair to say that when packaged accounts come up, Nationwide’s Flex Plus account is pretty much universally acknowledged as the leader of the pack. And there’s been talk about how it must be a loss leader given cheap it is.
But with the 3% interest vanishing, along with some other terms and conditions changing, I thought it might be interesting to see if £13/month (or £156/year) can be beaten for the services it provides. Either for individuals (assuming the account holder is single) or for families (if they’re not).
So, can we come up with a package that gives broadly the same benefits at around (or below) the same cost?
You need to consider that it covers all phones in the household, not just the account holder. With two Pixels and an iPhone in my house, I can’t find similar mobile cover near the price anywhere.
Not a ‘build your own’, but does anyone have opinion’s on Yorkshire Bank’s Signature account?
I haven’t yet looked into all the details, but aside from family aspect to phone insurance and europe-wide aspect to breakdown cover (which not everyone will need) it seems to me you get similar Travel, Phone, and Breakdown cover to FlexPlus, and you also get general gadget insurance. Cost is £13.50/month.
Perhaps a better deal than FlexPlus if you don’t need family aspect to phone insurance and europe-wide aspect to breakdown cover?
I will just be happy if/when they bring back Plus and it’s got gadget insurance again (had it and it disappeared) - a Mobile only Bank without Mobile Insurance is kinda dumb IMHO
Nationwide Flex’s Phone insurance is pretty hard to beat if you’re trying to cover more than one recent model phone.
I looked online and found prices of £8-15 for my iPhone alone, so add in my partners, etc, and it covers the lot - so on that basis alone it’s a pretty decent deal.
Although all the limitations still make it crap. Especially the travel insurance - many people probably aren’t aware about all the exceptions that will catch you out.
The one month/trip limit is frankly absurd making it only useful for short local city breaks. Buying just an extension (“extended journey cover”) for 35 day is well over the cost of a full top end policy for the total length of time.
And then probably the biggest gotcha is that the possession insurance tops out at £400 so if you bring any sports equipment, gopros, cameras, lenses, laptops, phones, etc. (you know normal holiday things) you’re not covered for that either!
Not really sure if there are many use cases where you could use this for a worldwide trip.
Anarchist
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For some. I’ve never been away for a month.
I don’t take most of that list with me. Phone and Kindle is my limit.
So it suits me fine, but obviously no policy is going to be a good fit for everyone.
But at the same time I always bring my phone (>£400), a pocket sized mirrorless body (>£400), a couple of primes (>£400 each) if I’m leaving the country.
People who go skiing I assume bring skis. Cyclists bring bikes. Divers bring their BCD and dive computer, paragliders bring their wing and harness, surfers bring their board. All >£400.
When I go to hostels even in places like Barcelona and Berlin it seems every interrailler has an action cam (>£400) and a laptop or tablet.
I’d say bringing valuables worth more than £400 isn’t very far outside the norm.
But to counter that if you do have a hobby where you are buying expensive equipment, I imagine you wouldn’t look to a packaged account for your typical insurance.
Like, all those points are true, they are restrictive if you’re going on an action packed 6 month round the world vlogging tour… But if you’re taking more than £2k worth of equipment with you, you wouldn’t pick this insurance for that anyway…
I’m definitely in the camp of don’t travel for more than a month, don’t take a tablet, action cam, DSLR, etc, with me - but if I were doing that I’d look for a package that offers higher limits!
Please find me a contents policy that offers coverage for trips over 30 or 60 days. There were none when I got mine. Many weren’t even valid if you left the house for a few weeks.
I would gladly switch content insurance provider if I could but I haven’t found anything remotely viable that will cover me when travelling.