‘I dropped it from a hot air balloon’ and ‘my dog mistook it for his favourite toy and chewed it to bits’ are among the bizarre insurance claims made for lost and damaged iPhones over the last 12 months, it emerged yesterday.
Other unusual claims include 'I lost it while skydiving', 'I dropped it in a blender' and 'It fell into the kettle'.
The weird and wonderful claims came to light in a study by gadget insurers www.protectyourbubble.com.
It also emerged one in five iPhone users have made an insurance claim during the past 12 months.
Most common claims include cracked screens, lost or stolen iPhones and iPhones dropped in the toilet or bath.
A spokesman for Protect your bubble said: "With so many people carrying an iPhone with them wherever they go, it’s no surprise that they are being lost or damaged in a host of unusual ways."
"Most of us know someone who has managed to drop their iPhone in a pint of beer or down the toilet – but these bizarre claims we have uncovered must be one-offs.’’
The study also found 45 per cent of claims have been for accidental damage to iPhones.
One unlucky customer lost his iPhone after leaning over the side of a boat in Cyprus, to see it fall out of the rucksack and plop into the sea.
And one owner reckons he was happily sitting in the local pub, when a friend spilled his pint of beer all over his phone.
Another unlucky male drove sharply round a corner, to witness his beloved iPhone sliding across the dashboard and straight out of his open window.
Other iPhone insurance claims include losing the phone under the wheels of a bus after it flew out of a pocket, and a teenager being forced to hand over his phone to thugs after they threatened him with a machete.
And one coffee shop assistant was busy making an espresso for a customer, only to turn around and find he had walked off with his phone which was sitting on the side.
The spokesman for Protect your bubble added: "The amazing ways people manage to be separated from their iPhone goes to show that you never know what’s around the corner – and it pays to get your iPhone insured.’’
Other more usual claims include losing internet connection, screen freeze, pets knocking the phone off a work surface and the fact the phone doesn't charge.
TOP 10 MOST BIZARRE IPHONE CLAIMS
I dropped it from a hot air balloon
I lost it while sky diving
It broke when my son used it as a table tennis racket
I lost it while building a sand castle for the kids
I accidentally buried it in the garden
It fell into the kettle
I dropped it in a food blender
My dog chewed it to pieces
Juice from a defrosting piece of meat leaked into it
It flew out of the car window
TOP 10 MOST COMMON IPHONE CLAIMS
Cracked screen
Stolen while texting
Couldn't hear the other person when making a call
Leaving phone on the car roof so it falls off when driving
Pet knocked the phone off the surface
Stolen from handbag
Internet connection completely broken
iPhone doesn't charge
Dropped in the bath / toilet
Screen freezes
ENDS
Contact: Stephen Ebbett, Marketing, Protect your bubble.
Email: stephen.ebbett@protectyourbubble.com
Notes to editors
Other than iPhone insurance packages, Protect your bubble also offers gadget insurance on cameras, camcorders, notebooks, Blackberry devices, iPods, iPads mobile phones, game consoles, MP3 players, PC’s, PDA’s, Macbooks and satnavs from £1.49 a month.
About Protect your bubble
www.protectyourbubble.com is an online insurance provider trying to make personal insurance simple, easy and uncomplicated – from buying a policy to making a claim. It currently offers gadget, travel, personal emergency, home emergency, car, life, car hire, home and pet insurance.