Mobile phone theft increasing across the UK

According to the latest research from Halifax Home Insurance claims, £390 million a year is lost in Britain due to the theft of mobile phones. With the average handset costing more than £100, it is perhaps not surprising that there are more than 2 million stolen in the UK every year.

This level of phone theft accounts for one in ten crimes in London alone, and equates to one theft across the country every 12 seconds, with an average insurance claim of £300 per stolen handset. Lancaster wins the prize for the number of mobile phone thefts however, followed by Wirral, Chester and Coventry. Although the figures are on the increase, this fortunately does not come up to the levels seen in Karachi, in Pakistan, where 17,021 handsets were reported stolen during the first four months of 2006 (an average of about 141 handsets swiped every day), in the one city alone.

The recent study highlighted that UK cases of "phone-jacking" are on the increase - where a thief grabs the victim's mobile phone right out their grasp whilst they walk and talk using the device. Vicky Emmott from Halifax Home Insurance commented: "Mobile phones are constantly getting lighter and more compact which makes them easier for opportunistic thieves to swipe. Phone users should avoid walking and talking and keep their mobiles out of sight whenever possible."

Schools on Merseyside are being urged to ban the use of mobile phone among school kids, following crime statistics the from Merseyside Police which suggests that overt mobile phone use can attract potential thieves and increase the risk of personal injury during a theft.

While personal belongings insurance will not provide protection against calls made by thieves on a mobile phone after the theft of the unit, at least a replacement handset will be covered, and with the number of phones which are damaged or lost every year, the idea of insuring your handset can make a lot of sense.

Unfortunately a specific phone insurance policy can cost up to £9.18 per month (source: Car Warehouse Complete) which could put off many owners, however, it is worth checking out phone companies like dialaphone who often provide free cover periods, as well as comparing home contents insurance policies to see whether the mobile might already be covered, in order to avoid paying twice. It is also worth checking with some of the credit card companies such as Barclaycard who offer mobile phone insurance cover combined with additional extended protection cover with their "Everyday Cover" for £5.99 per month.

There is even a specialist mobile phone insurance company CUSC (cusc.co.uk) which was set up 20 years ago specifically to provide mobile phone insurance to end users, covering loss, theft, accidental damage and call abuse.

However, while insurance can provide financial cover for the physical loss of a phone, Vicky Emmott advises, "New technology means that many of us use phones for more than just calls and text messaging. Mobile owners should make sure that all contact numbers, diary entries, pictures, down-loads and ring-tones are backed-up and saved elsewhere if they don't want to risk losing them completely."