Most Common Ways Brits Damage Their Phones Revealed

New research has revealed the most common ways that the average Briton breaks or damages their smartphone.

The insurance data comes from phone insurance specialist, insurance2go, and reveals so surprising ways Brits are damaging their electronic devices.

The data shows that dropping phones down the toilet is the most common way Brits damage their handsets. Meanwhile puppies and dogs accounted for over 300 phone insurance claims.

Insurance claims

Insurance2go examined its accepted insurance claims dating as far back as 2017, by analysing customers written accounts of how the device was damaged.

By far the most common accident came from people dropping their phone down the toilet, followed by losing the phone in a taxi or Uber.

In third place was blaming it on the dog or puppy, and forth most common was dropping the phone in the bath..

Losing the phone in the pub was fifth, and sixth was damage from a baby.

Seventh was the phone vibrating off the table, eighth was losing or damaging the phone at a gig or concert.

Ninth most common reason was cooking, and tenth was in the hot tub.

Insurance2go provided some of the strangest insurance claims it has received.

Strange claims

One customer said: “I was at home after work in the evening and I was getting my children ready for bed. I put my phone on my bedside table whilst explaining the importance of brushing teeth. When I wasn’t looking, my 18-month-old son got the phone and decided to drop it into the toilet”.

“Last Saturday I was at a party, went to the portaloo with my phone light on and accidentally dropped my phone down the toilet,” said another customer.

“A wasp flew on me at a theme park, and I dropped my phone face down and now the top of the screen is cracked” and “my phone fell off my leg when a spider crawled on to me,” said another.

“I was at work and my phone dropped down a slurry pit,” another customer stated. “This would not need reporting to the police as it was not lost anywhere except at the bottom of a huge slurry pit on a farm, no one is going after that phone trust me.”

Risky iPhones

Apple iPhones seem to be the most commonly claimed for smartphones, with iPhone models occupying seven positions (out of 9) for the most claimed for phones.

The most accident (most claimed for) prone phones according to insurance2go is the iPhone 11 64GB; followed by the iPhone XR 64GB; iPhone 7 32GB; Galaxy S10 128GB; iPhone 6 16GB; iPhone 6S 64GB; S7 edge; iPhone 6S 16GB; and the iPhone 7 128GB.

Basically, if you are an iPhone user, hold on extra tight to your device.

“When it comes to mobile phone damage, it is not always as straight forward as a cracked screen,” said Richard Gray, head of marketing at insurance2go. “Damage can be caused from most of our everyday activities including walking, physical activity, cooking and even going to the toilet.”

Another common way phones are typically damaged, which is not mentioned in this research, is when people exit their cars and walk back into their homes.

People typically tend to be overloaded and carry too much in their hands to avoid a return trip to the car.

Phones can often slip out of overflowing hands during this process.