No extra insurance needed when buying a TV

Have you been offered an insurance plan when you buy certain types of gadgets, for example electronics or home appliances? You are not alone. Many consumers currently have gadget insurance and some type of supplementary insurance. Consumers pay several billion (SEK) for these insurance policies every year. Our review shows that these policies are often not necessary.

FI has reviewed several insurance companies and reached the conclusion that gadget insurance is generally not needed. Almost everyone in Sweden has home insurance, which provides cover if, for example, a refrigerator or TV were to break. A fundamental basic rule is that it is only possible to receive compensation from one insurance policy per event; in other words, you can only be reimbursed once if something breaks. Having several insurance policies for the same item is therefore only an additional cost and does not provide additional protection.

In our review, we have also seen that customers receive low compensation in relation to what they have paid for the premium. The majority of the money paid for gadget insurance does not go to the customers, but rather to the electronics retail chains that sell the policies.

Insurance companies are responsible for ensuring that brokers selling the policies, for example electronics retail chains, only do so to customers who need them. FI will therefore initiate a dialogue with insurance companies about this to ensure that consumers are not encouraged to sign up for an insurance policy they do not need.

"I hope more consumers become more aware and say no to an additional insurance. It just becomes an unnecessary expense if they already have home insurance," says Åsa Larson, the executive director of the Insurance section at FI.

Our review also included supplementary insurance, and we found that consumers' need for supplementary insurance differs by age: younger consumers have a greater need, while older consumers often have little need.