Protect your digital data or risk losing it forever

Protect your digital data or risk losing it forever, AA Insurance

Auckland – 27 February 2014 – Losing precious family memories can be as simple as dropping your mobile phone, says AA Insurance.

Each week AA Insurance receives almost 25 contents claims that involve lost digital data, with 60 percent relating to mobile phones being damaged, stolen or misplaced, and the remainder relating to damaged hard drives.  Yet while the digital equipment can be covered under the customers’ contents insurance, the data they most want back is not covered and may be lost forever.

“We all used to keep a box of family photos under the bed. Now everyone has a camera on their phone and we document so much of our lives with it,” says Suzanne Wolton, Head of Customer Relations, AA Insurance. “While we’ve readily adopted new technology, we haven’t necessarily made the behavioural change to protect this data. People really feel the loss when their photos disappear, and yet it’s the kind of loss which is not insurable.”

One customer deeply regretted not backing up her data when her child damaged her iPhone and iPad and she lost months’ worth of family photos. Technicians were unable to recover the photographs and videos from her phone, causing her great distress.

“Those precious images and videos of family, friends and special events such as weddings and birthdays are what customers most want to save,” continues Suzanne. “However, it can be difficult, and often impossible, to retrieve data from these devices once they are damaged or missing, especially from mobile phones. So, if you don’t want to lose your data, back it up.”

Tips to protect your data and mobile phone:

• Back up your data regularly, and keep a copy offsite with online services like iCloud. Also remember to run anti-virus software.

• The most common damage to phones and laptops is through impact or liquid damage - so don’t leave them where they could be knocked or dropped, keep drinks well away, and be careful if you take them into the loo!

• If you do damage your phone or laptop, and you can’t retrieve the data yourself, take it to a repairer as soon as possible, especially if it has received liquid damage that can quickly cause corrosion.

• Never leave your phone exposed to heat, or unattended, such as in an open handbag, on a restaurant table, or on the console of your car.

• A mobile blacklisting system was introduced late last year by network providers, whereby once a phone has been reported stolen it won’t work on any of the three main networks that have introduced blacklisting.  Let your service provider know immediately if your phone goes missing, and request it is locked or blacklisted to prevent someone else using it.

• Download a tracking app for your smart phone such as Apple’s Find My iPhone or Android Lost, so as soon as the phone is switched on you can track its location in real time.

• Record your phone’s unique 15-digit international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number so if your phone goes missing you can immediately report it to the police and provide the number for identification. Also let them know if your phone has a tracking app installed.

ENDS

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