Everyone needs to use the toilet every day.

Most people - at least in the UK - use a washing machine  to wash their clothes.

And these 3 liquid environments account for the biggest part of ALL mobile phone water damage.

In fact, over 1.2 MILLION phones are killed by water damage every year.

So every day, every phone user is at risk from water damage.

One of our management team only this last week killed his phone by inadvertently dropping it in his kid's bath without realising.

And it was dead, dead, dead within minutes.

And yes, he did claim through his mobile phone insurance - and had a new mobile phone within 48 hours.

The reality is, water or some form of liquid is all around us every day, everywhere we go.  Tea, coffee, water, beer, wine, the sea, the bath, the pool, a puddle...

The list is almost endless.

And ALL could kill your mobile phone.

This is why water damage is actually a far bigger killer of phones than most people realise.  With most (other) mobile phone insurance policies, water damage is not covered, so when those customers who are not covered for water damage drop their phone down the loo, some of them will claim their phone was "stolen" in order to use their insurance to get a new phone.

This is insurance fraud, completely illegal but it does happen.  It is a known crime particularly with the Metropolitan Police.  And this is why the phone theft crime figures are higher than they really should be - and why phone water damage figures are lower than they should be.

So the only sensible thing to do is make sure you have water damage cover within your mobile phone insurance

Whether the kids 'honestly' didnt hide them, or you had a good night the night before - or you've just plain lost them.  It's infuriating and quite crippling especially when you realise you've lost them just before you HAVE to go out and be somewhere.

It's quite similar when you lose your mobile phone.

It's when you HAVE to make a call that you realize you've lost it - running round the house or office "got to call them, got to call them..."

TIP-TOP TIP:

To realise as soon as possible that your mobile phone is missing, we recommend that you always, always, always keep your phone in the same pocket no matter what clothes you are wearing.

This way, your brain gets trained and tuned in to your phone always being there... or not.

So if you choose to always keep your phone in your front right trouser pocket (a wise favourite) then if it is suddenly no longer there, a nagging little demon at the back of your mind will tell you about its absence from your thigh, far sooner than if you kept your mobile phone in different places every day.

Your mind is a wonderful thing like that.  Use it to your advantage.

Now mobile phone insurance is an obvious answer to mobile phone theft, but in tandem with having phone insurance, there are some fairly obvious (and maybe some not so obvious) steps and precautions to avoid losing your phone in the first place:

1. Always keep your mobile phone in the same pocket in your clothing.  Then you will always subconsciously be aware of the bump in your pocket.

2. Keep it hidden and covered - not so much from a theft point of view but so it cannot bounce out or fall out.

3. If you can live with it, get a chain and attach it to your phone.  Maybe keep your keys on it or something similarly noisy. Then you are more likely to hear if your phone falls out of your pocket.

4. Attach a sticker to the back of your phone or get it engraved with some contact details along the lines of "If found please contact..." If you can, offer a cash reward.  It doesn't have to be much - maybe £20 or £30.  Just enough to tip someone who might maybe be considering doing something else with your phone (maybe they innocently found it but are considering selling it on eBay) - to convince them to help you out and return it.

5. If you have kids, don't let them play with your phone.  Or if you do, make sure you check where they left it regularly.  They will probably swear blind they didnt lose it...

These are the main points on how to avoid losing your mobile phone.  Sure, phone insurance is a wise way to protect yourself because you can't always be 100% certain you wont lose your phone or have it stolen or damaged.  But prevention is better - and more painless - than cure.

Next we will look at how to minimize the pain if your phone IS lost.

What about everything on your phone?

How can you best get your phone back?