Virgin Mobile USA Offers Second Chance to Customers Without Phone Insurance

Open Enrollment Period in May Gives Customers Opportunity to Sign Up for Insurance After Their Initial Purchase

WARREN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the spirit of A Higher Calling and building a stronger rapport with customers, Virgin Mobile is offering Phone Insurance Open Enrollment, making it easier for customers to protect their mobile investment even if they didn’t sign up at first. The phone has become a focal point of peoples’ everyday lives, and losing or breaking a phone can be a truly disruptive and frustrating experience. This limited-time offer is available starting Wednesday, May 2 to Beyond Talk customers through May 31, 2012, and enables customers to add phone insurance no matter when their phone was purchased by visiting virginmobileusa.com and signing into their accounts.

“For many people today, the smartphone is even more important than their car”

“For many people today, the smartphone is even more important than their car,” said Charles Seelig, director-Base Marketing for Virgin Mobile USA. “While people can insure their cars anytime they want, their cellphones are a different story. Our one-month Open Enrollment Program gives a second chance to people looking for a way to protect their devices. It’s just another small step forward in changing the relationship customers have with their carriers under our ‘Higher Calling’ platform.”

For just $5 per month¹, Virgin Mobile’s existing insurance program enables customers with eligible Virgin Mobile phones to get a replacement device within 24 hours if their phone is lost, stolen or damaged. Insurance is generally only available to customers within 15 days after activating on one of the Beyond Talk unlimited data and messaging monthly plans.²

The Open Enrollment program is available for all handsets released since July 2010 on Beyond Talk monthly unlimited data plans, including the LG Optimus V or Optimus Slider, HTC Wildfire, Motorola Triumph and PCD Venture. Existing customers can also add insurance whenever they change to a new Beyond Talk device. Seelig added that many carriers do not offer insurance on prepaid phones at all.

Virgin Mobile partners with Asurion, a leading technology protection company, to offer Phone Insurance to its customers. According to Opinionology [2/2011], more than 56 percent of cell phone users say they lose or misplace their phones within the first month; more than 60 percent of lost/stolen/damaged phone incidents happen within the first six months; and, more than 90 percent of lost/stolen/damaged phone incidents happen within the first 18 months.³

About Virgin Mobile USA

Virgin Mobile USA, one of Sprint's prepaid brands, offers millions of customers control, flexibility and connectivity through Virgin Mobile's Beyond Talk™ No Contract plans with unlimited data for mobile phone service, including Android-powered smartphones and prepaid Broadband2Go high-speed Web access on the Nationwide Sprint Network. J.D. Power & Associates recently recognized Virgin Mobile USA as Highest Ranked Customer Service Performance among Non-Contract Wireless Providers in the 2012 Wireless Customer Care Non-Contract Volume 1 Study.⁴ Virgin Mobile-branded devices are available at more than 40,000 retail stores, including Target, Walmart, Best Buy and RadioShack. Top-Up cards are available at approximately 150,000 locations nationwide. Experience Virgin Mobile on the Web at Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube and purchase Virgin Mobile USA products at www.virginmobileusa.com.

¹ Deductible applies to insurance policy.

² Rules apply. For more information, visit Insurance information at virginmobileusa.com

³ Using Opinionology's online Opinion Outpost market research panel, Asurion surveyed a total of 1,000 consumers. Respondents were asked a series of questions to determine their perceptions, opinions, attitudes and experiences using wireless phones. Asurion surveyed an equal mix of males and females between the ages of 16 and 65. The margin of error is +/- 3.5 percent.

⁴ Virgin Mobile received the highest numerical score among non-contract wireless providers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Wireless Customer care Non-Contract Study℠ - Vol. 1. Study based on responses from 2,840 consumers measuring 6 non-contract wireless providers and measures opinions of consumers who contacted customer care within the past year. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed July-December 2011. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.