What is Sky Protect and Is It Worth The Money?
Are you thinking about getting Sky Protect but aren’t sure if it’s right for you?
In this guide, we’ll take a look at what Sky Protect actually is, how much it costs, what it covers, and whether it’s worth your hard-earned money.
Key Takeaways
- Understanding Sky Protect Services: Sky Protect offers both smart home insurance with tech devices and standard device insurance options for your Sky equipment and personal gadgets.
- Cost Considerations: Prices start from around £9.50 for basic home insurance and £18.50 for smart home insurance, with potential savings for Sky customers.
- Coverage Benefits: Smart Home Insurance includes £250 worth of smart tech devices, emergency home cover, and cyber protection – but comes with a 24-month commitment.
What is Sky Protect?
Sky Protect is a range of insurance products offered by Sky UK. It’s designed to provide protection for both your home and your devices. There are two main types of Sky Protect services:
Sky Protect Smart Home Insurance combines traditional home insurance with smart home technology. It’s a Defaqto 5-star rated insurance policy underwritten by Zurich Insurance, a world-leading insurer. This insurance can cover buildings, contents, or both, depending on your needs.
Sky Protect Device Insurance offers coverage for your Sky equipment (like Sky Q boxes) and other personal devices including phones, tablets, and laptops.
How Much is Sky Protect?
The cost of Sky Protect varies based on your specific circumstances and the level of cover you choose.
For Sky Protect Home Insurance, standard policies start from £9.50 per month (as of January 2025), while Smart Home Insurance starts from £18.50 per month (as of October 2024).
Sky Protect Device Insurance coverage typically starts from around £9 per month.
Good news for Sky customers with TV, broadband, or mobile services – you receive a £5 monthly discount on Smart Home Insurance policies.
Your exact price will depend on your home location, property size, cover options selected, value of contents being insured, and whether you choose buildings, contents, or both.
What Does Sky Protect Cover?
Sky Protect Smart Home Insurance includes:
Buildings and/or Contents Insurance provides coverage for structural damage and personal belongings.
The Smart Tech Bundle worth £250 includes a video doorbell with chime, indoor security camera, motion sensor, two contact sensors for doors/windows, and three leak sensors.
Additional benefits include Home Emergency Cover with 24/7 access to tradespeople for emergencies (repair costs covered up to £1,000 per claim), Family Legal Assistance with legal advice and coverage up to £50,000 per year, and Cyber Assistance Cover that protects against cyber attacks for up to £25,000 per year.
Sky Protect Device Insurance covers:
Sky Equipment like Sky Q boxes, HD+ boxes, and other hardware, as well as personal devices including mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. Coverage includes accidental damage, theft, and mechanical/electrical breakdown.
Sky Protect App
The Sky Protect app is at the centre of the smart home insurance experience. With this app, you can monitor your home via the video doorbell and indoor camera, receive alerts from motion and contact sensors, and get notifications about potential water leaks. The app also lets you access your insurance policy information, start a claim if something goes wrong, and contact tradespeople for emergency repairs.
Video clips from the cameras are stored in the cloud for 30 days and can be viewed within the app, making it easy to check what’s happening at home when you’re away.
Is Sky Protect Worth It?
Whether Sky Protect is worth the money depends on your specific needs, budget, and what you value most. We’ve compared the costs and benefits to help you decide.
Potential Benefits:
The Smart Home Technology worth £250 could be valuable if you’re interested in home monitoring technology. There’s also the convenience of having insurance and smart home tech in one package with a single app.
We like the prevention focus that helps detect issues before they become major problems, and the fixed price guarantee for 24 months means no surprise increases. The extra services like home emergency cover, legal assistance, and cyber protection included with Smart Home Insurance add significant value.
Potential Drawbacks:
The main concern is cost – the Smart Home Insurance option is generally more expensive than standard home insurance. The 24-month commitment is double the standard 12 months most policies require.
Be aware of the early termination charge – if you cancel after the cooling-off period, there’s a fee of £3 per month for remaining months. Customer reviews are mixed, with some reporting issues with claims and device reliability.
How to Cancel Sky Protect
If you decide Sky Protect isn’t right for you, here’s what you need to know:
During the cooling-off period, you can cancel within 31 days of purchase with a full refund and return the smart tech. If you cancel after the cooling-off period, you can keep the smart tech but functionality will be limited, and you’ll need to pay that early termination charge we mentioned.
To cancel, you’ll need to call Sky directly or use their online contact options – they don’t make this particularly easy to find on their website.
Overall
Sky Protect offers an interesting approach to home insurance by combining traditional coverage with smart home technology. For tech-savvy homeowners who want to keep an eye on their homes remotely, the Smart Home Insurance package might be worth looking at, especially with the included £250 tech bundle.
We’ve found that the comparison shopping is essential here. We checked prices for similar smart tech on Amazon, and found that higher-end equipment from brands like Ring (doorbell, camera, sensors) would cost about £210.96 – around 15% cheaper than Sky’s valuation. You could find even more affordable options with other brands.
For standard Sky customers, the extra cost (potentially over £130 per year more than standard policies) might be hard to justify. However, Sky VIP customers who get the £5 monthly discount make this a more tempting deal, bringing the price difference down to about £72 per year.
The 24-month commitment is double what most insurance policies require, but at least the price is fixed for that period, so you won’t face unexpected increases after 12 months.
Before committing, we recommend getting quotes from several providers and weighing up whether the smart tech is something you’ll actually use and benefit from.
Frequently Asked Questions
What smart tech comes with Sky Protect Smart Home Insurance?
The smart tech bundle includes a video doorbell with chime, indoor camera, motion sensor, two contact sensors for doors/windows, and three leak sensors – valued at around £250.
Can I get Sky Protect if I’m not a Sky customer?
Yes, Sky Protect is available to both Sky and non-Sky customers. However, existing Sky TV, Broadband, or Mobile customers receive a £5 monthly discount.
How long am I committed to Sky Protect?
Standard home insurance policies run for 12 months, while Smart Home Insurance requires a 24-month commitment.
What is the cooling-off period for Sky Protect?
The cooling-off period is 31 days from purchase, during which you can cancel without penalty as long as you return the smart tech.
Is my personal data from the smart devices shared with the insurer?
According to Sky, while customers can choose to share data from their smart devices to support claims, Zurich cannot refuse a claim if footage isn’t captured or if you choose not to share it.
Can I keep the smart tech if I cancel my policy?
Yes, if you cancel after the cooling-off period, you can keep the smart tech, but functionality will be limited (no cloud storage, emergency alerts, etc.).
Is Sky Protect the same as Sky Protect device insurance for Sky boxes?
No, these are different products. Sky Protect now offers both home insurance (with or without smart tech) and device insurance for Sky equipment and personal gadgets.
