Huawei, Honor Now Offer Damage Protection Plans in India to Rival OnePlus and Xiaomi

Huawei on Thursday announced its partnership with OneAssist to offer protection plans for customers buying its smartphones in India. The protection plans are available for both Huawei and Honor smartphones, including the Huawei P20 Pro, Huawei P20 Lite as well as the Honor 7X, Honor V10, and Honor 8 Pro among others. The plans start at Rs. 1,249 and come with a validity of one year from the date of their activation. These are designed to cover accidental and damage impacts. Interestingly, the new development comes days after Huawei competitor OnePlus announced a complimentary 12-month accidental damage insurance from Servify for OnePlus 6 buyers. Xiaomi also notably has a partnership with OneAssist to offer its Mi Protect programme in the country.

The protection plans are claimed to cover any kinds of accidental and liquid damage to devices, including unintentional drops. Customers will also be provided with benefits such as free pick up and drop, 24x7 on-call assistance, and cashless claim service. Further, Huawei states that the free pickup-drop service will be available on a pan-India basis, and the plans will auto-active within 15 days of purchase.

"Having collaborated with one of the pioneers of smartphone protection and assistance, OneAssist, we strive to provide consumers with unmatched services. We are confident that this association will be fruitful for our customers and will provide unparalleled, innovative services to our customers," said P Sanjeev, Vice President - Sales, Huawei India - Consumer Business Group, in a statement.

At present, Huawei has 21 exclusive service centres and over 250 authorised service centres in India. The Shenzhen-based company also has plans to expand its existing service network in the country and explore new forms of service to take on the competition.