Cell phone insurance - what do you do?

Quote from jonnyd13 : Just wanted to get some outside thoughts on smart/i phone insurance plans? What do you use? Why? I know the best insurance is to buy a good $10 case and be careful, but if you are anything like me, you go through phones. Disclaimer: Figures below are based on a smartphone retailing at $500 and may not be 100% accurate to your phone. 1. Asurion - $7 per month, $100 deductible 2. Squaretrade - 1 yr plan - $40 up front (with 30% discount code FF30), $100 deductible, effectively $3.33 per month 3. Worth Ave Group - 1 yr plan - $50 up front (with 15% discount code newcustomer), $50 deductible, effectively $4.17 per month I used to use Asurion because I never thought much about paying the extra fees, and I have gone through quite a few phones in the past. Back around October, I went through 2 phones in a month and they booted me off the plan. Thankfully didn't have any issues since. Just last weekend, I upgraded phones again and decided to purchase insurance for it yesterday through Worth Ave. My rational for paying a little more up front is because based on my past history, there's a good chance I will need to use the insurance sometime in the next year. Pay an extra $10 now to save $50 later.

I've heard decent things about Worth Ave Group. Almost insured my iPhone 4S with them, but settled on AppleCare+ instead because of the cost and the accidental damage $50 per occurrence deductible (up to 2 times). Worth Ave Group was $189 for 2 years I believe, more expensive than your proposed figures. It was a tough decision though, especially because Worth Ave Group's policy is supposed to cover theft. I think that can be a major factor.

I happen to work in the insurance industry, so one thing I look into is each company's underwriting group and the A.M. Best Rating. People swear by SquareTrade, but for a while the underwriting info was not the best...

like hell if i'll buy insurance for a damn phone I got for free

I used to get insurance back in 2000, but no more...I've never had a problem with my phone.

Perhaps evaluate why you are always breaking/losing your phone and change your behavior?

Quote from PiratesSayARRR : I used to get insurance back in 2000, but no more...I've never had a problem with my phone. Perhaps evaluate why you are always breaking/losing your phone and change your behavior?

I agree, as far as the handling of the phone goes.

I actually never had phone insurance until this year when I purchased my iPhone 4S. I decided it was a good investment because overall the phone is considered to be a luxury item. Also, I use it as more than just a "phone" -- playing music, internet browsing on the go, recording device, calendar, task manager, eReader etc.

Quote from impact1400 : I agree, as far as the handling of the phone goes. I actually never had phone insurance until this year when I purchased my iPhone 4S. I decided it was a good investment because overall the phone is considered to be a luxury item. Also, I use it as more than just a "phone" -- playing music, internet browsing on the go, recording device, calendar, task manager, eReader etc.

I've had iphones since the 3G and never had insurance. I typically upgrade every year for the iphone and this was actually the first year I didn't. I pay the $199 upgrade price (ends up being around $260 after taxes and upgrade fee and then sell my current phone for $300.) So far it has worked every year.

Honestly, the companies that make money selling insurance plans make money because MOST people with the insurance don't break their phone, or at least not enough to make the cost of insurance worthwhile.

My rules of thumb: If there's a chance that breaking your item will change your financial situation, get insurance. For example, if your car breaks and you need to buy a new one, you might not have 10k lying around to get a decent car. Minor repairs aren't going to majorly screw up your finances (neither will insurance), but major problems could screw up your budget, and that's no fun. Obviously, car insurance is more important to protect you in case you hit someone else and owe them money, but that's not the point here.

If you can afford a replacement device with no major change to your financial standing, don't bother with insurance. Here's an example:

I have the following items. If I get insurance for them, costs look like this (for insurance)
IPod - $4/month
Smartphone $7/month
Laptop $8/month
TV $8/month
Desktop Computer $5/month
Tablet $5/month

This is just an example. My insurance costs alone are $37/month. If I make it 2 years with nothing major breaking, I paid $444 for nothing. Say that two of my devices break, and I pay a $100 deductible 2 times (once for each break). I've now spent $644 total. Even if those repairs cost $300 each without the insurance, I'm still not breaking even.

Now consider that after 1 year and 11 months, your $444 spent on insurance is covering devices that are now worth half as much. You could spend $444 on insurance, and fix your laptop once when it explodes, or you could spend no money on insurance, and when your laptop breaks you could just buy a brand new, better model for the same amount of money.

This may not apply to everything that could get insured, but electronics, in particular, lose their value very quickly.

With everything factored in (depreciation of your stuff over time, hassle of buying insurance and making claims, chance of repairs not even being needed, etc), insurance is generally a bad idea unless you really need it, or you try to tweet from your iPhone while mountain biking (which is also a pretty bad idea).

Does your homeowners / renters insurance cover the phone?

Quote from DWad : My rules of thumb: If there's a chance that breaking your item will change your financial situation, get insurance.

And if breaking your phone will change your financial situation, should probably get a cheaper phone.

How do you go about in using these insurance plans to your benefit? I've had asurion on my phone since like a year and half ago. It's a droid x phone, best phone I ever got, even through all the times its been smashed on the floor it still works pretty darn well. But my screen has so many pixels, it sometimes acts quirky, lot of wear & tear.

Quote from reddem0n : How do you go about in using these insurance plans to your benefit? I've had asurion on my phone since like a year and half ago. It's a droid x phone, best phone I ever got, even through all the times its been smashed on the floor it still works pretty darn well. But my screen has so many pixels, it sometimes acts quirky, lot of wear & tear.

I'm assuming you mean dead pixels here

Your best bet is probably to call up the company, tell them you have their insurance plan, and tell them your phone broke. They should be able to help you out from there (each company has different policies/procedures to make a claim).

Quote from DWad : I'm assuming you mean dead pixels here Your best bet is probably to call up the company, tell them you have their insurance plan, and tell them your phone broke. They should be able to help you out from there (each company has different policies/procedures to make a claim).

LMAO, Yeah dead pixels. Woohoo and I work in IT too! +1 for me ROFL.

Quote from DWad : I'm assuming you mean dead pixels here Your best bet is probably to call up the company, tell them you have their insurance plan, and tell them your phone broke. They should be able to help you out from there (each company has different policies/procedures to make a claim).

Ya but you are paying $80+ for the deductible on a phone that is almost 2 years old now. Not worth it in my book.

I don't have phone insurance and so far don't miss it. The carrier insurance is well pretty expensive for not that much coverage. For me the high deductible is kind of a deal killer. Also the phones you get are refurbished and many times have some issues. I also modify and root my android phone so it's usually a gray area when it comes to warranty.

Something most people don't know with iPhones is you kind of have a 1 shot replacement built in. I will tell a story of a friend but I have heard this from others as well. Friend dropped her ip4 in water and runied it. We took it to the apple store and they confirmed it. They replaced it with a brand new phone (Not refurb) for $150. It was quick, painless, and much better than the carrier. They wont cover loosing the phone but broken and water damage is the most common problem. It's something to consider.

Quote from LiquidRetro : Ya but you are paying $80+ for the deductible on a phone that is almost 2 years old now. Not worth it in my book.

Truth. Look up how much your phone is worth (new) on the internet. If it's worth $80 or less, just buy a new phone.