What About Cell Phone Insurance?

iPhone 5Like some of you, I got a new cell phone for Christmas. Mine is a white 64GB iPhone 5. I knew I wanted insurance but I wasn’t sure from whom. I had always gone with Verizon’s insurer, Asurion. But with a $199 deductible for my iPhone, I figured that I’d look around to see what else is out there.

While I focused on iPhone coverage (obviously), much of the information below is applicable for other smartphones as well.

I looked at three major insurers of iPhones — Asurion, Apple and SquareTrade. I have insured numerous phones or laptops from each provider. I have been very happy with the service provided by both Asurion and Apple through its AppleCare program. While I have never had to file a claim with SquareTrade, they are highly rated by Amazon, the Apple App Store and Google.

First, let’s take a look at the programs offered by each provider.

ASURION

In my experience, Verizon has only talked about Asurion’s Total Equipment Coverage plan when you buy your phone. Interestingly enough, I found that there are two other plans offered as well — Wireless Phone Protection and Extended Limited Warranty or Service Contract. For the most part, the Total Equipment Coverage plan is just that — the phone and all of its accessories are covered for loss, damage or malfunction, including those not included by the manufacturer when purchased. Wireless Phone Protection basically covers the phone only for loss, damage or malfunction. The Extended Warranty or Service Contract covers malfunctions only at a cost of $1.99 per month. Since I am looking for damage coverage, the Extended Warranty coverage did not meet my criteria.

APPLE

Apple offers AppleCare+ which covers the phone and the accessories it came with (battery, earbuds and charger) for damage or malfunction.

SQUARETRADE

SquareTrade offers covers the phone and the accessories it came with (earbuds and charger) for damage or malfunction.

Let’s take a look at the coverage provided by the three providers.

 

FEATURE

ASURION TOTAL EQUIPMENT COVERAGE

ASURION WIRELESS PHONE PROTECTION

APPLECARE+

SQUARETRADE

Electrical and Mechanical Defects

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Physical damage

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Accessories coverage

All

No

Battery, Earbuds, Charger

No

Loss

Yes

Yes

No

No

Theft

Yes

Yes

No

No

Where Can I Go for Help?

Verizon Wireless Stores

Verizon Wireless Stores

Apple Genius Bar

Apple Genius Bar

Duration

Open

Open

2 Years

2 Years

Claims Limits

2 in 12-month period

2 in 12-month period

2

4

iPhone Deductible (Verizon)

8GB or 16GB – $169

32GB or 64GB -$199

8GB or 16GB – $169

32GB or 64GB – $199

$49

$50

Overnight Replacement

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Signup Window

30 days

30 days

30 days

30 days

Purchase Price

$9.99 / month

$8.18 / month

$99

$124 (currently on sale for $99)

2-Year Purchase Price (excluding taxes)

$239.76

$196.32

$99

$124 ($99)

2-Year Cost for 64GB iPhone, assuming one repair/replacement

$438.76

$395.32

$148

$174 ($149)

Insurance costs for other smartphones are:

  • Asurion Total Equipment Coverage – $6.99 / month.  $99 deductible.
  • Asurion Wireless Phone Protection – $5.18 / month.  $99 deductible.
  • SquareTrade – $125 for 2-year plan

Just a few comments on the information above:

— Asurion’s coverage and pricing may vary by carrier.

— With SquareTrade, you can make an appointment at your Apple Store’s Genius Bar for diagnosis and repair.  SquareTrade will reimburse you.  Optionally, SquareTrade will send you a replacement phone overnight.

— With AppleCare+, in addition to Genius Bar repairs, there is also a mail-in service.  AppleCare+ also includes iOS, iCloud and Apple apps (Mail, Safari, etc.) support.

— Obviously, the only smartphone covered by AppleCare+ is the iPhone.

Why does Asurion cost considerably more?  Because it covers loss and theft.   AppleCare+ and SquareTrade do not.   If you have to replace your iPhone 5 before your 2-year contract is up, it will cost you $649 (16GB), $749 (32GB) or $849 (64GB).  If you are concerned about losing your phone or having it stolen, Asurion could be a good deal.

So, which provider did I choose?  Since only Asurion’s plans cover loss and theft,  I had to decide how important that is for me.   I have had cell phones since the late ‘80s and have never lost one or had one stolen.  Am I just lucky or am I due for that to happen?  I went with ‘lucky’.  I figure with the ‘Find my iPhone’ feature, if my phone goes missing, I should be able to find it.  So, it came down to AppleCare+ or SquareTrade.  Since the screen on my old iPhone 4 cracked twice, I went with SquareTrade.  Hopefully, I won’t have four repairs over the next two years.  But if I need them, it’s good to know that they are there.

See Asurion’s, Apple’s and SquareTrade’s websites for more details.

5 thoughts on “What About Cell Phone Insurance?”

    1. Jim,
      Glad you liked the article. Since I decided to look at different insurance options, I thought I might as well share what I found.
      Judy

  1. I have purchased many warranties through SquareTrade and had to use their service once so far. I bought a refurbed laptop once, and purchased a 2year warranty from SquareTrade on my own. Suddenly after about a year, the display went black even though it powered on. Couldn’t figure out the problem, so contacted SquareTrade. They filed my claim, shipped me a packing box right away, and had me ship it to their repair center. The entire process from getting my box, shipping it to them, them fixing it, and me getting it back only took about 5 days! They did ask me a few questions about it and had me try a few steps first to make sure it really wasn’t working, but there was no runaround. I did mine completely through email and their site….there were no excuses, they answered my emails very quickly, had me sent it in, they repaired it and I received it back in full working order. It’s been working fine every since. The reason I had purchased from them was due to the great ratings I was seeing everywhere. When I finally need to file a claim, I was nervous since I’ve always had terrible experiences with other warranty companies and manufacturers in the past. But they certainly gained my trust and a 5 star rating from me after my claim. I was literally stunned at how smooth it all went. I love it that you can buy a warranty directly through them without getting it from another company such as Amazon or whereever. I can buy an item whereever I want, then go online to SquareTrade and buy a warranty for it. The best part is that they are always putting out coupon codes, so I’ve gotten warranties so much cheaper this way. I buy something, I just forward my order confirmation to SquareTrade, and they keep it on file for me. Then I just fill in the serial number, etc…and that’s it. So…so far, I’ve only had great experiences with them and that is quite unusual to have with a warranty company!

    1. Ooops, forgot to mention that they do offer some warranties for refurbs and even for some items you might buy on EBay.

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