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Insurance. Who has it, needs it, wants it? Which Provider?

O

OilburnerdDE

Newbie
Hello all,
My Rezound came in yesterday and I spent last night fiddling with it and trying to set it up and what not. Now I want to investigate insurance.

I had my OG droid for just over two years. Always had it in a Seidio case and holster. Dropped a few times but never damaged it. Did not have insurance.

I do have a Seidio surface combo on order. But I did also buy the extended battery, which wont work with the Seidio case. I don't plan to use the extended battery, unless I know I will be away from power for an extended time. I am not a heavy user, don't text or use it for social media. Just for corporate email and calls.

In the past I have accidentally damaged a phone to the point it needed to be replaced. I don't want to have that happen with a phone that has such a high replacement cost.

So I want to at least investigate getting smart phone insurance. I already written off Asurion (sp?) coverage that Verizon offers due to the many complaints I have read about it.

Two other providers stand out to me Square Trade and ENSquared.

Anyone have any recommendations, comments, tips?

Also is it possible to insure a rooted phone?

Thanks in advance for any and all advise!

Eric
 
I personally don't get the insurance and here is why.

My wife just went through the insurance process. Her Droid 2 had a problem that she just accepted until I got the rezound. Then after seeing that I could do obvious things she couldn't she asked me to help. I could not get her phone to work so we took it to Verizon. They said that this was a hardware problem and that the phone qualified for a replacement.

Now here is the great part. They will give her a refurbished Droid 2 for $100 deductible. Cost of a replacement Droid 2 on Amazon $22. Also she has been paying $6/month for the insurance which for the last 19 months totals $114. We listened politely and I privately told my wife to just upgrade, which Verizon will allow because of the problem for $30, to another phone. Total cost to my wife for insurance experience to get an obsolete phone replacement $244 . Cost of a new rezound $199. What a crock!

Now think about this: the insurance companies are not there to help you - they exist to make money from you. They know that on average most people never have a claim yet when you do you get minimal return for your insurance investment. They are betting on you not breaking your phone while you are betting against yourself.

Also in a few months the retail price of the phone will be less than the insurance replacement costs. HTC has already come out with 3 new phones that will hit the market shortly.

My advice is put the monthly insurance charge in a old coffee jar with the $100 replacement cost. You will then be insuring yourself and will be ahead of the game. IMHO.
 
Thanks for the feedback zazan. I guess my concern is what would happen if I break the phone within the first year of ownership. I got the phone for $69, if it breaks within the next year, I doubt I would be able to replace it for under $100.

Looking closely at ensquared, for top tier coverage which includes accidental damage, lost-stolen and extended warranty it would run me $50 a year or $100 for two. With a 3 tier claim cost of $35-$50-$75 depending on the cost of claim.

That is why it looks very enticing to me.
 
I got the insurance through Verizon\Asurion(?) when I got my Thunderbolt, because I bought it out of contract - so I paid the ~$650 full price for the phone... If I broke it, it would be another ~$650... I happened to drop it flat on the screen, the second day I had it (I do NOT have a history of breaking\dropping phones), and the screen shattered. Paid the $100 deductable, and got my brand NEW (not refurbished, but only because the phone was literally JUST released the day before I made my claim) replacement Thunderbolt.
In THAT circumstance, the insurance was very worth it... I think it will ALWAYS be worth it, because these phones are SO insanely expensive to replace out of contract, that no matter how much the deductible - it will always be cheaper (with new(er) phones, such as the Rezound).
 
Insurance is one of those things you pay for and hope to never use. But, it's great when you do!

I wish I was like zazan and never needed it, but when I totaled out my Droid X in a parking lot, I was 3 months away from an upgrade Granted, I may have been able to find a cheap used one if I'd had the time to look around and be picky. However, I simply didn't and we didn't have another phone handy for me to use while I did that. So getting a guarantied replacement overnight was worth the money I'd paid in.

In short, it's not just a matter of dollars and cents to me as much as it is a commitment that I'll get a replacement in a short time. Kinda like auto or home owners insurance. I never want to need it, but it'll be nice to have it there when I do! :eek:
 
Just for the record I'm not knocking all insurance. Our negative experience was with Verizon insurance. I think you just need to run the numbers look at your personal situation and make a decision. If I was to get a new phone when submitting a claim I may have a different opinion.

Knock on wood (my head in this case) I have never broken a phone but my wife has. She always got the insurance but has always gotten a refurbished phone that was more trouble than it was worth. In our case we just took another route this time.

Good luck! It sounds like the insurance program you are looking at may be a good deal. I'll keep it in mind.
 
SquareTrade is great.

I've had 10 warranties with them for all kinds of electronics. They are so hassle free.
 
I have the assureon plans on my phones because of issues i had a few years ago with phones crapping out and my wife having lost a phone a few years ago. I am just worried about cracking screens or issues after 1st year and before being able to get upgrade. I don't want to have to pay full price for a phone (something like $600 on rezound) and I'm fine with paying 90 vs paying for new phone and early upgrade. Plus at the moment its easier for me to keep track of upgrades when all lines on the account are eligible at the same time.
 
I have it because I don't use a case. The insurance also gives you free overnight shipping on anything vzw sends.

I'm not eligible for an upgrade until next February so ill keep it until then. I'll cancel it once I'm eligible and then if I upgrade, ill add it back.
 
I use squaretrade too. When my wife dropped her droid x in the toilet (yep), they sent the retail price of $579 to my paypal account. If a screen breaks, they may offer to fix it like they did with my HTC Incredible. It is well worth the money for 2 years of coverage.
 
as one poster said, insuranced is priced to make the insurance compa.y money, not to save you money. Insurance and extended warranties should only be used to guard against potential life changing financial events, not to guard against every possible minor expense. The latter is an extremely expensive way to go through life, and you will lose in the long run. But if it puts your mind at ease, go for it.
 
To me insurance is worth it while the phone is new. Once it's cheap to buy a refurb outright or upgrade for the same cost it no longer makes sense.
 
I have a square trade policy on my phone. It was more expensive than I would have liked and they now have a $99 deductible. I hope I don't need it, but if I do, at least I wont' be shelling out $600 for a new device. Not entirely sure it's worth it but I trashed my original OG Droid at the gym and had insurance so it saved me the money on a new device. I used ST on my son's DS which he ruined - they sent me the money for a new device within 3 days of the claim - so they are trustworthy.
 
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