I looked at the cost of that total protection plan for my 4 family members, and then I looked at the cost of buying an Optimus S on ebay. I think I calculated that unless one of my family members lost or destroyed their phone every 4 months, it was cheaper to NOT buy the protection plan. I figured that it was highly unlikely that somebody average losing/destroying a phone every 4 months, and even if they did, I could afford to replace it with a phone from ebay.
1st rule of risk management: Reduce risk.
2nd rule of risk management: Never insure anything that you can easily afford to replace.
The cellular companies LOVE selling these insurance plans, just like Best Buy LOVES selling you insurance plans for electronics. They have no competitors trying to sell you such insurance, so their insurance plans don't have to be competitive, and they can charge outrageous premiums and make big profit margins.
