New VZW iPhone owners - accidental damage insurance

cwa107


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Not sure about AT&T, but Verizon offers a $10/mo. insurance program that protects against loss/theft/accidental damage, etc. I had opted for this, but a friend of mine pointed out that Squaretrade is offering a better warranty with a lower deductible on sale right now for $81:

Verizon iPhone Insurance Alternative | iPhone 4 Insurance | SquareTrade iPhone Warranty | SquareTrade Warranties

Not bad compared to $240 for Verizon's coverage over the course of 2 years. Did a bit of research on Squaretrade and people seem to be satisfied with them. For $81, and considering how susceptible the iPhone 4 seems to be, it seems like pretty cheap insurance.
 
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AT&T has something, but it sucks. If I remember reading the e-mail correctly it was $250 up front (just to sign up) AND $10/month. In the end you paid for a whole new phone. This is one of those areas where competition will probably be good. It'll force AT&T to improve things like this.

I'll have to see if I can dig out the e-mail and post it here....
 
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I didn't even think AT&T offered insurance for the iPhone, I thought it was excluded from the program?
 
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I got the e-mail about a week before the VZW announcement. I suspect it had something to do with that.
 
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I have a friend that is a State Farm Agent. One of our other buddies was busting his chops about insuring all of his families phones. Apparently, if they weren't pulling my leg, you can insure your phone through State Farm for about $50 per year. Dunk it, lose it, grind it, etc and you get a replacement. I need to check it out but has anyone else heard about this?
 
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I have a friend that is a State Farm Agent. One of our other buddies was busting his chops about insuring all of his families phones. Apparently, if they weren't pulling my leg, you can insure your phone through State Farm for about $50 per year. Dunk it, lose it, grind it, etc and you get a replacement. I need to check it out but has anyone else heard about this?

Most home owners/renter insurance will cover your phone just as it would cover your TV or Stereo. You just need to check with your agent.
 
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cwa107

cwa107


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I have a friend that is a State Farm Agent. One of our other buddies was busting his chops about insuring all of his families phones. Apparently, if they weren't pulling my leg, you can insure your phone through State Farm for about $50 per year. Dunk it, lose it, grind it, etc and you get a replacement. I need to check it out but has anyone else heard about this?

Not sure that I would want to file a claim on my homeowners over a $500 phone. The long-term rate increase probably wouldn't be worth it.
 
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Not sure that I would want to file a claim on my homeowners over a $500 phone. The long-term rate increase probably wouldn't be worth it.

I think it depends on your policy. You can get specific insurance to cover electronics as part of your policy these days, vice the general policy, and the rates are pretty reasonable. My renters policy has a $50 deductible for lost, stolen or damaged electronics. It includes my phones, TVs computers etc....
 

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Most home owners policies offer what is called "scheduling". Which means you can separately insure high value items such as your wife's diamond engagement ring set, electronics, and so forth. Otherwise your home owner's policy would insure those items according to their deductible. Most policies here in Texas are written with a 1% deductible. Which means a $1000 deductible for a home valued at $100,000.
 
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The cost of the Verizon iphone warranty is $10.99 or $132 a year. I had trouble finding a copy of the policy but finally did. It is TEC Asurion and this is the link I found:Calling Features: Total Equipment Coverage – now with Mobile Recovery
I got the first bill and I did get the $10.99 charge but in the description of the policy, it says that that rate is for the tablets. Anyway, it also says there is a $129 deductible per claim and it is remanufactured equipment. They also offer mobile recovery which you can get yourself with "find my iphone". I know the cost of the phones is high but this seems to not be worth it. I have never lost a phone or gotten one wet but i have had one go bad on me so I am canceling it. The $69 Applecare plan sounds good for me.
 
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I set up with state farm at one point for my Digital SLR and multiple lenses for $35 a year..
$3500 value in camera equipment.

and as they said i cold toss it down a volcano myself and it would be covered no deductible.
 
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Another dilemma . . . first, which case to protect my iPhone with & now insuring it. I was all set to purchase the Apple Care Plan, but the SquareTrade sounds like a great way to go. Can anyone recommend one over the other? There are pros & cons to both options which makes this a hard decision.
 
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cwa107

cwa107


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Keep in mind that AppleCare is NOT insurance. It's an extended warranty. If you drop the phone, get it wet, break a screen, or otherwise damage it, you're out of luck. I have never used Squaretrade before, but the reviews look solid and you can't beat the price.
 
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Another dilemma . . . first, which case to protect my iPhone with & now insuring it. I was all set to purchase the Apple Care Plan, but the SquareTrade sounds like a great way to go. Can anyone recommend one over the other? There are pros & cons to both options which makes this a hard decision.


I have the Otterbox defender case & it is awesome. Highly recommended.
Personally the SquareTrade deal sounds like the way to go.
 
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cwa107

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The cost of the Verizon iphone warranty is $10.99 or $132 a year. I had trouble finding a copy of the policy but finally did. It is TEC Asurion and this is the link I found:Calling Features: Total Equipment Coverage – now with Mobile Recovery
I got the first bill and I did get the $10.99 charge but in the description of the policy, it says that that rate is for the tablets. Anyway, it also says there is a $129 deductible per claim and it is remanufactured equipment. They also offer mobile recovery which you can get yourself with "find my iphone". I know the cost of the phones is high but this seems to not be worth it. I have never lost a phone or gotten one wet but i have had one go bad on me so I am canceling it. The $69 Applecare plan sounds good for me.

The Squaretrade insurance has a $50 deductible. It's $81 (right now) for two years. Compare that to Verizon/Asurion at $11/mo for 24 months and you're out $264. Also, that insurance does not cover manufacturer defects or full submersion in liquid, which the Squaretrade does.

AppleCare is NOT, repeat NOT insurance. It is simply an extended warranty. This is an important distinction - a warranty covers you against a manufacturer's defect. In solid-state electronics with no moving parts, that is extremely rare. Compared to the risk of dropping the phone, losing it, having it stolen, etc, it's almost non-existent. Now, it does buy you 2 years of toll-free, 24/7 tech support - but if you're fairly savvy with electronics, I'm sure you could do without it.
 
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Based on what I've read here, I think I'm going to go with the SquareTrade insurance.

BTW, thanks to this thread because I called my insurance company to see about having my iPhone covered under my homeowners insurance & they recommended removing the jewelry I have covered to it's own policy.

So, I scored twice by reading this thread!

Thanks,
Mel
 
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I did some research and the Squaretrade deal sounds like the best deal and the most reliable. I found it for $99 on Amazon and on the Squaretrade site but I haven't seen it anywhere for $81.
I called and canceled the Verizon policy. It really irked me that $2 of that charge was for "Mobile Recovery" which sounds exactly like the free "find my iphone" program.
I also checked out the Otterbox site and it does look like a good case but they don't have the full line available for Verizon iphones yet and the ATT ones won't work.
 
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I did some research and the Squaretrade deal sounds like the best deal and the most reliable. I found it for $99 on Amazon and on the Squaretrade site but I haven't seen it anywhere for $81.
I called and canceled the Verizon policy. It really irked me that $2 of that charge was for "Mobile Recovery" which sounds exactly like the free "find my iphone" program.
I also checked out the Otterbox site and it does look like a good case but they don't have the full line available for Verizon iphones yet and the ATT ones won't work.

I bought my Otterbox defender case @ Best Buy & it fits like a glove. So they do make one specifically for the Verizon Iphone.
 
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cwa107

cwa107


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I did some research and the Squaretrade deal sounds like the best deal and the most reliable. I found it for $99 on Amazon and on the Squaretrade site but I haven't seen it anywhere for $81

It was on Squaretrade's site (not the iPhone app), but it did read as a limited time offer. My guess is that it went back to the original price.
 
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This is probably a silly question... but what happens if you have SquareTrade and your phone is lost/stolen? That isn't covered under ST. I'd like to get the ST coverage but am worried about losing my phone or it getting stolen.. Is there another way to get this coverage but not pay Verizon's exorbitant fees + deductible?
 

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