Author Topic: Phne Insurace  (Read 4158 times)

en58

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Phne Insurace
« on: October 24, 2017, 07:37:19 AM »
So does anyone here carry phone insurance?

I'm doing some math and unless its in the first 6 months of a new phone coming out, its a total rip-off.

RWD

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #1 on: October 24, 2017, 08:13:44 AM »
If you need insurance on your phone then your phone is too expensive. Phones already have a warranty anyway...

Sibley

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2017, 09:53:31 AM »
Following on RWD, if you're losing/dropping/damaging your phone that much, you need to stop doing that.

Dr.Jeckyl

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2017, 10:17:47 AM »
I do but I shouldn't. I bought a cheap Nexus 5x through Google FI and can't find a replacement 5x so I'd have to upgrade to the Pixel or Pixel 2 if something happened to my phone. It's only a few dollars but it could save me $550- $650 should something happen to my $200 phone.

KarefulKactus15

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2017, 10:23:26 AM »
I don't see the point.     Even on flagship iPhones the apple store can repair broken screens for a very affordable price. 

RWD

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2017, 10:37:41 AM »
I do but I shouldn't. I bought a cheap Nexus 5x through Google FI and can't find a replacement 5x so I'd have to upgrade to the Pixel or Pixel 2 if something happened to my phone. It's only a few dollars but it could save me $550- $650 should something happen to my $200 phone.

Your insurance would replace a broken $200 phone with a $600 phone? Or are you saying that they would somehow be able to find a replacement 5X when you can't on your own? Also, based on a quick search I did it looks like some policies have a deductible of up to $200, at which point you have zero coverage on a $200 phone. What are your specific terms?

ketchup

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #6 on: October 24, 2017, 10:39:00 AM »
Most insurance does not pencil out at all for anything smaller than a house or car (and even then only really liability does).  This is no exception.

Dr.Jeckyl

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #7 on: October 24, 2017, 10:49:46 AM »
I do but I shouldn't. I bought a cheap Nexus 5x through Google FI and can't find a replacement 5x so I'd have to upgrade to the Pixel or Pixel 2 if something happened to my phone. It's only a few dollars but it could save me $550- $650 should something happen to my $200 phone.

Your insurance would replace a broken $200 phone with a $600 phone? Or are you saying that they would somehow be able to find a replacement 5X when you can't on your own? Also, based on a quick search I did it looks like some policies have a deductible of up to $200, at which point you have zero coverage on a $200 phone. What are your specific terms?

$60 deductible on the 5x and they'll find a 5x or I've seen reports of them giving Pixels to customers with 5x or 6P since there aren't many left. Plus only $5/mo. I remember Sprint and Verizon were $10-12/mo for coverage.

Still, I probably shouldn't but the last time I searched I couldn't find any 5x phones and I prefer a Google phone without all the extra overlays and different UIs.

runbikerun

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #8 on: October 24, 2017, 11:15:52 AM »
I insure against things that would be a financial disaster: health insurance, income protection, house insurance, that kind of thing. Having to buy a new phone once in a blue moon is not a financial disaster. It's why I put money into a savings account.

I went for four unscheduled dips in a reservoir earlier this year when the goober I was paired with for the kayak leg of an adventure race managed to capsize us four times in fifteen minutes. My phone was in what I thought was a sealed waterproof bag, but died completely. If I had been paying for phone insurance since 2009, paying about a hundred a year, I would effectively have paid 800 for a refurbished secondhand phone. Instead, I took out half that amount from my savings  and bought myself a blazingly fast Oneplus 3T.

Unless you are truly disastrous with smartphones, you're better off self-insuring.

dang1

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #9 on: October 25, 2017, 03:08:11 AM »
never buy a new flagship smartphone, it's a rip-off. Pristine used flagship smartphones a generation older - still plenty usable, should not cost you more than $300 US currently.

D Bopp

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #10 on: October 25, 2017, 12:11:05 PM »
Using a Wells Fargo credit card to pay your monthly phone bill will automatically give you phone insurance with a $50 deductible.

FindingFI

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #11 on: October 26, 2017, 07:01:37 AM »
After realizing that I was basically paying for a new phone that I wasn't actually getting every few years, I dropped coverage.  Never once have I put in a claim, so I'll take me chances from now on. 

Disclaimer: I have not purchased a phone since the contract subsidies went away so I haven't felt the sting of a $600+ price tag on a new phone.  Still rocking an iPhone 5 from right before the 5c and 5s debuted and they got discontinued. 

reformingSucka

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #12 on: October 26, 2017, 10:49:59 AM »
I do, and for me - totally worth the $10 a month. I have had an iphone6 for over 3 years and plan to use until forever. BUT, I have had to get this phone replaced twice (both with insurance in the last 3 years) without having to pay a deductible. Once the microphone/speaker stopped working and another time something just went haywire (all after the 1 year apple warranty) - and resetting it didn't fix it.

I did the math on the cost of my phone (not service), per day over the course of 4 years - with insurance and it costs me 87 cents a day. If I use the phone for 5 years - the cost drops to 76 cents a day.

initial iphone cost: $800
$360 insurance over 3 years
$480 insurance over 4 years
$600 insurance over 5 years

Total cost of ownership at 3 years: $1160
My cost if I didn't have insurance for the last 3 years: at least $1600. While I could have maybe lived without a microphone or working speaker (not really, I use this all the time) - I definitely would have had to replace the phone at year 2.5 when it went haywire. Culprit? Planned obsolescence... likely.
Savings at 3 years with insurance: $800 (cost of replacement) - $360 insurance cost: Net savings $440

That said, I am an apple sucka with all sorts of icloud dependent $*it. And I am attached to my phone so 86 cents per day is worth it for me.

RWD

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #13 on: October 26, 2017, 11:01:25 AM »
Savings at 3 years with insurance: $800 (cost of replacement) - $360 insurance cost: Net savings $440

That said, I am an apple sucka with all sorts of icloud dependent $*it. And I am attached to my phone so 86 cents per day is worth it for me.

"Savings". You sure had to spend a lot of money to save that $440. Maybe you should rethink your dependence on a single company's walled garden? Also, at the point where you would have needed to replace your first iPhone you probably could have found a good used one for significantly less than $800.

I guess I've saved $1,135 over three years on phone costs by purchasing a $25 flip phone with no insurance.

Dr.Jeckyl

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #14 on: October 26, 2017, 11:22:14 AM »
I'm a big dummy. I don't fall for what if warranties, generally. I buy insurance to protect my income (health, home, life, disability). I don't really need insurance for a phone. Even if a new one costs a few hundred dollars that money is in the bank just chilling. Furthermore, that's checking account money that is losing me money via inflation since the interest rate is so low.

I'm dropping the insurance once I get this missing text message problem figured out. I've been missing text messages occasionally but everyone receives mine.

ketchup

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Re: Phne Insurace
« Reply #15 on: October 26, 2017, 03:08:55 PM »
Using a Wells Fargo credit card to pay your monthly phone bill will automatically give you phone insurance with a $50 deductible.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/uber-credit-card-4-eateries-3-travel-2-online-1-everything-else-100-signup-bonus-no-annual-fee/  The new Uber credit card does the same with a $25 deductible.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!