Is cell phone insurance worth it?

I think buying cell phone insurance is the biggest scam invented today. Unforutunately too many of my friends found out the hard way.

How much are we really paying?

Most people don’t realize that along with the $3-$5 monthly charge they are also required to pay an additional deductible of $35-$50 and up (depending what tier the phone lies on) when making a claim against a lost, damaged, or stolen phone! Most of the free phones given away by the carries are around $75- $100 if you were to purchase them without a plan.

Let us do the math. If I am able to keep my phone safe for a year I have paid $60 for nothing. What’s worse is that if I had to make a claim on the phone I would be paying more than what the phone was originally worth. Now I know what you are thinking what if I purchase a Treo 700 or some other expensive phone. Well the answer is simple, most carriers’ don’t offer insurance on the expensive line of PDA style phones and if they do the deductible are so ridiculously high they are just not worth it.

Here is the real kicker if you have to make a claim. Most carries do not insure the phones themselves. They use third party insurance companies. This means that you have to call the insurance company directly. OK, so I make the call only to find out they don’t have my phone in stock. It turns out that my phone is no longer available, which I was told happens more often than not. Most insurance companies will not stock phones that are six months old. Instead you are sent a phone that the insurance company
deems “comparable”.

Comparable is one of those subjective words that should immediately send up a red flag. What if I don’t like the phone? What if I like my Motorola and now they sent me a Nokia? What if I purchased accessories for my phone and now they won’t work with my new replacement phone?
Another thing to consider is that the insurance company does not have to send you a NEW PHONE. Read the fine print of your agreement.

It’s my opinion that purchasing insurance for a phone is simply not beneficial in anyway. Between Ebay and other auction style websites the consumer has numerous ways to find a replacement phone they are comfortable with, at a price they can afford.

I prefer to create my own insurance plan. After I get my phone I immediately put the $50 I would have to pay for the deductible in my desk drawer. Then I simply add the $5.00 a month the insurance company would have charged me to the kitty. This way if I am able to keep my phone in good shape for at least 9 months, I will have saved myself a total of $45 in monthly fees, combine that with my original $50, I would easily be able to purchase the latest version of my phone instead of relying on the insurance company sending me a 4-6 month old (possible refurbished) phone. Another bonus to creating your own insurance program is that if you are able to keep your phone until you qualify for an upgrade you will probably have an extra $140 to $170 to go towards the phone that has all of the bells and whistles you can’t live without.

**One last quick tip!
If you insist you need insurance and you do have to make a claim make sure you tell them you dropped the phone and that is why it is not working. My friend had a phone that just completely froze. When he went
to submit a claim to the insurance agency they asked him what happened and he explained to them he went to make a call and the phone froze up.
Here is where he got screwed. They claimed it was a manufactures defect and he would have to return the unit to Sony Ericsson directly!

The representitive told him that if he said he "dropped" the phone she would be able to accept the claim. Unreal Huh

Think of this way - insurance companies aren't in the business their in because they don't make money

I think that it is worth it becasue I have used it befor and I did break my phone so I got a brand new one which saved me a few hundred dollars.

On my website which is Free Mobile Phones Upgrades: Cheap Mobile phone insurance, orange mobile phones, Laptop insurance you can buy phone insurance for less than 19p per day. We will cover your phone if it has been damaged accidently, if it has been damaged by water, been stolen or even if you have just misplaced it.
Did you know that figures in 2006 show that

• 1.3 million mobiles were stolen
• 1.6 million were lost
• 600,000 were dropped in a toilet
• 400,00 were dropped in drinks
• 200,000 ended their life in a washing machine.

Personally i think having phone insurance is worth it!!

I wouldn't personally get it. In my life I have owned probably 30 cell phones. In that time I lost one of them. If I had paid $5.00 a month for the last 15 years for insurance I would have spent $625.00 on insurance, and gotten one relatively cheap phone out of it.

The reality is in a lot of cases your auto insurance and home owners insurance, and even workplace insurance can deal with common problems with theft and such.

Guess I just have to take care of my phone the best way that I can. Besides, phones are constantly upgrading and usually, you get new ones so there shouldn't be much need of an insurance afterall.

Good topic and very well covered.(all the angles). I have never had phone insurance. I doubt I ever would get it. I take very good care of my devices and have never needed insurance yet."knock on wood". If I did break/lose a phone I would probably just upgrade to something better. I also see it as a type of scam as someone already mentioned. I wouldn't knock anybody for having it tho.....my .02

I personally have my cellfones covered under my house insurance.

None of this small print about liquid damage not covered etc

personally i dont go for this type of insurance stuff just like i wont pay my credit card company a "security fee" which is designed to insure them if ever my card get stolen and missed used etc..

if you are someone who loses stuff/break stuff etc.. and you buy a expensive phonse like a high end nokia n series phone or something than go ahead and insure it cuz u know ur probably gonna break it or lose it lol but if not than save ur money cuz all the money you spend to insure ur phone you can probably collect it and buy a new phone.