Do you need cell phone insurance? That depends. Have you dropped your phone before? How often? Do you work with your phone around water? Are you prone to losing your phone? Do you often need your smartphone repaird? These are only questions you can answer. Here, we'll answer the main question: Is cell phone insurance worth it?
How much does cell phone insurance cost?
You should understand that even if you have phone insurance, there will be a deductible. This is like any other insurance. If you are forced to make a claim, you need to pay a certain amount and the company will pay the rest. This amount varies based on which company you're buying insurance through.
Most phone companies handle their insurance using a tiered deductible. AT&T insurance is $6.99 per month with a tiered deductible that ranges from $50 to $199. Sprint charges $8-$11 per month and the tiered deductible ranges from $50 to $200. If you don’t know the price for your insurance and how much the deductible is for your device, you should call your provider.
What happens when you break your phone?
When you break your phone, you'll need to file a claim and pay your deductible. Then, your phone insurance will cover your smartphone repair or replace your phone entirely. For example, if you have an iPhone 6s, you're looking at a cost of at least $649 to replace it. If you have a Samsung Galaxy S6, the cost is around $680. Both of these phones meet the highest tiered deductible of around $200. That means your phone insurance company will be paying $449 or more should they have to replace the device. If you opted out of phone insurance, you'd pay the full cost of the phone yourself.
If you're prone to having accidents, it might be worth paying around $10 a month based on your insurance provider. Most of the time, you're guaranteed to save 50% of the price of the phone or more. It is worth noting that a replacement phone is likely to be a refurbished model (instead of a brand new phone), but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
What do you mean refurbished?
A lot of people hear the word "refurbished" and cringe. It's usually associated with the term "used." However, while the handset might be used, this doesn’t necessarily mean it was mishandled. There are several different reasons a phone might be returned that does not equate to dire damage to the device. These phones can be ones that were simply turned on at the factory to make sure the phone worked, only to be put back in a box. It could be a phone someone returned because it was too much for them. It could also have been returned because the phone was too small or large.
There are phones that have been damaged, but in order to be sold as "refurbished," they've been repaired to like-new condition. So, say someone dropped their phone in water. The owner might have gotten a new phone, so the company took the old, water damaged phone and repaired it. They replaced the damaged components and fixed it to a like-new quality. Speaking from personal experience, refurbished phones yield great quality with great savings.
Is it worth it?
All in all, it's up to you. If you have an older phone, you might consider opting out. In the long run, it'll cost you much more, and it's probably time to upgrade anyway. You should certainly consider buying cell phone insurance if you have a newer phone. If something happens to it, you'll be paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket at an inopportune moment to have your smartphone repaired or replaced. If anything, you may want to pay around $10 simply for peace of mind. You'll know you're covered. Just be sure to ask your company about what exactly they cover before you sign a contract for smartphone repair or replacement.
