American insure things that are important. It’s smart. It gives peace of mind to know that there’s something in place to help when things go wrong.
But what about insuring that lifeline that does the work of dozens of separate devices all in one with a smartphone insurance plan.
About 81 percent of people own a smartphone, according to The Pew Research Center. And roughly one in five Americans rely on smartphones for internet access.
You insure your home, car, and health. Why not your phone?
Let’s walk through five reasons why you should.
1. Smartphone Insurance Usually Covers What a Warranty Does Not
A warranty is a promise to fix or replace a phone that is defective because of a manufacturing or parts issue. Sometimes, these warranties will extend for a certain period of time and may include a wider range of reasons than just manufacturing defects.
But outside of the warranty time frame, or if the warranty is limited, phone owners are up the creek if they break or lose a phone.
Insurance plans will have language for what kind of assistance the plan will provide depending on what happened. But in the end, you will have that assurance as long as you pay for the plan.
2. Deductibles Are Often Cheaper Than a New Flagship Phone
Most flagship phones will cost around $700. The iPhone XS Mac has models that rang up to almost $1,500.
Not all phone insurance plans have a deductible, or amount of money you have to pay before benefits activate.
Remember that the math is with you on this one.
Assume the monthly payment is a very high $15 per month (most are around $10 or less) and that the replacement deductible is a high $300. This is a scenario where you need to replace your phone.
Payments to the plan after a year:
$15×12 months + $300 deductible = $480
A year and a half:
$15×18 months + $300 deductible = $570
You’ve paid for the phone for two years.
3. Just in Case Your Case Fails
How much faith should you put in a piece of plastic to protect the most useful device you own? Not much.
Cases can’t protect phones from everything. They are good for preventing drop damage and that’s about it. Screens are often uncovered and easy to break.
And they are all but useless in preventing people from stealing or losing phones.
4. Don’t Sweat Repairs
There are roughly 8,600 cell phone repair business in the U.S. Not all of them are worth their salt.
That’s not a knock on the industry. It’s just hard to know which ones will treat you right. Find out more about how to handle phone repairs.
Many plans require phones to be collected by the phone retailer that sold the phone to be sent to a reliable repair shop. Or, the company will find a reliable shop in the insured person’s area to check out first.
5. Something Is Going to Happen
Over the course of a year, American break well over 50 million smartphone screens. And that report only accounted for screen replacements. It didn’t look at other forms of damage to the phone or its parts.
Saying that it’s not going to happen to you is a bit ludicrous.
The price of peace of mind
It’s probably well worth a couple of extra bucks a month to pay for a smartphone insurance plan.
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