Phone accidents can happen to anyone and the expenses that arise from a cracked, dented, bent or drowned iPhone could be far reaching. According to statistics from SquareTrade, insurers of personal tech, damaged iPhones have cost Americans $10.7 billion between 2007 and 2014. Most of that money was spent on replacements and repairs. Since Apple charges for uninsured repairs and their basic AppleCare does not cover incidental damage, an insurance plan for your iPhone could come in handy.
1. What to look out for while shopping for insurance plans
What features should the insurance package include? The consumer should look out for the duration of time covered by the insurance, whether you will pay a one-off fee or the fee is paid on a monthly basis, the deductibles, the cancellation policy of the plan and the incidents covered such as theft, loss and water damage. The plan should also be clear on the replacement policy and outline how many replacements are allowed, the model of the replacement and the guaranteed time when the replacement will take effect.
2. Getting the best price
A good policy should come with reasonable pricing. There are cheap packages that start from as low as £3 per month, but they will usually have lots of exclusions such as water damage and screen damage. So when picking your policy make sure you check to see if everything you feel you need covering if covered. While considering pricing, apart from the monthly fee one should consider the excess fees. An excess fee is a set amount you will need to pay upfront before any claim is settled on top of your monthly fee. Companies may sneakily lower the monthly fee by upwaiting the excess fee, meaning at first glance it appears cheaper, but if you need to file a claim it may actually come out the same or more expensive than policies with more expensive monthly fees and reduced excess fees. The last thing to think about is how to find good deals. Price comparison sites are a great way of comparing a huge range of insurance providers so that you are able to find the best price quickly.
3. Insurance policy providers
There are many different companies offering iPhone insurance policies. The most obvious option being companies that specialise in iPhone insurance such as specific gadget and mobile insurance providers. Then there are Apples own insurance plans known as Applecare and AppleCare+ which is more comprehensive than the basic AppleCare and includes protection against accidental damage etc. There are also other insurance providers like Asurion who work with telecoms like T-Mobile and Verizon under different policies. Protect Your Bubble, SquareTrade, Greek Squad and Ensquared are just a few of other insurance providers with policies for iPhones.
Phone owners can also look to banks for their Cellular Telephone Protection covers. The phone owner pays an agreed amount called a cellular plan monthly using their credit card/debit card. The banks don’t have a limited contract term, and you can file up to two claims per year. Lastly, find out if you can include your iPhone in your homeowner’s insurance, and the extra cost per month.
