4 CellPhone Insurance Secrets You Never Knew

Yes, you would probably not knowing about these cellphone insurance secrets which we are going to explain in this article.

Before buying a new cell phone, you make sure that you get the insurance on your brand new gadget. To protect it from any kind of damages or water spillage or loss or theft, we purchase cell phone insurance. We ask about the cost and damages it covers but how many of us really know the hidden clauses behind it. Here are the four really surprising things about cell phone insurance which goes unnoticed.

1. Your deductible could equal the amount you paid for your phone.

Let’s say you purchase a new iPhone 6S from Sprint for $199.99 with an agreement term of two years. Then, you get phone insurance on iPhone 6S which costs around $11 per month namely, Sprint Total Equipment Protection and you believe that your phone is insured from damages. But if accidently, your phone falls and breaks then the deductible charged on the insurance will be $200. The reason cell phone carriers charge huge deductibles because they cut down the price of your iPhone 6S at the time of the signing of the contract which otherwise would have cost you about $650 when bought from the Apple store. Insurance or any kind of installment plan shows that you don’t need to pay any upfront payment but the hidden charges cover it all.

2.You don’t have to buy insurance from your carrier.

All the cell phone carriers you know depend on upon another company called Asurion to provide phone insurance. The wireless carriers themselves do not insure your phone rather they are into selling phones. So, if you check out the reviews of a particular carrier and find that there are a lot of complaints and decide to switch over another one then, I must warn you that whichever phone carrier you may switch to, you will always end up getting insured over your phone by the same company Asurion. However, you don’t need to get insurance through your carrier knowing the fact that there are other companies which you a lot less for insurance like Square Trade.

3. You have little control over your replacement.

If your phone drops from the tenth floor, is damaged and you claim for a replacement then, remember that the insurance company would try to provide you with a phone of same model and specifications. But the new phone may be new or refurbished, of different color or model. According to Bettie Colombo, a spokesperson for Asurion, “To be able to get the customer back in the same make and model, we use a mix of both new and refurbished phones to ensure adequate inventory is available”.

4.  You can get dropped from your plan for making a claim.

Generally, insurance companies limit the number of claims to two in a year. This is not quite cool enough for people who use their phones roughly.  However, this is good for most of the American adults who have never broken or lost their cell phones say a recent study conducted by Verizon. But there is a catch. If you do not make a claim then you could have spent hundreds of dollars in premium in two year time; and if you make a claim then, then the deductible for a good smartphone could be over $200.

Cell Phone Carrier Insurance Plans

I am listing below the insurance plans from the top four cell phone carriers. They cover damaged, lost or stolen phone but not their malfunctions. The number of claims is limited to 2 claims per year and they are also offered extended warranties packaged with insurance.

Need more information? Check out T-Mobile Phone Insurance.

Other Coverage Options

Check out our comparison of the best cell phone insurance plans and find out if Apple Care is worth it for your iPhone.