Filed under: Hardware, Troubleshooting, Security, iPhone
Insure your iPhone, because AT&T won't
Since I've owned a variety of regular mobile phones and smartphones over the last couple of years, I wasn't surprised to see fine print during the iPhone activation process which warns users that AT&T won't offer their insurance policy on Apple's darling new gadget. I've been on nearly every major mobile phone network in the US - Cingular, T-Mobile (and VoiceStream), Verizon and Sprint - and not one of them covered smartphones with their policies. In fact, if you were upgrading an existing AT&T account and swapping out your old phone that had an AT&T insurance policy on it, you too were warned that the policy would be automatically removed from your account. Gee, you'd think these companies don't trust us with small, easy-to-drop expensive electronics. Who knew?
To help remedy this lack of a contingency plan for the iPhone, I decided to call a few insurance companies in the Colorado area to see if they could cover it. What many people might not know is that these companies typically cover electronics like mobile phones and even notebook computers, often at prices far cheaper than extended warranty plans from manufacturers and retail stores. While I'm not entirely familiar with how fast actin' or comprehensive this kind of coverage is from every provider, I do know that mine - State Farm - will cover both hardware failure and accidental damage (though accidental damage will cause my premiums to increase, while an incident like theft will not).
Back to getting coverage for your shiny new phone, however, the summarized rundown I got from calling three of the big general insurance providers (Allstate, Geico and State Farm) is that attaching a clause to a renter or homeowner insurance policy specifically for covering an iPhone would add only $5-20/year to a policy. Keep in mind these were estimates based on a $600 iPhone, and it appears that you can't simply ask these guys to insure a phone; you need to have some kind of a primary policy with them first, then attach this specific clause. Surprisingly, every representative I spoke with knew exactly what an iPhone was, and a couple of them asked me whether I was happy with mine.
As far as coverage through companies like specialized electronics or computer insurance providers is concerned, I had a much harder time finding anything substantial. Most of the companies I spoke with didn't have policies in place, and only Safeware confirmed that they were "seriously considering" introducing iPhone coverage. They do, however, cover other smartphones, and a quote for a BlackBerry Curve (a $400 smartphone) was $65 for a year, covering accidental damage, loss and theft. A downside, however, is that repairs for damage have a turnaround time of 7-10 days, with no loaner options available. If being without a phone is a primary concern, the loner option included in AppleCare for iPhone might be a good 'plan b' to consider in combination with one of these insurance policies.
Ultimately it's a good thing to at least have insurance options in addition to AppleCare, since Apple doesn't cover any sort of accidental damage. Since insuring an iPhone through one of the larger companies seems to be so cheap, it's basically a no-brainer to pick up at least some kind of a policy. If y'all have other ideas or options for insuring your shiny new iPhone, please enlighten the rest of the class with a comment.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kender said 1:38PM on 7-18-2007
Actually - though the post in general is good, one addendum:
Before iPhone, I was with Verizon for 8 years, and on every smartphone I had (Kyocera 6035, Kyocera 7135, Samsung i700H, and Treo 650) I had insurance for $4.99 a month.
It's probably a regional thing for some carriers.
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John said 1:41PM on 7-18-2007
The phone is only $600, I'll take the chance that it won't break
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Marlon said 5:47PM on 7-18-2007
Insurance for smartphones/PDA phones/Data phones is not a regional thing. One company insures pretty much every carriers phones, and that's Asurion.
The reason why they stopped offering insurance is because there was a lot of fraud going on and a lot of money was lost.
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iBalla said 1:52PM on 7-18-2007
Would I be able to add, say, a laptop or an iphone onto my geico auto insurance?
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Frank said 1:58PM on 7-18-2007
Also don't forget that your credit card will sometimes double the manufacturers' warranty on any purchase. I'm pretty certain AmEx does this.
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Paul Kierstead said 9:23PM on 7-18-2007
Homeowners insurance typically has quite a large deductible; $500 is quite common. In that light, $5-20 would seem to be quite a rip-off, especially considering it is probably covered anyway against loss (accidental or otherwise). Or is this some special non-deductible clause?
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Brendan G. Lim said 2:03PM on 7-18-2007
Actually just did an article about this ...
http://brendanlim.com/2007/7/17/how-i-insured-my-iphone
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Brendan G. Lim said 2:05PM on 7-18-2007
Got mine to a $250 deducatable -- and have to go meet with my agent and 'prove' its cost by either receipt or appraisal to get the deductable down to $100.
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schlomo said 2:11PM on 7-18-2007
my iPhone is covered under my "extended electronics coverage" from USAA. I pay something like $35/yr for full coverage (accidental, theft, etc.) on all of my electronics with a $100 or 10% (IIRC) deductible on the replacement value. I've never had to use it, but USAA is usually phenomenal about turnaround times on any sort of claims (I went from a flooded Camaro to cash in my pocket less than a week after Katrina, for example) so I'm not worried :)
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Patrick McCarron said 2:12PM on 7-18-2007
I added a rider to my home owners insurance to cover both my MacBook Pro and my iPhone. I have done this for the past two years since I purchased both items.
It costs me a measly ~$100-120 a year and has a $0 deductible. Yes that's right.
Those items you take out the house are not covered by your home owners policy once they leave the house.
So by adding this extra rider for a measly $10 a month it covers both my MacBook Pro and iPhone incase I were to drop them, have them stolen or just plain misplace them.
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dresden said 2:10PM on 7-18-2007
Not to be a total n00b, but is AppleCare available for it yet? I actually just ordered it for one of my iMacs yesterday, and didn't see an iPhone specific package on the web site.
I may very well have missed it, so if anyone could supply a link, please do.
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jeffrey said 2:13PM on 7-18-2007
"I've been on nearly every major mobile phone network in the US - Cingular, T-Mobile (and VoiceStream), Verizon and Sprint - and not one of them covered smartphones with their policies."
Not true.
I have insurance for my Motorola Q on Verizon for $4.95/mo via their Assurion (or whatever) provider.
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dresden said 2:13PM on 7-18-2007
Dur. I just dug around and found that it's not available, yet. And will be 69 bucks.
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h8rain said 2:14PM on 7-18-2007
To Schlomo:
Damn that was faster than FEMA getting there!
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Steve said 2:52PM on 7-18-2007
actually T-Mobile covers blackberries. My roommate just lost his and he got a new one with the insurance.
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schlomo said 2:18PM on 7-18-2007
h8rain:
nope. the horror stories of FEMA reaction times can get horribly exaggerated. emergency assistance from FEMA (food, water, first aid kits) were dropped from helicopters into my area the day after the storm. Red Cross, FEMA, and volunteers were in full force within 10 days, and still are to this day.
but I digress.
this article should be a more mainstream idea - I had no idea I could even get extra coverage on my electronics and portable items until I called USAA and asked if my MBP was covered if it was stolen while it was out of the house (for the record: no, it's not).
giant moral of the story: never hesitate to ask your insurer questions, and if they won't insure something, someone else will.
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Nick said 2:23PM on 7-18-2007
I just talked to my agent and was told that if it were stolen from my home or damaged due to a lightening strike or flood, then it is covered. Otherwise it is not covered, ie any accidental damage.
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Patrick McCarron said 2:26PM on 7-18-2007
Also consider getting your own insurance versus the cell phone provider is that you will be getting a new replacement item and not a "refurbished" replacement. This makes it well worth it in my mind.
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Jeff said 2:34PM on 7-18-2007
Are you going to suggest we all start playing the lottery, too?
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John Sample said 2:35PM on 7-18-2007
The Deductible/Line-Item Addition relationship is very important to examine, but in addition; be aware that different insurance companies have different 'claims activity' policies. That policy may not be very forthcoming if you ask them about it.
Thats one reason alot of people insure computers/phones etc with third party companies where there's no reportage back for your big monster homeowners policy.
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