Current iPhone Insurances are not Fool Proof.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Buying a new iPhone? Do you want insurance? That will cost ya $96.00 to $360 for 2 years, and it doesn’t even cover lost or stolen phones.

The problem with iPhone insurances is that unlike other cell phones, AT&T doesn’t offer a full insurance coverage that covers accidental damage, theft, or lost phones. That came as a surprise for many first time iPhone buyers with a history of dropping cell phones on concrete floors and lost phones looking to purchase insurance.

Apple and AT&T only offers an “AppleCare Protection Plan” available as an extended warranty. But it just extends technical support and hardware repairs to two years for $69. It covers battery if its capacity has diminished by over 50%. But here’s the kicker; they don’t cover accidental damage, theft, or loss.

Best Buy Stores as well as other warranty protection services such as SquareTrade will be offering ~~insurances~~, sorry, warranties, when the new iPhone 3GS go on sale June 11, 2009.

Best Buy is charging $180 per year, or $15 per month to protect iphones from drops, spill, and any other device failures. That is done through Geek Squad’s Black Tie Protection service. Previous iPhone warranties from Best Buy doesn’t seem to include water damage.

Square Trade is charging $96 for 8 gb model and $115 for the 16gb model for 2 years of coverage. That seems to be a better deal. There are other warranty companies out there. Just do a search on Google.

Both iphone “insurance” plans that covers accidental damage mentioned above will set potential buyers back a boatload of money. Buyers would think they are covered for everything, right? Be warned, if you lose you iPhone at a basketball game, or if someone stole it from you, you are not covered. These warranties do not cover lost or stolen iPhones. To protect against theft, you probably have to have some sort of a homeowner’s insurance that pays for stuff stolen from the home.

Even though not everything is covered. If you have the slippery fingers or like to drop cell phones into water. You should probably choose an affordable accidental protection plan. Best Buy’s plan may be a little too expensive. Come on, with a total of $360 spent over 2 years. People might as well as buy a new phone. However, plans under $100 may not be a bad deal for those with a history of dropped cell phone. Try to look on the net for a good and affordable accidental protection plan. Be sure to check the company’s credibility and ability to deliver you a fixed or at least a refurbished iPhone when that iPhone gets smashed.

For those of you who rarely had any dropped cell phones or phones flushing down the toilets, you probably don’t need an accidental damage protection plan. Just keep your iPhones in your pocket or purse. And be very careful when you take them out. Oh, and make sure your fingers are not slippery when you reach for it.