An aspect of smartphone ownership that most people may not consider when buying their new daily driver is how much a smartphone costs beyond choosing an installment plan versus paying full price. For most people, there are still going to be additional costs. One cost that most people are at least aware of is insurance for their smartphone, especially if you’ve chosen an expensive flagship. The last thing anybody wants to happen is to buy a smartphone worth hundreds of dollars just to drop it and watch it shatter as soon as you leave the store – and, on occasion, that does happen. And if you didn’t sign up for insurance, you’re probably SOL.
But for the most part, that doesn’t happen. In fact, a lot of people are going to be able to use their smartphone for however long they want and not come across any issues. Maybe it’s because they took extra precautions and purchased a good, rugged case and a tempered glass screen protector, or maybe they didn’t take any precautions and simply had good luck. But there are still going to be situations – typically unforeseen ones – where a smartphone breaks, gets lost or stolen, and for those circumstances having phone insurance can be a beacon of light, as one can replace their phone at a fraction of the price they purchased their phone for.
Lately, however, “fraction of the price” isn’t as cheap as it sounds. Several years ago, a device being replaced under insurance might cost $50 or $100, depending on the device. But as time passes and smartphones are becoming more expensive and elaborate, replacement smartphones – especially those of flagship calibers – can be costly to replace even under insurance.
As a personal anecdote, I broke my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge last year. I carried insurance on it through AT&T, which cost $10.99 a month for full coverage (loss/theft/damage). At the time it shattered, I had spent $241.78 in insurance deductibles. I spent about $120 to get the entire phone replaced, and the price was only that low because AT&T’s deductibles reduced depending on how much time had passed between claims. A new Galaxy S7 Edge would have cost $670 at the time. I was lucky enough to receive a brand new S7 Edge, but I know that not all insurance replacements are brand new. I “saved” $300 on a new device, but it ultimately cost a pretty penny to break the phone, even when I had insurance.
I thought of that incident when it was revealed yesterday that an out-of-warranty screen replacement for the new iPhone X would cost $279. Additionally, all other out-of-warranty replacements will cost a whopping $549. Ouch. Even if you purchase AppleCare+ (which is $199 for the iPhone X) and you break your screen, you’d pay $29 for a screen repair, which still amounts to just $50 less than the $279 it would cost to repair it outside warranty. So, in one scenario you’re definitely out $199 whether you break your phone or not; in the other, you’re potentially out $50 more than you would have otherwise paid for additional “peace of mind”. Not a very convincing argument for most on that front. On the other hand, the purchase of AppleCare+ also covers all other repairs for $99, which sounds much better than $549, but it only covers two accidents before reverting to the $549.
These situations aren’t unique to just Samsung and Apple. For the most part, a smartphone that’s expensive to purchase is going to be expensive to fix or replace as well. Fortunately, there are a lot of options out there when it comes to what action to take when your phone breaks, even if they don’t all include replacing the device with the exact same model.
Although I carried insurance on my Galaxy S7 Edge, I opted not to carry any on the iPhone SE. The phone isn’t that expensive to begin with and I have some rugged protection on it. However, even if I return to expensive flagships sometime in the future, I’m not sure I’ll buy insurance. I’m a clumsy person and I know I’ll drop the phone, possibly even break it or lose it, but there are so many great, inexpensive options out there now that I’d probably just buy a different phone if that problem came up. Alternatively, there are quite a few credit cards out there that include phone insurance by simply paying your bill with the card, so check your cards and their terms to see what’s covered.
Readers, what are your thoughts on smartphone insurance these days? Do you usually have it or usually pass? Let us know your thoughts on the comments below!
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