Droid Insurance

[GrandMasterB]

So based on what I am reading insurance is well worth getting? I have never had insurance on my phone and never had a need for it. My Droid will arrive tomorrow. When I purchased it online I declined the insurance but it did say I had 30 days to add it. I probably will since this phone is far more expensive to replace and probably won't handle as many drops as my Razr and Env2 did!

So if I got it straight, the Total protection and extended protection probably aren't worth getting correct? The third party insurance souns like the best option correct?

Thanks

The day I got my first 6600 PDA phone it fell out of the holster and shattered the screen just 2 hours after getting it. No insurance and I was sol. Cost me $300 to buy somebody else used POS off eBay. I pay $6 a month for insurance and generally keep a phone for about 3 months before selling it to get the next new thing. So that's $18 for peace of mind for the next 3 months. Believe me its worth it. If after 3 months you decide its not worth it or the price of a replacement device comes down then cancel the insurance but at least for the next 3 months you don't have to worry about it.

I got the $7.99/month Asurion plan. Never got phone protection before, but the Droid spends a lot more time in my hands than my previous non-smart phones, and it's got lots of stuff to break.

I skipped the $1.99/month extended warranty, because it seems that Verizon basically provides a $50-deductible extended warranty for free, and the $1.99/month just buys down that deductible to zero.

See the above rates. You are paying for the extended warranty each and every month.

My past insurance results have been poor. Pay for 2 years, something goes wrong, pay $50 for a $50 phone and end up with a used remanufactured phone that smells like someone puked on. No thanks.
Its only a phone. If you trash it buy another.

See above.

 

[mikespe]

I pay $6 a month for insurance and generally keep a phone for about 3 months before selling it to get the next new thing.

To drift off topic a bit...Grandmaster, how do you get a new phone after 3 months when you are under contract? Do you pay full retail for it?

 

[chiefvelo]

I have always had the 'TEC' coverage from verizon. it includes extended warranty. the only one to cover pda from any carrier i have asked. anytime i have had a failure verizon had replaced my phone or upgraded me to a newer model.
Can't beat that service. I wear out a phone a year easy.

 

[GrandMasterB]

To drift off topic a bit...Grandmaster, how do you get a new phone after 3 months when you are under contract? Do you pay full retail for it?

It depends on the phone really. My Storm I purchased on Ebay with no contract and used it for a good 6 months or so, longest I have kept the same phone. I still have it & love it. I also recently payed full retail for a purple Motorola Rival for my wife because it was only $219 full retail from Verizon and imo not worth signing a contract for.

I usually have between 3-5 lines on my family plan all up for an upgrade at various times annually. If some amazing new phone comes out and I dont have a line up for upgrade I may sell some things on Ebay to produce the funds. I should also note that I am not above begging my wife for permission to buy a new phone either.

 

[aaronmach1]

anyone ever made a claim with protectcell?

 

[cybercruiser]

I went through my State Farm agent that I have my home and car with.

It was about $35/year, no deductible on claims, covers all the normal non-warranty kinds of things: lost, damaged, stolen, dropped in toilet, etc...

Its a "Personal Articles" policy.

 

[neumannator]

i have it think its worth it

 

[MSU]

I am going to do the same next week. Seems like BB will be easier to return to...We shall see...

You guys might want to check that Best Buy insurance plan. If I remember right, they will change out your phone with no deductible, but if you drop it in a lake, loose the phone, etc. they will not replace it and you are paying more a month. I think the azurian isn't that bad except for the deduct.

I will have to check into my home insurance cause that is a heck of a lot cheaper going that route.

 

[koticphreak]

I started getting the insurance once I got a phone that was $500+ (my SCH-i760), I'm fairly good with phones, but did lose it once, and I'm glad I had a policy that covered lost phones, paid the $50, they overnighted me a refurbed one that was in fairly good condition, no complaints here - think the policy is well worth it for when shit like that happens - and thats exactly what insurance is for, because life happens.

 

[dmodert66]

Traded in my Eris for Droid yesterday. I was going to do the Best Buy insurance UNTIL he mentioned that it doesn't cover lost/stolen/accidental damage...Umm...That's pretty much what I'm buying insurance for!!! Verizon Insurance (Asurion) it is!

 

[docprego]

I went through my State Farm agent that I have my home and car with.

It was about $35/year, no deductible on claims, covers all the normal non-warranty kinds of things: lost, damaged, stolen, dropped in toilet, etc...

Its a "Personal Articles" policy.

Wow that is very interesting. I am also with State Farm and would have never though of this. I have a personal articles policy covering my wife's wedding ring but I think that has a deductible. So you are saying that I can add my Droid on to my State Farm policy with no deductible and it's only about $35 a year! That sounds immensely better than any other option I am reading in this thread, what's the catch, if any?

Thanks.

 

[Barbara]

Wow that is very interesting. I am also with State Farm and would have never though of this. I have a personal articles policy covering my wife's wedding ring but I think that has a deductible. So you are saying that I can add my Droid on to my State Farm policy with no deductible and it's only about $35 a year! That sounds immensely better than any other option I am reading in this thread, what's the catch, if any?

Thanks.

I'm also with State Farm. I called my agent the other day and I was told by the secretary that they didn't cover phones anymore. I said, "Really? I heard from someone online and they are with State Farm and got their phone insured. The agent got on the phone, said he would check, called me back and said yes they would insure it. It's $7.00 for every hundred so it was around $36 for a $559.99 phone which is what it would cost me to replace it.

 

[docprego]

I'm also with State Farm. I called my agent the other day and I was told by the secretary that they didn't cover phones anymore. I said, "Really? I heard from someone online and they are with State Farm and got their phone insured. The agent got on the phone, said he would check, called me back and said yes they would insure it. It's $7.00 for every hundred so it was around $36 for a $559.99 phone which is what it would cost me to replace it.

Thanks that's good to hear. Since most of us paid $199 and it is actually worth $559 did State Farm require any sort of pricing proof? What did they tell you was covered, was it also everything non-warranty as cybecruiser's agent told him?

 

[Barbara]

Thanks that's good to hear. Since most of us paid $199 and it is actually worth $559 did State Farm require any sort of pricing proof? What did they tell you was covered, was it also everything non-warranty as cybecruiser's agent told him?

I honestly didn't ask and I don't have the copy of the actual policy yet. I just had to tell him the model and serial number. And they are covering it on the replacement cost and not what I paid for it.

 

[mattbizkit78]

I payed the ten dollars a month at best buy and the guy told me there that as long as i can bring pieces of the phone back they will replace it with no deductible. He said they cover everything except lost or stolen.

 

[hemingway]

Where are you guys located who were able to get coverage with State Farm? I am located in NJ and contacted a State Farm rep to inquire about coverage. He advised me that they State Farm does not issue such insurance anymore. I guess coverage is geographically limited?

 

[Barbara]

Where are you guys located who were able to get coverage with State Farm? I am located in NJ and contacted a State Farm rep to inquire about coverage. He advised me that they State Farm does not issue such insurance anymore. I guess coverage is geographically limited?

I'm in Ohio. Mine said they don't cover it either until I told him that someone else told me that they got their phone covered so he called someone higher than himself and found out that they did. I think the phone value has to be over $500 so your agent may not realize that they DO still cover the more expensive phones.

 

[hemingway]

Thanks. I will try contacting another agent in the area.

 

[hemingway]

Do you have other coverage with State Farm? That may be the issue.

 

[Barbara]

Do you have other coverage with State Farm? That may be the issue.

Yes. Quite a bit.

 

[hemingway]

Thanks. My sense is that if you have other coverage with them they may issue the personal articles policy for you. I will contact a few reps though to still inquire about the coverage.

 

[kokiangel]

Interesting about the insurance. I had insurance on my last phone which was a Palm treo. It bricked on me 3 days after I was due for an upgrade this past July. Since Verizon didn't have any phones at the time that I considered an upgrade I requested they replace my phone with another treo. They did at no cost to me because I had insurance. Now I have the same insurance on my new droid and I find that I will have to pay a whopping $89 deductible if something catastrophic happens to it? On top of the $7.99 monthly fee? That is outrageous! I think I need another option. Guess I should have read the fine print or asked more questions before agreeing to the salemans' suggestion that I needed their insurance.

 

[tebower]

Anyone know anything about this Protect Cell company? I search for it, and one of the first things I find is an entry with Rip-Off Reports. Hmm... that was the first thing I thought too...

 

[patrick3002]

I went through my State Farm agent that I have my home and car with.

It was about $35/year, no deductible on claims, covers all the normal non-warranty kinds of things: lost, damaged, stolen, dropped in toilet, etc...

Its a "Personal Articles" policy.

Gonna call on this tomm morning!

...I don't see why everyone doesn't use this??? Seems like the best and cheapest option to me.

 

[MonmouthDroid]

I got my phone at best buy. I got their insurance. 10 bucks a month, but no deductible, not even for water damage, they give you new phones, not refurbs, and when you submit your claim in store, they give you a loaner phone to use until your replacement arrives. I chose this cause i work in a kitchen and the water sensors are way overly sensitive. On a blackberry i had, the M buton didnt work and sprint wouldn't replace it under insurance because the sensor on the back had gotten water on it. They wanted a 100 dollar deductable for a refurb phone, you can find a curve (what i was replacing) cheaper than that on craigslist, wait the 30 or 60 days, then just get a new one under insurance.