Total Protection. Oxymoron?

It seems to be a very narrow set of circumstances in which this program will be a benefit, particularly for someone like me. I have an EVO LTE with a cracked screen which they will not give me the option of repairing even though it would be significantly cheaper than replacing it. I don't understand why they only have one benefit level, I would consider over the counter warranty replacement a convenience rather than a benefit. This is the first non-defect physical damage I have had on a phone, including water or loss, in almost 20 years. I purchased this insurance to hedge against the almost inevitable damage my phone should expect to receive in my work as a Carpenter Foreman. I expected it to pay for the damages rather than requiring replacement and giving me a discount on it. My auto insurance doesn't require me to buy their replacement truck if I need an expensive repair.

quijibo said:

It seems to be a very narrow set of circumstances in which this program will be a benefit, particularly for someone like me. I have an EVO LTE with a cracked screen which they will not give me the option of repairing even though it would be significantly cheaper than replacing it. I don't understand why they only have one benefit level, I would consider over the counter warranty replacement a convenience rather than a benefit. This is the first non-defect physical damage I have had on a phone, including water or loss, in almost 20 years. I purchased this insurance to hedge against the almost inevitable damage my phone should expect to receive in my work as a Carpenter Foreman. I expected it to pay for the damages rather than requiring replacement and giving me a discount on it. My auto insurance doesn't require me to buy their replacement truck if I need an expensive repair.

Click to expand...

But it is beneficial to you...there are not many Evo Lte's out there for less than your deductible

like I said...car insurance isn't an excellent choice for me to make a comparison but I did uses it.
and actually, yes, Auto insurance pays to fix your car or in cases that is not repairable, you get the funds to pay off the vehicle and hopefully you can get another, AFTER paying a deductible

As for replacing screens...from what I understand the carriers have opted not to do that in store as it typically ends in poor results for the consumer..ie gets done wrong, or something else breaks during the repair. There was a time that carriers repaired screens. As for the EVO LTE, there has been a ton of care put into training on that device specifically because of the battery. Corporate stores just recently got approval to open them up let alone repair parts on them. That was HTC's call, not Sprint's.

Hell Sprint is one of the last of the carriers that even offers any type of in store solution on a multiple location per city level. When my ATT phone breaks there are 3 locations, none close to me.

I will add...No one really buys insurance expecting something to happen...it's there in case.

Oh..and pm me...I can prelly fix your phone

(note I am not touching the defect side of this discussion...My Evo LTE was replaced 4 times for defective issues with the screen or with DOA before it was swapped with a completely different phone)

I have my Galaxy Note in the Otterbox defender and this sounds strange to me. I've dropped my phone from as high as 5' intentionally on asphalt and other hard surfaces dozens of times. No protection on my phone either which is how much I believe in the Otterbox products. I mainly do that to show others (friends, family or business associates) as to why they should actually invest the Defender instead of a much cheaper (or less bulky) case and an overpriced coverage plan.

In your case it sounds like the digitizer cracked which is a cheap replacement part. They don't even cost $100 to repair in most cases so your paying a premium for the deductible on top of paying for the coverage itself. You might be able to even replace the digitizer yourself as many phone models are available on Amazon for around $20 and the tools are about $20 to perform the surgery. In fact since the digitizer is such a cheap part you can often sell the broken device (depending on the model) for near what a perfect used device goes for. Course it will likely be bought for salvaging the LCD which is the most expensive part and other parts to use in repairing another device.

Also check the classified section of this forum as you can sometimes find a used device for less (mainly older models) then paying a repair deductible.

love my defender

droidcentric said:

I have my Galaxy Note in the Otterbox defender and this sounds strange to me. I've dropped my phone from as high as 5' intentionally on asphalt and other hard surfaces dozens of times. No protection on my phone either which is how much I believe in the Otterbox products. I mainly do that to show others (friends, family or business associates) as to why they should actually invest the Defender instead of a much cheaper (or less bulky) case and an overpriced coverage plan.

In your case it sounds like the digitizer cracked which is a cheap replacement part. They don't even cost $100 to repair in most cases so your paying a premium for the deductible on top of paying for the coverage itself. You might be able to even replace the digitizer yourself as many phone models are available on Amazon for around $20 and the tools are about $20 to perform the surgery. In fact since the digitizer is such a cheap part you can often sell the broken device (depending on the model) for near what a perfect used device goes for. Course it will likely be bought for salvaging the LCD which is the most expensive part and other parts to use in repairing another device.

Also check the classified section of this forum as you can sometimes find a used device for less (mainly older models) then paying a repair deductible.

Click to expand...

baD ESN NOTE2'S START AT $300...MOST OF THESE ARE BROKEN
galaxy note 2 bad esn | eBay

SCREEN REPLACEMENT avg price $200
note 2 screen | eBay


EVO LTE glass $175
Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE Front Housing LCD Touch Glass Digitizer Screen Assembly US | eBay


problem is that most of these manufacturers are making the LCD and digitizer nearly impossible to separate so though you can get glass only for around $20...it's nearly impossible to replace just that piece

Depends what market you are in and how many devices are being discarded cheaply in your market. In South Florida for example there are phone repair shops on every corner. they will fix your phone for pennies on the dollar in contrast to paying Asurion costs. And I totally forgot about Square Trade who now covers phones which I have never tried myself but seems to get rave reviews by many Amazon customers.

Good article here too. Former Asurion Staffer Shares Insider Tips On Making Cellphone Insurance Claims

droidcentric said:

Depends what market you are in and how many devices are being discarded cheaply in your market. In South Florida for example there are phone repair shops on every corner. they will fix your phone for pennies on the dollar in contrast to paying Asurion costs. And I totally forgot about Square Trade who now covers phones which I have never tried myself but seems to get rave reviews by many Amazon customers.

Good article here too. Former Asurion Staffer Shares Insider Tips On Making Cellphone Insurance Claims

Click to expand...

You are speaking too generally...

Of course there are "phones" that are inexpensive to fix....not all of them fit that category

I am going to look for a shop to replace the screen. $150(plus monthly payments) seems a little steep for a new screen. I am a little concerned that this phone may have weak glass. I only wear Carpenter jeans and I keep my phone in a case in the side pocket with the screen toward my leg. I have no idea how the screen was cracked. It looks like someone shot it in the center of the upper right quadrant of the screen. I have never dropped my phone.

Mr. Ed said:

Of course there are "phones" that are inexpensive to fix....not all of them fit that category

Click to expand...

And yet the deductible remains the same to often get a used sometimes worse of phone from Asurion in return. They don't even attempt to fix the expensive ones because lets be realistic it's cheaper to replace them. In fact the profits made on service contracts for mobile devices is greater then most car insurance underwriters.

Why do you think the market for buy/selling/refurbishing used devices is HUGE?

You work in the industry so you should know Sprint and other carriers are not buying all those refurb iPhones they practically give away for big bucks. If Sprint can buy used devices for liquidation prices then users could do the same and cut out the middle man. Which many on Ebay are actually doing as of late you find more and more broken and older devices being sold rather then being tossed in recycle bins.

I'm mainly scared of losing it ...

droidcentric said:

And yet the deductible remains the same to often get a used sometimes worse of phone from Asurion in return. They don't even attempt to fix the expensive ones because lets be realistic it's cheaper to replace them. In fact the profits made on service contracts for mobile devices is greater then most car insurance underwriters.

Click to expand...

I guess I don't understand your statement...the deductible (that does not always apply ie only for lost stolen, broke it etc) is tiered based on the value of the device at time of purchase. I can't really speak for Asurion..or Sprint but they are two different companies that I am sure have their set of operating procedures. I know that plenty of people get great non broken/non lost phones to replace those that they broke or lost. I also know that people that have received a phone that had issues it was exchanged for one without issues...

I don't know...sitting here thinking about it no single insurance policy I have has a deductible that varies based on length of time (I know I know...that one auto insurance company does vanishing deductible)


And yes, insurance is a money making business...is this news to anyone? I would hope not haha.
Jeebus for all the money I pay in to Health insurance or Car insurance...vs what I use... and we really have little choice on those

The insurance isn't for everyone. I get that. But it isn't a completely unheard of dumb idea.

You guys know I go through a ton of phones, even before beginning my work for Sprint. In almost every instance I have had a phone purchase replaced by whoever I purchased from, typically within the first 6 months-yr...not because I broke it but because of defects. Whether it was best buy, ATT or Sprint...I had the insurance and it paid.

Man..could you imagine buying a brand new phone, walking out the door to your car and dropping it. No case, no insurance....now I am not saying this happened yesterday...but "if" could you imagine that conversation....that would be awful.

I dropped my GNote while at the counter in the AT&T store after purchase. Needless to say it did not leave the house after that until I had a case for it. Lucky for me the floor was padded enough that no damage occurred. I've since dropped my phone at least fiddy times if not a hundred. If it broke or got lost I'd add another line for $10/mo and get the up and coming G4 for a $240 premium which is still cheaper then full insurance I believe. I could then switch it over and get a new device each year going this route and always have a backup.

Maybe that wont work for everyone but it would be a better route then tossing out money for insurance at least for me personally. I kept Sprint insurance on my i580 for years as it cost me a good chunk of change originally. Was a good phone it survived things no other phone could possibly survive. But shortly after dropping the insurance it died. Go figure and of all things the speaker went out and repair or replacement was pretty much at that point impossible. It made me sick after thinking about all that money that was paid out for insurance on a phone that was nearly indestructible.

So yea I can imagine as I've actually been there and done that..

I took my phone and my wife's to Sprint store yesterday, and today. Yesterday the CSR told me to get Kies and update my phone. Unaware that my phone was already updated to the latest and baddest op system, I came home, and got to Kies... I realized then nothing needed to be updated.

I took the phone to the store because I had called Sprint Customer Service tell me that my phone had been updated to a operating system that was causing phones to do weird things. I also told her.my phone got really hot while performing the operations she performed (she updated my profile, checked for firmware updates, and or for system updates).

When I went to the store today, the technician opened it up and showed me how my Samsung galaxy S2, was rusty and dirty inside. I have always treated my phone with the optimal care for I know those phones are very expensive, $600 a pop, which, with the contract, we paid $200 each.
We got insurance when we purchased our phones and have been paying for the insurance all along.
Well, here's the deal: I couldn't believe my ears when the customer service rep told me that to replace my wife's phone and my phone would cost us $200!
Well, why is it that we're paying insurance for the phones we have, when we have to pay at least half of the price the phone (half the price we paid for the phone) to get replacements. This doesn't make any business sense at all for us consumers!!

Have I been missing anything here that I needed to know??

Tommydaniel said:

It's not that they deemed it un-repairable. They deemed it to be accidental damage(your fault) which is why you would have to pay the deductible.

Click to expand...

Yah! I hear that. When I saw the inside of my Samsung, it looked pathetic! I have taken care of it so much, to have such rusty and old looking skeleton...

I am really dissatisfied with both Samsung and with Sprint insurance plan...

godsdragon said:

Well, here's the deal: I couldn't believe my ears when the customer service rep told me that to replace my wife's phone and my phone would cost us $200!
Well, why is it that we're paying insurance for the phones we have, when we have to pay at least half of the price the phone (half the price we paid for the phone) to get replacements. This doesn't make any business sense at all for us consumers!!

Have I been missing anything here that I needed to know??

Click to expand...

Sounds like you have the normal $100 deductible to replace the phone, which is Asurion's standard plan for your phones. Sprint uses Asurion insurance. As does Verizon, and ATT, and T Mobile ... I guess they couldn't repair it? With your deductible, it may be cheaper for them to just swap them for "refurbished" ones.

It seems a lot for a phone that is a couple of years old, but you might have to pay $250-$350 each for used ones. Or upgrade to S3s for $50 at Best Buy and Amazon right now if you're due for an upgrade.

MasterCylinder said:

Sounds like you have the normal $100 deductible to replace the phone, which is Asurion's standard plan for your phones. Sprint uses Asurion insurance. As does Verizon, and ATT, and T Mobile ... I guess they couldn't repair it? With your deductible, it may be cheaper for them to just swap them for "refurbished" ones.

It seems a lot for a phone that is a couple of years old, but you might have to pay $250-$350 each for used ones. Or upgrade to S3s for $50 at Best Buy and Amazon right now if you're due for an upgrade.

Click to expand...

Well, I saw the inside of the phone, and, for a phone that is only 5 months old (I have had to replace my S2 twice, so this is my third phone (new)!), it really did look pathetic... And, they pointed out the charging port was rusted due to water having been there, and other such evaluations... Mind you I have almost always carry my phone on its hard shelled holster...
Never dropped it in water, never neglectfully placed it on wet surfaces, etc. etc...

It is interesting that you mentioned "refurbished" phones also... When I replaced the second phone, they offered me an HTC evo 3D.. I thought that, even though it was not an upgrade but a lateral swap I would take it. So I did... I was not too happy with the whole experience for it was ALSO a refurbished deal... Then I talked them into replacing it back with a S2... Well... they sent me a downgrade as well... I do not even know which Samsung they sent...!
I went to the store, and finally, the CSR after talking with the store manager, gave me my 3rd out-of-box Samsung S2.... It has not been a good experience for me with Samsung... I came back to Sprint this time around as my step daughter grand mothered us with 2 lines under her account... So it is a good deal moneywise...

I like my phone a lot... but it has not been a good experience with them...

I am going to have to rethink if I want to stay with Sprint... with Samsung...and such...

Thanks for reading my long posts...

mak916 said:

Did you ask why it was un repairable? I always ask questions when having my phone looked at. Also, you could have taken it into another Sprint store if you have one in your area. I have had to do this a few times. One store told me there was nothing wrong with my phone. Another store saw the problem right away. But like Tommy said, they saw it as your fault.

Click to expand...

I am going to check and see other stores in my area...I did not think of that.. Thanks!

Tommydaniel said:

It's not that they deemed it un-repairable. They deemed it to be accidental damage(your fault) which is why you would have to pay the deductible.

Click to expand...

Maybe I am quoting this out of context, or even repeating my self...but it is poor practice IMO to deem un-repairable as the phone owner's fault. There is no way to prove that it is the owner's fault, thus it is typically referred to as un-repairable damage.

I absolutely went off on a tech once because they (in poor form) told me my phone had water damage. Turned out the environment I worked in was an full of corrosives, which in turn caused corrosion on the phone (not to mention a few watches I owned, and a pair of eyeglasses). In the end it was taken care of.


You would be surprised how often a conversation about un-repairable damage leads to "oh, well there was that one time I dropped the phone in insert liquid" or "yes, now that you mention it I do leave the phone in the room playing pandora playing while I shower" etc.



and then on to deductibles...again...haha. Sprint does not set them, Asurion does, and as the price of phones go up so do the deductibles. I don't really know how to describe the insurance process any better way than I have. I guess I have a better understanding as I have had the unfortunate experience of having to make many medical and auto claims so deductibles are not new to me haha

I always tell customers that it is like car insurance. You pay your monthly premiums and then if something happens you pay your deductible. It is not free but it is cheaper than replacing the phone full retail. I have a new phone every couple of months and still have TEP on every single phone I get. Why? Because if something happens then it is only a smaller deductible as opposed to paying 600 or more for a new one.

Just upgraded to a note 2 and realized the insurance had gone up from $8 to $11. I know it's not a huge jump by itself but with 5 lines, it's significant. I know the moment I opt out of the insurance something will happen.

Jore said:

Just upgraded to a note 2 and realized the insurance had gone up from $8 to $11. I know it's not a huge jump by itself but with 5 lines, it's significant. I know the moment I opt out of the insurance something will happen.

Click to expand...

you just never know...my sister dropped her Note2 in water this week. Ordered a replacement Tuesday and had it Wed.


$200 yes...but much less than had she not had ins.

My S4 was dropped by a coworker 2 weeks after I got it. Ins FTW