Phone Insurance and Manufacturer Warranty’s

Updated on Aug 22, 06
by PhoneDog LLC,

The Truth about Insurance – Do I need it?

Let 's do the math. If I am able to keep my phone safe for a year I have paid $60 for insurance that really amounted nothing. What’s worse is that if I had had to make a claim on the phone, when I add twelve months of $4 insurance to a $50 deductible, I'd be paying more than what the phone was originally worth. Now I know what you're thinking: What if I purchase a Treo 650 or some other expensive phone?  Wouldn't insurance be worth it then?  Well the answer is simple. Most carrier’s don’t offer insurance on Treos and other PDA-style phones.

Here's the real kicker if you have to make a claim: Most carries do not insure the phones themselves.  The big carriers use third party insurance companies. This means that you have to call the insurance company instead of dealing with the service provider you've contracted with. OK, so you make the call and deal with the insurance company only to find out they don’t have your phone in stock. Then it turns out that your phone is no longer available, which we've been told happens more often than you'd think; most insurance companies will not stock phones that are only six months old. Instead you are sent a phone that the insurance company deems “comparable”.

Comparable is one of those subjective words that should immediately send up a red flag in your mind. What if you don’t like the phone? What if you like your Motorola and now they've sent you a Nokia?  What if you purchased accessories for your phone and now they won’t work with your new replacement phone?   These are just a few of the potential hassles you may face when dealing with cell phone insurance.

It’s our opinion that purchasing insurance for a phone is simply not beneficial in anyway. Between eBay and our very own cell phone market place , there are many ways to find a replacement phone that fits your needs and budget should you find yourself with a broken phone that's out of warranty.  Don't spend your money on monthly insurance payments; save it for that rainy day that hopefully won't ever come.

Using the Manufacturer's Warranty

Lost
If you lose your phone, the manufacturer's warranty will not help you.  If you're paying for insurance on your phone, the insurance company may replace the phone depending on the options you chose when you purchased your phone and service.

Stolen
If your phone is stolen, the manufacturer's warranty will not help you.  If you have insurance, the insurance company should replace the phone; however, many of the insurance companies will require a police report and possibly other proof of the crime before replacing your phone.

Inconvenience
If your phone breaks within the warranty's allotted timeframe, you should be able to get a replacement from the manufacturer provided that the problem was caused by a defect and not negligence on your part.  Be sure to keep your original receipt and packaging that came with the phone in case you need them to submit a warranty claim.  The major inconvenience you’ll likely experience is that you’ll be without a phone during replacement, which can take upwards of 60 days.  Obviously, most people can’t be without a cell phone for such a long period of time; you might consider purchasing a basic, inexpensive phone to keep as a backup in case you need to primary phone back for repair or replacement. 

Our Advice for Broken Phones - We recommend saving the money you would pay to an insurance company and instead using it to follow these steps should your phone break:

• Purchase a new phone immediately from your carrier or from eBay.
  
  
• Send your original phone back to the manufacturer for warranty replacement.
  
  
• When you receive the replacement phone, sell one of the phones on eBay or elsewhere to recoup some of the money spent purchasing the new phone

While this solution may not work for everyone, it certainly avoids the frustration of not having a phone and it’ll save money over paying the insurance company each month.  Of course, if you lose your phone often, then having insurance may be your better option.  Good Luck!

• Comments

jenluv

Friday, November 28, 2008I am looking to buy a replacement phone for service I have with Immix Wireless. They do not appear on the list above. Would it be safe to say that any unlocked GSM 1900 phone would work with the carrier?

Nerd008

Saturday, November 08, 2008The site is great for those who are quite unfamailiar with the mobile and communications terminilogy. Thanks to phonedog. :)

Juan

Wednesday, November 05, 2008hello, i was wondering if T-Mobile would reject me for a free phone for their flexpay service, if on my credit report i have already verizon and sprint on my credit? i mean they werent defaults on payments just something that went wrong with billing that both companies would not fix cause it was not their fault. but will T- Mobile deny me?

lucky strike

Wednesday, November 05, 2008I have had a nice information from your website. great site.thx

GaGa

Wednesday, October 29, 2008hey Linnea, Nokia N95 would be good for you. It has Wifi, 3G, GPS or maps, mp3 player and you could install a lot of good applications as well. I have the 8GB version and I'm with T-mobile.

Linnea McCrary

Saturday, October 18, 2008I need a phone with good GPS and instant messaging and Wifi and a big screen, speaker phone, voice command, of course bluetooth. I'm with T-mobile. What can I get that those things will work on their network? Like the GPS, will it work there with full data. I was set on the instinct then saw that there is no Wifi, oh and need something that can tether to computer for modem with on the boat! I have to buy soon so any help would be really great. Thanks

Me

Wednesday, October 15, 2008thats like saying its not worth it to pay your car insurance. i have a pda with tmobile and only paid a quarter of it to get a new one when it broke. its was sooooo worth it not to have to shell out another 500 for a new pda.

Jonathan

Tuesday, October 14, 2008If I buy the Nokia n81 from the website can i use it for AT&T and T-mobile? and i live in the US.

Jeff

Thursday, October 02, 2008I live in a rural area. I just got a new Nokia 6555 and the signal reception is terrible. What phone has the best signal reception??

kris

Sunday, September 14, 2008I have a verizon phone and i have to admit it`s great. Before I had tmobile but they were terrible. service sucked and the costumer service was crapy too. I bought the phone from small store retailer in brooklyn and i m happy with it. As far as online stores i think people are still not trusting online as person to person sale. I know yodaphone.com is pretty good at this with bunch of other sites. Cheers.

luis

Sunday, August 31, 2008hi noah,...i just wanna know how much is the LG env2,... cauz i just wanna buy the phone only,...and it can be carry by verizon wireless,....and which is the better, env2 or sony ericson w580i??,....please,..reply to my questions,...thank you

portia

Sunday, August 24, 2008hey how are you doing

Raymund Del Rosario

Friday, August 22, 2008I have a helio fin phone and i haven't seen any reviews on it. I just wanted to know if i missed out on the episode. i really like this web site and thanks for all the hard work. Ray

paul hamptonjr

Wednesday, July 30, 2008iwantacelluarphonedownloadringtonesandbluetooth.andmustin31087zipcode.

Frank Sarfo

Tuesday, July 29, 2008I have had a nice information from your website. Keep it up!

eric s.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008Which firm would you go with for a two week GSM phone rental for use in Japan, with v/mail, calling to and from U.S.?

bev Chirhart

Thursday, July 17, 2008Is there any plan that does not require a two year contract to start service. I have t-mobile, my contract is running out, but I am upset with the service we have had and don't want to have to commit to another two years, tho I can't seem to find a plan that works better for us

Beth Bacon

Wednesday, July 16, 2008I lost my ATT (GSM) phone and would like to buy a replacement so that I do not have to extend my existing phone plan. Because my phone is lost (fell in the bay), I cannot exchange the SIM card. Can I still buy a replacement phone with this plan?

apondi christine

Friday, July 11, 2008this is informative1! can i have it please?

Michelle -

Thursday, June 26, 2008Thanks for the good information on Insurance.. I thought I was the only one who thought it was nuts, but I never realized it was that bad. I think a manufacturer's warranty is good enough for me, but the Ebay idea is really smart!

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