A few weeks ago my beloved smart phone slipped from my hands and completely shattered the screen. I tried taking a good picture of it so you can see the EXTENT of this tragedy (can you see the cracks?). Do I have any sympathy? No? It’s ok, totally my fault! I can’t begin to tell you how devastating that was! The phone turned on, but the screen stayed black. Not only was I out of commission for phone use for almost 24 hours, but I knew everything saved was probably be gone forever! Not only that, but I wasn’t financially expecting this (gotta love those emergency funds!)
At the first opportunity, I ran into my local Verizon store hoping they would give me good news, but deep down I knew it was going downhill. The representative to a quick look at my phone and immediately told me I would need a new phone. He asked me the dreaded question “do you have insurance?” Of course not! I thought phone insurance was a scam to get more money out of me!!
He shook his head slowly as if to say, “don’t you wish you had it now?” then began to give me my options. Of course I was NO where NEAR my upgrade time (I just got the phone in January!!!) and since I just started with Verizon in January they really weren’t trying to work with me on any deals or promotions. (Please Note: their customer service is actually really good…that’s why I’m sticking with them. This incident was totally my fault!)
He started off with the more budget friendly options like going online and ordering a refurbished phone. The less budget friendly option was to pay for a new phone FULL price. The price of my now critically damaged phone was upwards of $600. No BUENO!
I wasn’t too keen on getting a refurbished phone (I’m weird like that) and I thought maybe it would be financially beneficial to leave Verizon and just pay the $280 cancellation fee. I was sure I could find a free smart phone at another carrier!
Long story short, I spent half of the afternoon looking for a good deal and I ended up going BACK to Verizon. At the end of the day I spent $280 for a non-smart phone (would that make it a “dumb” phone??) and quickly added insurance ($6.99/month).
From my unfortunate experience I began to think is it ALWAYS a good idea to have phone insurance? Like with any other type of insurance, you hate paying for it until you need it! There have been times I had insurance on my phone and went YEARS without using it. I’ve also gone years without the insurance and never needed to have it.
I NOW would definitely lump this type of insurance into the “most needed types of insurance” list. As much as I hate to include it (and I KNOW there are some who would disagree), but after this experience, I can’t help BUT add it.
Right now I can’t think of an instance or a strategy when it would not be a good idea to pay the extra $5-10 per month to add this small piece of mind. If anyone out there has an idea on how to get around spending this, PLEASE let me know. I’m not big on spending ANY dollar amount if I can find a way out of it! Of course I can just be careful next time and not have butterfingers…but what’s the likelihood of that????
Personally, I think that cell phone insurance is a waste of money. In my experience, cell phone damage happens after the monthly “premium” has been paid for several months. If you add this cumulative total to the amount of the deductible you have to pay to replace the device, you’ve likely spent a good portion of the retail value of the phone. In addition, when the device is replaced, you are given a refurbished unit instead of a new one. For me, my money is better spent on a durable case like an Otter Box.
I think a good case is a great idea! To your point of spending about retail value after the deductible, I crunched some numbers and it still seemed a better deal with the insurance. The retail value on a smart phone is extremely high (upwards of $600+). Of course you have the option of buying on ebay or somewhere else that may be a bit cheaper. I like the fact that it takes care of not only damage but if I lose my phone as well.
you made some valid points…thanks for your comment!
Аn intriguing dіscussion iѕ ωοrth comment.
I do think that you ought to wrіtе more
аbоut thіs subject, it may not be а taboo mаttег but geneгally
peoρle don’t talk about these subjects. To the next! Best wishes!!