Cell Phone Insurance?

[zoo2tycoon]

Just got three new Samsung Galaxy phones. Previously with Verizon we had insurance that was $5 month per line that was good (covered issues when mine wouldn't hold a charge, son had his on/off button fail, etc.). We had two phones replaced with refurbished ones under this plan during our two years with iphones. Of course this doesn't exist anymore (price raised to $6.99 in the fall).

I purchased my phones at Best Buy mobile and they showed me the Geek Squad protection. I know I can also purchase Verizon insurance but the price has gone up. Also I have Squaretrade on several items and I did see they offer insurance on cell phones too.

I am trying to find the best coverage for the least amount as I have three phones. I know there is the one year manufacture warranty but I want to be covered the second year. I am not really worried about loss or theft- told my kids they lose their phone the old one will do until upgrade time. Just want to be covered like we were last time.

So budget minded people do you have insurance? If so what type? Any experience with Best Buy or Square Trade?

Thanks in advance....

 

[tvguy]

I never get insurance. I've had 1 lost phone in 24 years. Verizon promptly replaced it for free. It was out of contract, 6 years old. I have been with them for 24 years (okay, I was bought up by them, Pactel to Airtouch to Verizon).
Verizon guy on the phone said my longevity, and the fact that I keep phones a long time (first 2 DW and I had for 14 years), makes us one of their more profitable customers, they'd be crazy to jeopardize losing me by not giving me a free replacement.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

The cheapest way to double your coverage (2 years rather than one), is to buy the phone with a credit card providing this service for free. My AMEX card does.

Personally, I think cell phone insurance is a waste of money.

 

[Momof4gr8boys]

I buy my son's phones through Best Buy so I can use their insurance. He dropped his phone off the top of a carnival ride and it shattered. They replaced it no questions asked with a brand new phone. I don't have to pay a deductible either. I pay $10 per month. For this kid, the insurance is worth it. Plus, I like their service. I don't have insurance on any of our other phones.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

A couple of months ago Wells Fargo started offering up to $600 in coverage for a stolen or damaged phone at no charge for a primary phone plus three secondary phones on the same account, as long as the cell phone bill is paid with the Wells M/C. I've never felt it was worth the money to pay for insurance, since we've never had any problems in the 15+ years the four of us have had our various phones. But I did end up switching the auto payment of my phone bill to my Wells M/C since the coverage was free. It's the only thing I charge to this card since the rewards it offers are very minimal.

 

[hops&dreams]

thank you pp who posted about using cc to pay bill and it covering their phones... I'm currently re-doing our mobile phone accts at work (40 lines, about half of them are iphones). Right now, we're paying $300/month in insurance alone! AND we have to pay $60 or $160 deductible to replace a phone.

Now I'm going to look into the perks of our company credit card...

 

[Fire14]

I had Best Buy's insurance and had Zippo issues with it outside of Stupid stuff not really related to insurance aspect.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I've never had cell phone insurance but boy do I wish I would have bought it when we upgraded last summer!! DS and I each got a Galaxy SIII last September 10th. Since we never had any problems with our phones - loss or damage - and since I'm pretty frugal, I declined insurance. A few weeks ago, DS had his phone on his lap and it slid off. The screen is SHATTERED. I called a local smart phone repair shop - because the Samsung Galaxy's display is attached to the glass (unlike the iPhone), the repair would require a part shipped in from Samsung... $220. sigh

 

[buzz2400]

we purchased insurance through squaretrade.com. People on this board swore by them. My son dropped his iphone and glass shattered on new years eve. We called squaretrade and they told me I could send them it and they will send me a refurbish if can't fix or I could go to an apple store and get it fixed. the two year contract was about $100. I had to pay a deductible but I don't remember how much. The apple store fixed the phone so we left with the phone we had but they did offer us a refurbished phone if we wanted. We still have more than a year left on the phone so I think it was worth it.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Thanks for the info. My HO insurance quit covering cell phones in the last year or so my agent said. I don't have one of the CC that covers cell phones. We do have Squaretrade on our television and other electronics. Thankfully no issue there. I still have a few days left to decide whether or not to get anything. Verizon does have a $3/month that only extends the manufacture warranty (which is what we did have on the iphones, I don'k know what I was thinking when I thought it was more). Trying to decide what to do but I really appreciate all the different advice/opinions.