Ask Slashdot: Best Protection Plan For Your Phone? 225
First time accepted submitter nastav writes "Now that I'm eagerly awaiting the delivery of my new shiny iPhone 5, I'm faced with a dilemma — SquareTrade, Applecare Plus, or some other insurance option? I have used SquareTrade in the past for my iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 (I skipped iPhone 4S). It provided Accidental Damage Handling (ADH) for the iPhone before Apple introduced its own version of ADH. I've had the opportunity to file claims with SquareTrade multiple times, and they handled it quickly and professionally each time. Now that there is a product from Apple itself, I'm not sure which one to get. They are priced similarly (~$100 for a two-year plan, $50 deductible for each ADH incident) Apple limits the number of ADH claims to two, whereas SquareTrade (AFAIK) limits the number of claims to the 'value of the product,' which translates to approx. 600 USD in coverage (or about 4 ADH claims). I've tried reading many comparison articles on the internet without definitive answers. I'm hoping that the tech-savvy folks on Slashdot would help out with a discussion on pros and cons of each, and perhaps add other options into the mix."
Too expensive (Score:4, Informative)
Extended Warranty (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The best plan (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The best plan (Score:3, Informative)
If insurance on any consumer electronic device was a good deal for the consumer, they wouldn't sell. Trust that actuaries understand the probabilities of the thing better than you ever will and it's priced so that it's a good deal for them. There is something like a 99% chance you will end up losing money in the long term if you repeatedly buy these bs "protection" plans. Be smart and save your money.
Homeowners special coverage (Score:5, Informative)
My homeowners insurance charges something like $10 per YEAR for computer insurance that also includes... smartphones. With a $50 deductible and $1000 per incident. My some dropped my wife's Samsung Somethingorother in the pool and the insurance paid out ~$500 for a new phone. Way cheaper than any other plan I have ever seen for phones. It also covers laptops, and all devices in the house are covered under the single $10 payment.