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Phone Insurance a rip off?


z250kid

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Case and Zagg is NOT all that... I have seen many many customers coming to the store and having dropped or scratched the phones. While GS4 has Gorilla Glass it can still break.

 

While the deductible might be a turn off because of how expensive it is you must remember that should you need to replace the phone and have no protection you will have to pay full price. On the GS4 is about $800 though this is definitely a exaggerated price.

 

I have dropped my Note 2 from 10 feet up with an Otterbox and it still cracked.

 

While I do work for a retailer I personally DO recommend it.

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It's up to you. Car insurance can costs upwards of $300-400 a month for some people and the deductible can be up to another $500-1000. Insurance is all about weighing your risk vs. cost to achieve the most peace of mind for the least cost.

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I had insurance on my iPhone but then cancelled it because I decided to get AppleCare instead. The one time 99 payment was more worth it than 11 a month and a 200 deductible compared to 79 dollar replacement phone or 49 dollar screen replacement. I would stick with the insurance tho since you have a gs4. They don't come with a protection plan do they?

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I purchased mine through Best Buy last spring.  It is a $10 per month, $0 deductible.  I have had 3 replacements.  The screen cracks very easily on the GS4.  Much more easily than on my GS2.  But I have paid Best Buy precisely $0 for any of the 3 replacements.  I just traded in my 3 cracked devices for 3 new (possibly refurbished, I don't know) ones.  It was a FAR better option than Sprint's insurance plan which was one more dollar per month and carried a hefty deductible.  

 

I do think that Best Buy's plans changed last August and that they may carry a deductible now and you are also now limited to a certain # of replacements from what I understand.   Of course to get their plan you would need to have purchased your device through Best Buy.

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I purchased mine through Best Buy last spring.  It is a $10 per month, $0 deductible.  I have had 3 replacements.  The screen cracks very easily on the GS4.  Much more easily than on my GS2.  But I have paid Best Buy precisely $0 for any of the 3 replacements.  I just traded in my 3 cracked devices for 3 new (possibly refurbished, I don't know) ones.  It was a FAR better option than Sprint's insurance plan which was one more dollar per month and carried a hefty deductible.  

 

I do think that Best Buy's plans changed last August and that they may carry a deductible now and you are also now limited to a certain # of replacements from what I understand.   Of course to get their plan you would need to have purchased your device through Best Buy.

 

Best Buy has $150 fee for damage not resulting from accident. So a cracked screen or water damage will result on this been charged. We used to have customers come in 3 or 4 times a year with damage to their phones. This definitely is not a money maker. This also aligned Best Buy with the rest of the market. 

 

Of the few advantages is that Best Buy does allow for a 1 time battery replacement and charger and a loaner phone is provided should the defective unit be unusable. Replacement of defective phones is limited to 3 instances in a 2 year period. Not to mention many locations. With some of the carriers you actually have to send a phone in and or wait for the replacement unit.

 

All phones at all retailers and carriers are refurb.

 

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am currently employed by Best Buy. The opinion herein is my own. They do not represent any endorsement of their services.

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Best Buy has $150 fee for damage not resulting from accident. So a cracked screen or water damage will result on this been charged. We used to have customers come in 3 or 4 times a year with damage to their phones. This definitely is not a money maker. This also aligned Best Buy with the rest of the market. 

 

Of the few advantages is that Best Buy does allow for a 1 time battery replacement and charger and a loaner phone is provided should the defective unit be unusable. Replacement of defective phones is limited to 3 instances in a 2 year period. Not to mention many locations. With some of the carriers you actually have to send a phone in and or wait for the replacement unit.

 

All phones at all retailers and carriers are refurb.

 

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am currently employed by Best Buy. The opinion herein is my own. They do not represent any endorsement of their services.

That's what I figured - that they now charge a deductible.  I knew it had changed, just wasn't sure entirely how.  That said, I was grandfathered in, per the geek squad rep who last replaced my cracked phone.  But, like I said, that was my third replacement with no deductible.  I definitely see why they changed it.

 

As an aside, I did finally purchase a Samsung case for the GS4 upon my last replacement.  I haven't had an issue since.  Funny how that works, eh?  : o )

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That's what I figured - that they now charge a deductible.  I knew it had changed, just wasn't sure entirely how.  That said, I was grandfathered in, per the geek squad rep who last replaced my cracked phone.  But, like I said, that was my third replacement with no deductible.  I definitely see why they changed it.

 

As an aside, I did finally purchase a Samsung case for the GS4 upon my last replacement.  I haven't had an issue since.  Funny how that works, eh?  : o )

 

So you are the one to blame.... :ninja:

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If it makes you feel any better, I had my evo 3d replaced six times in a year on the Sprint insurance. Four of them in the same month. Only had to pay for two of them though.

 

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

 

 

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Well I am glad I had it with my gs4. It covers sprint repair at a repair center. I went through 8 replacements. All would lose signal completely unless right by an airave or in store by the repeater. Some had no wifi issues, others sim card slots. I Blame the Company that provides the Refurbs. They finally put me into an HTC ONE to see if that fixed it...I just now hope I don't drop it because it is kinda slick. I think The insurance saved me , but now they also charge a fee at repair centers after 2 or 3 repairs I think

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I'm sure glad when I had insurance on my LG Viper and had 4 replacements on it. Phone after phone all overheating. I put insurance on my Nexus 5 in case anything goes wrong with it.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

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I'm sure glad when I had insurance on my LG Viper and had 4 replacements on it. Phone after phone all overheating. I put insurance on my Nexus 5 in case anything goes wrong with it.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

Did you ever post your thoughts regarding owning a good Android phone? I know you had bad experiences with entry level ones.

 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

 

 

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Did you ever post your thoughts regarding owning a good Android phone? I know you had bad experiences with entry level ones.

 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

No, I will soon though. I have all but ended my experiment early.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

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In regards to the insurance, one thing to consider is coverage.  Many plans do not include lost/stolen phones (only damaged). What a joke! The nice thing about Sprint/Assurion coverage is that anything and everything is covered.

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Yeah, I know. Haven't had the time, and school is starting soon, so I better get cracking on it.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

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Yeah, I know. Haven't had the time, and school is starting soon, so I better get cracking on it.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Just giving you a hard time, buddy. School first. No hard feelings. :)

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Just giving you a hard time, buddy. School first. No hard feelings. :)

Crazy thing, schools been out since the 15th of December. It starts again on the 21st.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

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I use to always make sure that all my lines had insurance on them, but with the increase of tep as well as the deductible it is definitely better to not have insurance right now.  I think that in the long run it is definitely better to just self insure.  Over a two year period that's at least $414(11*24 for tep and a minimum of 150 deductible for a smartphone) with sprint and in my case having 3 lines thats a total of $1,242, this is just giving money away.  Now if you really and truly are rough/careless when it comes to phones then I suppose it may be worth it but for me its definitely not worth it anymore.

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