Insurance or not?

[rjack22]

Should I buy some type of insurance on my new S9? How many of you do? For the past two Phones I have bought a 2 yr Square Trade plan. Never had to use it.

Right now I have the Verizon Extended Warranty plan that adds only $3 per month to my bill. This paid off for me because my S6 is 2.5 years old and last September (after the 1 yr Samsung warranty had long expired) I had an issue with the battery swelling and fortunately it was covered under the extended warranty.

I don't need theft or loss protection or tech support. It would be nice to have a cracked screen replaced but I understand that the deductable can be up to $199 with some plans. That seems a little high. BTW: I have never cracked a screen in all the phones I have owned. Should I just stay with the Extended Warranty plan?

So I am considering Verizon, Samsung, and Square Trade as possible plans. Any thoughts or recommendations. I have to decide within 30 days.

 

[amyf27]

I haven't ordered insurance and I haven't had it on my previous devices including my Note 8

 

[CKwik240]

There are 2 thinks I would consider. First, what is your comfort level with not having insurance? Second, how well do you generally take care of your phones. In my case, I haven't broken any phones since my first smartphone. So I'm fine with not having insurance. I figure, the money I've saved by not having insurance all this time will easily pay for a replacement.

 

[rjack22]

I have not "broken" my phone as in dropping it or losing it, water damage, etc, but I have had issues with my S6 during the past 2.5 years that I've had it.

Actually I am on my 4th S6 so I am happy to be moving on to the new S9. Phone 1 had a problem with screen rotation. Phone 2 had the same problem. Phone 3's rotation was fine but then the battery swelled. So I have phone 4 currently. And all of them have had occasional issues with calls the most recent occurrence was yesterday. The calls just don't go through, either way. A reboot would fix it for awhile.

So no, I am not hard on my phones with abuse. For me its more of a manufacturers or warranty issue.

 

[anon(7775)]

I'm on the fence too,never broken a phone or cracked a screen but think I'll do it for the first 3 months only,that way I'm sure I'll have a small drop and see how fragile it is.

 

[edubb256]

I've never had insurance. I don't think it makes good financial sense, but if it gives someone peace of mind, or they drop their phones more than usual, it may be worth it to them.

 

[Beth Hahn]

This phone has me nervous bc of the curved screen but I'll usually get insurance at least for the first couple months just in case until I get used to the phone and find the proper protection like screen protector and case or I'll do insurance for like the first 6 months or until I can get the same phone used for about the cost of what fixing them would be after the deductible and fees...I usually switch phones each year so I guess it's an extra piece of mind since I'd usually have to trade in my old phone...I ordered from best buy and I'll probably just get their 8 dollar insurance since their deductible is like 50 less a month then att is...

 

[mrcrusha829]

Nope....but that is coming from someone that uses a case and also has the ability to repair his own phone.

 

[zipro]

Depends on what you pay and what’s covered. Swisscom wanted 10 bucks a month and wouldn’t pay cosmetic damage so I didn’t get that. I have it covered through home owner’s though

 

[DamianP]

Should I buy some type of insurance on my new S9? How many of you do? For the past two Phones I have bought a 2 yr Square Trade plan. Never had to use it.

Right now I have the Verizon Extended Warranty plan that adds only $3 per month to my bill. This paid off for me because my S6 is 2.5 years old and last September (after the 1 yr Samsung warranty had long expired) I had an issue with the battery swelling and fortunately it was covered under the extended warranty.

I don't need theft or loss protection or tech support. It would be nice to have a cracked screen replaced but I understand that the deductable can be up to $199 with some plans. That seems a little high. BTW: I have never cracked a screen in all the phones I have owned. Should I just stay with the Extended Warranty plan?

So I am considering Verizon, Samsung, and Square Trade as possible plans. Any thoughts or recommendations. I have to decide within 30 days.

I have used Samsung insurance for my Note 8 and have used it(wireless charging stopped working).
Loved the service and for a replacement shipped the next day.

 

[jerrycau123]

I was using an Otterbox symmetry case on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and I dropped my phone face down from 4 feet on the cement and damaged my screen!.
Due to the fact that I did not have insurance on my phone, the cost out of pocket is $250.00, (through tmobile).. the average cost for repairs are $350.00!!!!
this is the first time that I have EVER damaged a phone!...I always use the high end case, but this goes to show this can happen!..
Please! get insurance!

 

[anon(7775)]

I was using an Otterbox symmetry case on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and I dropped my phone face down from 4 feet on the cement and damaged my screen!.
Due to the fact that I did not have insurance on my phone, the cost out of pocket is $250.00, (through tmobile).. the average cost for repairs are $350.00!!!!
this is the first time that I have EVER damaged a phone!...I always use the high end case, but this goes to show this can happen!..
Please! get insurance!

Here's the thing though

It cost 250 to fix,if you had insurance I think it cost something like 175 deductible so basically you only saved 75 bucks. So in that scenario I don't think you lost a lot of money by not having insurance

 

[CKwik240]

Here's the thing though

It cost 250 to fix,if you had insurance I think it cost something like 175 deductible so basically you only saved 75 bucks. So in that scenario I don't think you lost a lot of money by not having insurance

That also depends on how long between damage events. So if your paying $10 a month for insurance and on average you break a phone every 15 months, in your scenario, you've now spent $150 plus the $175 deductible. Not saying the insurance had no value, but what that value is varies from one person to the next. I used to pay for insurance in my ex-girlfriend's phone. She dropped it often so it actually worked out cheaper in her case. But definitely not in mine.

 

[sleepnclass]

I never buy insurance. last time I did was with T-Mobile. they sent me one device that wouldn't even power on and was sticky. then they sent another and the keybaord (it was a blackberry curve 8900) was missing keys.

they absolutely refused to send me another phone and reminded me that I don't get a new one. tried arguing that they didn't even send me one that powered on. I cancelled TMobile and never bought insurance from a carrier again.

I'm not gonna pay a carrier a monthly fee so they can empty their junk drawer on me when I need them most.

 

[rimz808]

So I bought my unlocked s9+ from Best buy. I know I can buy their geek squad insurance, but I'm wondering if I can buy insurance from say Samsung or from ATT, which is my carrier?

 

[Kfife10]

I have the total equipment coverage through Verizon for my S7, which is $9.00 a month. I am extremely careful with my phones; I NEVER drop them. I actually rarely drop anything. However, I wanted the insurance for the peace of mind, because I thought about how stressed I would feel if something did happen to my phone and how I wouldn't want to pay full price to get another one, and that amount of stress would not be worth saving $9.00 a month on my bill.

One day I had my phone on the kitchen counter, and suddenly a glass spice jar fell out of my cupboard and landed right on my phone, smashing through the glass screen protector, and completely disabling the entire screen, and thus the entire phone. I frantically called Verizon, and they directed me to the Asurion website, which is the company that they use to insure your phone. I filled out a short form online, paid $150, and had a new phone in less than 24 hours. The whole episode was stressful enough, but I can't imagine how I would have felt if I didn't have any insurance, and having to pay full price for another phone.

I suppose everyone is different, but for me, the insurance is worth it, because no matter how careful I am, freak accidents can happen (keep your phone away from spice jars). I will pay $9.00 a month for the knowledge that I can get a replacement so quickly, and I will pay a fraction of what I would have to pay for a new phone.

 

[irockcrowns]

I never get the insurance, mostly because I don't want to spend the extra money added to my already high plan. I have taken advantage of my 1 year warranty when one of my phone's vibrating motor died.

 

[cohoman]

I use to get insurance for my phone's (thru the carrier) but stopped because I never made a claim. But, I did drop my phone twice and cracked the screen while not having insurance. I was able to take it to a local repair shop that replaced practical the entire phone (excluding the main board) for $129. This was my Samsung S6. So, I decided repairing the phone locally was a better and cheaper option than paying for insurance.

Having said that, I did get carrier insurance for my teenage son's phone because he's prone to losing things and he had his phone stolen at school once.

 

[callihan_44]

I personally dont think it's worth it, i dont want a refurb and if I end up paying a deductible anyway it doesnt make financial sense...that said I can afford to purchase a new one if i break the phone

 

[arunma]

Has anyone tried using a credit card-based insurance? I recently got the Uber Visa card, which provides $600 of cell phone insurance per claim and two claims per year with just a $25 deductible, as long as you pay your monthly cell phone bill with the card. They even state that you can make a claim if you lose your phone (which would result in only a $275 out-of-pocket cost for the S9+). This seems like a dang good deal, perhaps even better than what you'd get from carrier insurance. Having not yet made a claim though, I can't say how simple of a process this is.

My aging Gear S3 Frontier (strangely still Samsung's most advanced smartwatch) is starting to show signs of battery wear. Since it's technically a "phone" and has its own number, I'm planning to get a battery replacement from Samsung and see if I can make an insurance claim to cover it. I guess that'll tell me if credit card phone insurance is all it's cracked up to be.