Extended Warranties / Insurance for Note 8 (or Smart Phones in General)

[pasva007]

I just wanted to check the opinions of those here regarding extended warranties / insurance for mobile phones. I purchased a Note 8 with AT&T last Saturday and opted for their phone insurance for about $9.99 a month which covers accidental damage, loss and theft.

I'm thinking that I might cancel my insurance with AT&T and purchase a plan with Squaretrade, which would be $129 for two years and would cover accidental damage but not loss or theft. The deductible is also less. The $129 would be paid up front though and its possible I could end up buying another phone in a year, so two years may be more than I need. But the only option is 2 or 3 years with Squaretrade

I've also been reading some bad reviews regarding the service with Squaretrade since the company was acquired by Allstate, so not sure what I want to do as of yet.

I typically don't opt for extended warranties but when it comes to smart phones, I prefer to have coverage for accidental damage, at least for the first 6 months or so of buying a new expensive phone. Just wanted to know what people here were doing in regards to extended warranties / insurance for their Note 8.

 

[sjgoten6]

If you don't think yours will ever be stolen or lost (who does until it actually happens right?) then you may be better off with squaretrade. Especially if you plan on getting a new phone in the next year or two. But then again, your insurance with AT&T (assurian) automatically rolls over to the next phone without having to pay another $129. And also your insurance is $8.99 not $9.99. I would keep your insurance with AT&T because at the end of your two years or so with the note 8, your phone could "break" and they may send you a note 9 or 10. I've seen it happen plenty of times with people with older iPhone or galaxies and getting the new models without having to actually buy a new one.

 

[pasva007]

Yeah, I think I may stick with AT&T. Another issue with squaretrade is when your phone is damaged and you have to file a claim, you need to send your phone to squaretrade for them to verify the damage, at least according to reviews I've read. This would mean going with out a phone for a week or more.

 

[Baby_Doc]

Square Trade warranties are refundable or transferable if you get rid of your phone or buy another one. Furthermore, you can buy their warranty at any time, even after the manufacturer warranty runs out. If something goes wrong with your phone during the first year, SquareTrade will have you use the manufacturer's warranty. So if you buy a two year SquareTrade
warranty when you first get your phone, you are, other than breakage, paying for only one year of protection.

Furthermore, SquareTrade says that there is no minimum waiting time necessary in order for you to file a claim. So, while it is unethical, people could buy the SquareTrade warranty after their phone is damaged and then file a claim. I guess SquareTrade figures if you do that, they will still make money on your warranty, because of the big deductable on top of the price of the warranty, and the fact they fix your phone, keeping their repair costs down.

Personally, I decided not to buy any warranty. Both my wife and I got new phones and I couldn't see spending all that much money for 2 warranties for something I probably wouldn't need. The money I saved could be used for a repair in the event of a phone getting damaged, with it being extremely unlikely that both phones would need repair. So in essence, I am self insuring myself.