Insurance on the Thunderbolt?

[ejweber]

Up to this point, I've owned only basic and feature phones (my latest and greatest phone is the Alias 2) and have never felt the need to carry device insurance. However, I'm not sure whether to change my tune for the HTC Thunderbolt. Should a Thunderbolt owner buy insurance? If so, what are the insurance options, and which provides the best bang for the buck?

 

[Whetzel]

Up to this point, I've owned only basic and feature phones (my latest and greatest phone is the Alias 2) and have never felt the need to carry device insurance. However, I'm not sure whether to change my tune for the HTC Thunderbolt. Should a Thunderbolt owner buy insurance? If so, what are the insurance options, and which provides the best bang for the buck.

You really should keep this in mind. If something happens to your Thunderbolt, it will be (as of this writing) $750 to replace it.

On phones that expensive, I HIGHLY recommend insurance. I know I'll [continue to] carry insurance in my Thunderbolt.

As far as options, I'm pretty sure there is only one option through Verizon, however, Best Buy also offers insurance. Not completely sure about the details of that though.

 

[ggpike]

What is the deal with SquareTrade? How does their insurance plan stack up against Asurion's? I've been less than thrilled in the past using Asurian . . . their "like new" replacements do not have a fantastic track record. I use my Droid for my business and when I had an issue with it and needed it replaced, even a Verizon CS rep told me I didn't have a great chance of getting a dependable phone from them (Hence my two month wait for the Tbolt).

Long story short, SquareTrade piqued my interest. Any experience?

 

[ejweber]

Thanks for the advice. It looks like Verizon offers an insurance policy with a $99 deductible for $5.18 per month. This can be combined with an extended warranty for $6.99 per month. I assume this waives the deductible in cases of no fault defects?

I had trouble finding information about Best Buy's device insurance online. It looks like the offer "Black Tie Protection" for $170, but I assume they offer a plan that you can pay for month to month as well?

 

[Whetzel]

Wow, they must have raised their deductible. I'm pretty sure my mother in-law only paid a $50 deductible when she got her phone replaced, but that was a "dumb" phone. Maybe it's just higher on smart phones. I've never paid that much attention to it before.

 

[ejweber]

Long story short, SquareTrade piqued my interest. Any experience?

I just took a look at SquareTrade myself. Sounds like a pretty good deal assuming they have a reliable track record.

 

[ejweber]

Wow, they must have raised their deductible. I'm pretty sure my mother in-law only paid a $50 deductible when she got her phone replaced, but that was a "dumb" phone. Maybe it's just higher on smart phones. I've never paid that much attention to it before.

It looks like that's the case. The insurance terms quote the feature phone deductible as $50 and the smartphone deductible as $99.

 

[Whetzel]

It looks like that's the case. The insurance terms quote the feature phone deductible as $50 and the smartphone deductible as $99.

Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[racinbill]

One thing I think is a major difference is that with the VZW/Asurion you can lose or have your phone stolen and still get it replaced. With squaretrade you cannot. Of course squaretrade is much cheaper. I thought Bestbuy Black Tie looked very expensive $10/month and did not cover as well as VZW.

Of course if Asurion gives you crap replacement then I guess you could question if it is worth it.

I am very interested in the comparison as I am also moving from a dumb phone to the Tbolt when it comes out and feel I NEED insurance.

 

[Treknologist]

SquareTrade is a good alternative and they have both a warranty to repair the phones as well as a separate warranty for loss/accidental damage.

 

[DolfanCole]

I have SquareTrade on my phone now, and fortunately have not had to use it. When I got it though, there was no deductible, and the replacement phone was a new phone not a refurbished one. The price was also much better -- I believe that I got it for $60-70 (one-time upfront payment). The drawback that it had at the time (maybe it's changed) is that they did not cover theft or water damage. Anyway, I'd seriously consider them for insurance in addition to the others.

 

[racinbill]

SquareTrade is a good alternative and they have both a warranty to repair the phones as well as a separate warranty for loss/accidental damage.

Can you tell me where to find the squaretrade insurance for loss/theft. This is what I see on their website under coverage. I would rather pay them upfront then to have a monthly charge.

"Covered Issues: Both accidents (e.g., broken screen or other damage through drops AND liquid damage including full immersion) and out-of-warranty normal use failures (e.g., battery no longer charging or other hardware failures) are covered. We do not cover loss, theft, willful damage or damage occurring through gross misuse."

 

[Treknologist]

I just looked through and it isn't there. Sorry. They offered that to me when I last bought a phone warranty from them (but that was 2 years ago).

 

[am4966]

Best Buy Black Tie, 9.99 if there is a problem they send out the device to get fixed and if it cant be fixed you get a new phone. Does not cover theft or Loss not sure about the Damage part.

Verizon Deductible is 120.00 for Smart phones...with a 650.00 phone I'm not taking chance's and going with what has worked for me in the past. However, Asurion replacements I have only had to send back a phone 1 time. I've had to use service often I was hard on my feature phones there for awhile

 

[ShaggyKids]

You really should keep this in mind. If something happens to your Thunderbolt, it will be (as of this writing) $750 to replace it.

On phones that expensive, I HIGHLY recommend insurance. I know I'll [continue to] carry insurance in my Thunderbolt.

As far as options, I'm pretty sure there is only one option through Verizon, however, Best Buy also offers insurance. Not completely sure about the details of that though.

Ditto! If it hadn't been for the insurance I'd have been out a ton of money cuz I'm on my 3rd Storm 1. ANY phone can break, get stolen, what-have-you. For me $7-$8 a month is well worth is cuz ain't no way I can afford to fork over the money it would take to replace it.

 

[project.in.process]

i purchased Square Trade (for my iPod Touch), and was very displeased with their service.
the fine print states water damage.
i was told by the rep on the phone it would be covered, and assured it could be fixed.
i tracked it via UPS to their warehouse, where they refused to acknowledge it was received (even though i had a signature via UPS to confirm it). after arguing for nearly 20 minutes with the rep to have the warehouse workers check--they "had misplaced it" and happened to find it.
a week later, i received it back in the mail--citing that the water damage was not covered under my warranty...

needless to say, i don't recommend them. it's a cheap plan--with cheap results.
*not professional
*not adhering to the contractual obligations
*he-said and she-said phone reps

of course, everyone's going to have different results.
but everyone bases their recommendations based on their interactions. this was mine. and i'm still angry about it. that was a $380 purchase (warranty included) that can't be recouped.
go to Verizon, get their insurance.

 

[ggpike]

i purchased Square Trade (for my iPod Touch), and was very displeased with their service.
the fine print states water damage.
i was told by the rep on the phone it would be covered, and assured it could be fixed.
i tracked it via UPS to their warehouse, where they refused to acknowledge it was received (even though i had a signature via UPS to confirm it). after arguing for nearly 20 minutes with the rep to have the warehouse workers check--they "had misplaced it" and happened to find it.
a week later, i received it back in the mail--citing that the water damage was not covered under my warranty...

needless to say, i don't recommend them. it's a cheap plan--with cheap results.
*not professional
*not adhering to the contractual obligations
*he-said and she-said phone reps

of course, everyone's going to have different results.
but everyone bases their recommendations based on their interactions. this was mine. and i'm still angry about it. that was a $380 purchase (warranty included) that can't be recouped.
go to Verizon, get their insurance.

Just checked out their general policy which covers mp3 players. They do not cover spills or water damages. "Accidental damage: Unless Accidental Damage from Handling Protection is purchased, we don?t cover items that are accidentally damaged - such as water damage, dropped iPods, and cracked laptop screens."

It seems that with smartphones, they DO cover accidents and water damage. "All Care Plans for new cell phones include Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH) coverage, which protects them against drops, spills, and other accidents. There is a $50 deductible for any accidental damage claim."

So maybe that is the confusion? Did they think you had separate ADH coverage as well as general coverage? Looks like ADH is not built in to the coverage for ipod's etc, like is with smartphones.

With Verizon / Asurion, they send you a "like new" phone which from what I can gather, knowing people personally who have received one and 95% of people on the various forums who have received one, is pretty much a toss up and is more hassle than it's worth in terms of getting a phone that works or isn't prone to issues.

 

[bunique4life05]

I am confused. When you guys are talking about replacement phones do you mean they give you refurbished smartphone? Also is that replacement phone exactly same phone you have? I am talking about Verizon insurance policy and procedures. Do they ever give you a new phone?

 

[ggpike]

I am confused. When you guys are talking about replacement phones do you mean they give you refurbished smartphone? Also is that replacement phone exactly same phone you have? I am talking about Verizon insurance policy and procedures. Do they ever give you a new phone?

Very rarely will you get a new phone. Most of the time if you get a new phone, you've used your policy soon after the phone is released, as they will not have a large stock of refurbs. The longer the time between the phone's release and your claim, the more likely you will be to get a refurb. The refurbs are the same model as your phone, however the dependability is pretty questionable.

 

[Forgetful]

I've used square trade when my screen on my moto razr2 went out. They replaced it but in the process ruined my camera...