iphone insurance possibility
June 15, 2008 10:37 AM Subscribe
How can I insure my Iphone?
I am completely addicted to my iphone. I have a case and all that jazz but I am still scared of her breaking. apple care only *fixes* it if its not jailbroken. Mine is; so that immediately wipes out apple care. Is there any third party coverage I can buy that would cover theft also. I charged it but not on a credit card that has the coverage. Since I got such an insane deal I had to move fast and don't really understand if and what cards have insurance and what that would cover...:( but it is too late now regarless...
Hive mind, lay it on me!
I am completely addicted to my iphone. I have a case and all that jazz but I am still scared of her breaking. apple care only *fixes* it if its not jailbroken. Mine is; so that immediately wipes out apple care. Is there any third party coverage I can buy that would cover theft also. I charged it but not on a credit card that has the coverage. Since I got such an insane deal I had to move fast and don't really understand if and what cards have insurance and what that would cover...:( but it is too late now regarless...
Hive mind, lay it on me!
You seem to be confusing insurance and warranty. A warranty is a promise by the manufacturer of a product (or a third party, like a credit card issuer) that the product will perform as designed for a specific period of time (often one year). Property insurance is a promise by an insurer to repair or replace an item that is damaged or destroyed through no fault of your own. For the most part, a warranty will not cover loss, theft, or other problems that have nothing to do with the item performing as designed.
If you have property or tenant's insurance, you can probably purchase additional insurance (known as a "rider") specifically to cover your iPhone. Call your insurance agent and ask for a quote. Chances are, though, that it'll be more expensive than self-insuring.
If the item you want to protect is relatively cheap (say, less than $1000), you're probably better off just socking the "insurance" money into a bank account, and using that money to replace the item if it breaks, gets stolen, or has some other problem not covered by the regular warranty. This way, you can get the iPhone replaced immediately if it gets stolen, rather than waiting for an insurance company to process the claim.
posted by gwenzel at 11:26 AM on June 15, 2008
If you have property or tenant's insurance, you can probably purchase additional insurance (known as a "rider") specifically to cover your iPhone. Call your insurance agent and ask for a quote. Chances are, though, that it'll be more expensive than self-insuring.
If the item you want to protect is relatively cheap (say, less than $1000), you're probably better off just socking the "insurance" money into a bank account, and using that money to replace the item if it breaks, gets stolen, or has some other problem not covered by the regular warranty. This way, you can get the iPhone replaced immediately if it gets stolen, rather than waiting for an insurance company to process the claim.
posted by gwenzel at 11:26 AM on June 15, 2008
apple care only *fixes* it if its not jailbroken.
Does this apply even to hardware problems? I expect that any software problem can be blamed on being jailbroken, but not a failed hard drive or faulty screen (for example).
I don't think any third party insurance is going to cover software problems anyway. Nor accidental damage (at least not accidental damage occurring while you or someone authorized by you was using it).
posted by winston at 12:44 PM on June 15, 2008
Does this apply even to hardware problems? I expect that any software problem can be blamed on being jailbroken, but not a failed hard drive or faulty screen (for example).
I don't think any third party insurance is going to cover software problems anyway. Nor accidental damage (at least not accidental damage occurring while you or someone authorized by you was using it).
posted by winston at 12:44 PM on June 15, 2008
Apparntly the best insurance is a chip packet.
I remember when the iPhone first came out they weren't offering insurance with it, as there where with other handsets. I think gwenzel's suggestion is the best; put a few hundred dollars in a bank and if it gets stolenarized buy a new one.
posted by oxford blue at 7:25 PM on June 15, 2008
I remember when the iPhone first came out they weren't offering insurance with it, as there where with other handsets. I think gwenzel's suggestion is the best; put a few hundred dollars in a bank and if it gets stolenarized buy a new one.
posted by oxford blue at 7:25 PM on June 15, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
Due to the exclusions, deductables and whatnot, in my situation it is worth it to just be careful with the damn thing and suck it up and buy a new one if this one bites the dust. I've had two friends that dropped theirs in liquids and they've had to buy refurbished ones from Apple for $250 (didn't have an impact on their ATT contract length).
I'm getting the new one next month and so if my current iphone can make it, I'll have a spare (w/o 3g, of course) to use if the new one breaks or I lose it.
posted by birdherder at 10:50 AM on June 15, 2008