How can I get insurance for my Apple iPhone?

How can I get insurance for my Apple iPhone?

As you likely already know, and as has become the case with higher priced "smartphones" through many providers, traditional mobile phone insurance is not available for the iPhone. That doesn't mean you want to leave your $500 or $600 iPhone unprotected, does it? "What?" you say, "I paid $199 for my iPhone". That may be true, but it is important to know that those prices are subsidized by your mobile carrier (i.e. AT&T) and are one-time purchase prices only. If you damage or lose your iPhone, you'll need to replace that phone at full price ($499 or $599).

Of course not. Luckily, there are still several options out there that will help cover you should something happen to your iPhone.

AppleCare

applecare_thumb.jpgAppleCare is Apple's extended warranty and support program which covers products outside their limited manufacturer's warranty. In the case of the iPhone, AppleCare will provide an additional year of coverage for defects and repair, including the battery.

AppleCare does not provide coverage for accidental damage, which means that drops, spills, splashes, and anything and everything else that Apple can attribute to your misuse rather than a product failure will not be covered by AppleCare.

Third Party Mobile Phone Insurance

SquareTrade iPhone WarrantiesA handful of companies have arisen to fill the gap created by the lack of carrier-provided mobile phone insurance for certain devices. These companies are now offering coverage plans for the iPhone.

Squaretrade, who has been in business since 1999, is offering coverage equivalent to the AppleCare program, called the CarePlan, for as much as $30 less per year less (depending on what model and size of iPhone you need coverage for). Should your iPhone need attention, Squaretrade promises to fix it or pay you the full purchase price of the iPhone, all within five days. SquareTrade's insurance plans have received near perfect consumer ratings on NexTag and Epinions, and has received an A+ rating from the BBB (Better Business Bureau). As a result, SquareTrade has sold over 1,000,000 warranties to date.

Despite the rave reviews and the lower price, the key factor that sets the SquareTrade warranties apart from AppleCare and other competitors is the coverage for accidental damage. SquareTrade is the only licensed insurance provider that covers accidental damage. According to SquareTrade, "drops, spills, water damage, battery failures or any other failures from normal use or accidental damage" are all covered under their plans.

For more information on SquareTrade, head directly to their page for SquareTrade iPhone warranties.

Credit Card Purchase Protection

Many different credit card providers offer purchase protection programs which cover credit card purchase against malfunction and accidental damage. Visa has "purchase security", American Express has the "purchase protection plan", while other card providers term their coverage something else. These coverages are usually restricted to Gold and Platinum credit cards, but can sometimes be found on standard cards as well. Unfortunately, most of these plans only cover purchases for 90 days, which often coincides with the existing manufacturer warranty.

The good news is, many of these programs automatically extend the manufacturers warranty for up to one year. The bad news is that these warranties also won't cover accidental damages from spills, drops, etc. Contact your card provider for details about how your purchases are covered.

Homeowner's Insurance

If you already have homeowner's or renter's insurance, you may be able to cover your iPhone through an extension to your existing policy. For example, State Farm will reportedly cover your iPhone for an additional $32.50 per year.

If you're considering covering your iPhone this way, be careful to check with your insurance company on how your deductible plays into claims made to cover the iPhone. If your deductible is $500, chances are you're not getting a very good deal. Make sure to lower your deductible (which would bring on additional costs) or get documentation from your insurance company which states that your extended coverage is not subject to your standard deductible. Though some users have reported getting decent rates for their iPhone coverage through their homeowners, this route can often be time consuming and complex, as it doesn't really fall within the typical insurance agent's area of expertise, to say the least.

Comments

Uk iPhone insurance which covers accidental damage is available at http://www.iphoneinsurance.mobi

Buy your 3GS at Best Buy... they are offering insurance!

SquareTrade is GREAT! A must have for iPhone owners.

I had a SquareTrade warranty on my first iPhone and I accidentally jumped in the pool with it in my pocket and SquareTrade replaced it even though it was my stupid faut! Can't beat that!!!

Just got my 3G S today and am getting a policy again for sure.

square trade is ok but they charge $50.00 deductible on accidental damage claims which they claim its to keep the price down. $144.00 plus the 50.00 deductible if there is a claim equals 194.00 and deductible. square trade keeps that deductible.. Theres a company out there that i have purchased warrantys from for a little less and has no deductible, same coverage for less... visit www.phoneguardglobal.com...

Janet

I hope anyone who reads the above comment realizes this is bogus. Squaretrade is $99 for 2 years with a $50 deductible per claim (hopefully you won't use it more than once, if that much). That's a grand total of $149. The above post adds the deductible a few times in an effort to mislead. I just received my iPhone 4 and will be buying my Squaretrade warranty today. ATT is an epic fail in the warranty regard as well.

Visit www.phoneguardglobal.com they offer 2 years of coverage, covering water damage accidental damage and normal hardware failure they have a zero deductible and no occurence limit also. I'm happy with them they cover my iphone and ipad that i just purchased they also cover up the retail price not the upgraded price like the others that are out there, so again visit www.phoneguardglobal.com

Thank you for this article. It is very well written and was very helpful.

If you are looking into GO CARE or are an existing customer let me give you a little bit of information.

I signed up my whole family on there group plan and now I find out that suddenly they changed there group plan policy and it does not
cover loss and theft, which is pretty useless because that is why I wanted the insurance.

So as of right now I am trying to figure out what are my options because when I did my initial research it did cover it and NOW they SUDDENLY CHANGED THEIR POLICY.

You have to be very careful when researching different insurances. When you get the information get it in WRITING! If it isn't in writing it is USELESS.

If you have the same problem as me let me know because I am trying to fix this now.
If i come up on a solution before anyone I will be sure to post it.

Enjoy your search!!!!

When I purchased my latest iPhone, i was actually suggested to buy the insurance from www.mycellphoneinsurance.com They advised me to go purchase it here because they offered a buy back program. When I'm ready to upgrade to my next phone, they will buy back my current iphone for about $167. I figured that was a pretty nice deal so I took them up on it. Take a look if you like. So far so good for me.

I went to www.esurranty.com when I found out the others didn't cover loss and theft of my iphone. The price was a lot less, the customer service was VERY helpful and the deductibles are far less as well. Not to mention that they state very clearly that they do NOT replace devices with refurbished phone.

BUYER BEWARE: ESURRANTY is not a real insurance company. Go check with the insurance commissioner. It's not real, they've stolen my son's phone. They tried to get me to sign a 'confidentiality agreement' to get my phone back. A gag order? Really? For insurance I paid for? Day 66 of them not returning my phone. These are all facts & I can supply proof to anyone who wants. DO NOT SEND THEM YOUR PHONE.

In full disclosure, my name is Alyssa and I work for a company called ProtectYourBubble.com. We provide comprehensive iPhone insurance for $7.99 per month. Our plans cover loss, theft, accidents, and damage (including liquid damage). The deductible is $120 for iPhones and we provide the replacement device in 24 hours.

Regarding homeowner's insurance, we always recommend that folks review the fine print carefully. Like this article states, often times the homeowner's (or renters) insurance deductible can be quite costly and may require that the item remain within the home. As we all know, we carry our phones with us throughout the day. For anyone who is in the market, check out us.ProtectYourBubble.com to get more information.

In full disclosure, I work for a company called Protect Your Bubble.
Protect Your Bubble is one of the top insurers of mobile devices worldwide. We are just as passionate about educating consumers on our comprehensive smartphone insurance as we are at providing excellent customer service.

Our plans are $7.99 a month for smartphones. For anyone interested, visit http://us.protectyourbubble.com/gadget-insurance/iphone-insurance/?ch=PR&WXZ=BAS&PTR=Vocus

I just had to have my iPhone 4S replaced due to muffled calls. It was getting very hard to hear, even with the volume at 10. The callers also heard me sounding very muffled.
Since I use the Verizon insurer Asurion (sp) they told me that plan insures the phone indefinitely against mfr defects assuming you bought the insurance from day one when the phone was new and keep paying the monthly fee.
The phone is about one year old.
So, since Verizon is sending me a brand new phone that I'll receive today, it's going to cost me $0.00. The new phone was shipped overnight and should be waiting for me when I get to work.
Hard to argue with that since I typically care for my equipment make things last forever.
Gotta weigh everything!

Updated: State Farm does NOT cover iPhones any longer... at least their renter's insurance policies don't. Just called my agent - they said they stopped doing it due to the number of claims filed for the things.

the best on the market at the moment is Lifesaver Protection. There Australian based and have an awesome deal. get free protection with buying a life proof case. best part is the repair or placement excess fee is only $79 which is nuts. Its free and such a low excess fee. I recommend these guys for sure. They also only have a 3 day turn around which is nuts. check them out at www.lifesaverprotection.com.au

yeah I've heard about these guys.. I have a few friends that just purchased this protection last week.

SQUARE TRADE is a joke LIFESAVERPROTECTION is where its at check it www.lifesaverprotection.com.au