iPhone Insurance

If you're a regular iPhoneFAQ reader, this won't be the first time you've heard us advise you against buying iPhone or other mobile phone insurance through your wireless provider. When AT&T began offering iPhone insurance, we demonstrated how overpriced and undervalued their policy offerings were, hopefully saving many of you a great deal of money and frustration. Since the Verizon iPhone was announced, we've been waiting to find out what Verizon was going to step up to the plate with on the insurance front, hoping we'd be impressed. Unsurprisingly enough, we're not.

Hoping for anything else was sort of pointless given that Verizon and AT&T both offer insurance through the same third party company, Asurion. While the coverage that Asurion offers is excellent, the pricing is anything but. So, even though the same wizard is behind the curtain at both AT&T and Verizon and not ignoring the fact that replacement costs to the consumer are roughly $50 higher with the CDMA iPhone, we were hoping we'd see Verizon pushing aggressive pricing for insurance to give AT&T iPhone owners more reasons to switch.

Though it hasn't yet been announced by Verizon, details of insurance options that will be available to Verizon iPhone owners are now available through Asurion's web site. Asurion is the third-party company that backs the mobile phone insurance Verizon combines with it's extended device warranty and markets to customers as Verizon TEC (Total Equipment Coverage). Although Verizon customers that own smartphones similar in price to the Verizon iPhone insure and protect their devices for $7.99 a month, at $10.99 a month, iPhone owners aren't so lucky.

That is, if you consider $7.99 per month for insurance that comes with high deductibles "lucky" in the first place. From a deductible perspective, things are even worse for Verizon iPhone owners than they are when considering the monthly fee hike. Should you opt for Verizon / Asurion's TEC coverage on your Verizon iPhone, expect to pay a whopping $199 deductible in the event that you do need to file a claim.

If you haven't protected your iPhone 4 with a supplemental warranty or insurance policy by now, chances are you've realized you should. The iPhone is highly susceptible to damage and other accidents. Enter SquareTrade. SquareTrade warranties provide you with peace of mind and more protection for your dollar vs. other competitors. Consumer review agencies, media outlets and more are recommending third party insurance and warranty providers like SquareTrade over manufacturer and service provider offerings.

With the launch of the iPhone 4 tomorrow, prospective buyers and those who have successfully pre-ordered their devices may be looking for protection. Several options exist, and they each come with their own price tag and caveats. AT&T Wireless made news earlier this month when they announced that MobileProtect insurance from Asurion would finally be available for the iPhone.

Unfortunately, the pricing and features of the AT&T iPhone insurance plan just don't compare to alternatives. First of all, MobileProtect costs $11.99 per month and your iPhone must be enrolled within the first 30 days after activation. This puts the insurance total for a two-year contract at a whopping $288. Furthermore, those needing an iPhone 4 replacement will pay a $199 deductible, the same price as a subsidized 16 GB iPhone 4 with a two-year contract.