Submitted by Thomas Estilow on
Did you know that 80% of all iPhone failures are due to accidents? The problem is that most mobile carriers will not cover a smartphone like the Apple iPhone under typical insurance contracts.
SquareTrade, a licensed insurance provider, offers the only iPhone protection that fully covers accidents from handling. The company has been in business since 1999 and has sold over one million iPhone warranties.
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. This is the key difference between SquareTrade's insurance and other coverage options such as AppleCare.
Don't Drop That iPhoneYour iPhone comes with 90 days of technical support and a one year warranty from Apple, and many users have extended this coverage to two years with AppleCare. Unfortunately, if your iPhone is dropped and damaged or accidentally gets wet, Apple will not cover the repair.
Let's take a closer look at the features in SquareTrade's iPhone warranty.
One of the best features of the plan is NO deductible and NO shipping charges. If you need to send your phone for a standard warranty repair everything is completely covered. Accidental damage repairs have a low $50 deductible. Some other insurance products we've seen have deductibles of $100 or more.
SquareTrade Can Save You Money
You may have paid $199 or $299 for your iPhone, however these are prices subsidized by your wireless carrier to the tune of $400. For example, full price for a 16GB iPhone 3GS from AT&T is currently a whopping $599. A $50 deductible to repair the broken iPhone is a great deal. Apple has been known to charge users $200 to repair a broken screen.
SquareTrade promises a five-day turnaround. This is quick. If it turns out the damaged iPhone can't be repaired, then SquareTrade will send you money instead.
How much money? Enough to subsidize a new phone at full price. Current reimbursement prices are $299 for the 8GB iPhone, $399 for the 16GB iPhone, and $499 for the 32GB iPhone. This means you can purchase a brand new iPhone for the same price you initially paid, saving you $400. If the cause of damage was accidental, the $50 deductible still applies.
If you're interested in canceling the coverage before the two years is up, SquareTrade will actually refund the remaining cost of the plan.
How does SquareTrade Compare?
Of course, there are other ways to get different kinds of coverage for your iPhone. We explored some of the options in this writeup, however SquareTrade has emerged the clear leader.
AppleCare for the iPhone costs a flat $69 for a second year of coverage (the first year is free). The weakness of this plan when compared to SquareTrade is that "Damage to the Covered Equipment caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse..." is not covered by AppleCare.
Credit cards vary widely in what additional warranty coverage they will provide to cover purchases such as the iPhone. Although using a credit card with some kind of accidental damage protection plan will not cost you any additional money (unless you're paying interest), most of these plans will only cover accidental damage for the first 90 days. This won't cover you very far into a two-year iPhone contract.
Depending on your existing insurance company, homeowners or renters insurance may be extended to cover an iPhone. State Farm will reportedly cover your iPhone for an additional $32.50 per year. The problem is that homeowners insurance deductibles can be $500 or more. This is almost the cost of a brand new 16GB iPhone at full price. If the extended coverage is not subject to the standard deductible, you'll need to get the iPhone repaired yourself, and it's possible you will face a complex and time consuming claims process.
SquareTrade clearly has expertise specific to the needs of iPhone owners and offers the most complete and easy solution.
What does SquareTrade cost?
For the level of coverage, the price of this protection can't be beat. The two-year SquareTrade insurance plan runs $96-$144 depending on your iPhone model. As of this writing, the company is currently in the middle of a 20% off promotion on ALL of their iPhone warranty products. This means two years of insurance on an iPhone 16GB (normally $120) is on sale for $96.
This means the cost is four dollars a month to cover a 16GB iPhone against manufacturing defects and accidental damage.
The Fine Print
There is some fine print, but we found these terms to be reasonable. You must purchase your SquareTrade iPhone warranty within 30 days of purchasing your iPhone. Standard warranty coverage is for two years from the date of purchase. Accidental damage coverage begins 30 days after the date of purchase, and complete loss or theft of your iPhone is not covered.
All claims get free shipping to the SquareTrade repair depot via UPS. Five-day service is guaranteed. If service takes longer, SquareTrade will refund the cost of your warranty. SquareTrade promises not to replace your iPhone with a refurbished model. They will repair YOUR phone.
What Do Others Say About SquareTrade?
SquareTrade's insurance plans and service have received near perfect consumer ratings on NexTag and Epinions, and have received an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). All warranties sold by SquareTrade are covered by Amtrust, an A- rated insurance company.
After a detailed review, we highly recommend SquareTrade if you're looking to protect your investment in an iPhone (and you probably should be, given the $500-600 replacement cost). You can give yourself a lot of peace of mind by protecting your iPhone now by with SquareTrade insurance. We already have.
Comments
Anonymous replied on Permalink
This article soundsw too good to be true.
For one thing it states that there is NO DEDUCTABLE. I would remove this statement completly since there is a deductable for accidental dammage. which is the only thing this insurance offers over apple care.
The other thing I take exception to is the statement about positive reviews on eopinions site. I was not able to find any refrence to square trade on that site anywhere.
If I were a betting man I would say that the majority of this article was copt and pasted from a release from Square Trade with little or no fact checking.
Did you guys actually try the service?
Did you buy the coverage and send in a phone to be fixed?
How is the quality of the repairs?
You generally get what you pay for and there is certainly no such thing as a free lunch here.
IMHO you should retract this article untill a more thorogh examination of the product can be had. Try them out. Buy a phone, Buy the insurance, drop it break a phone send it in for repair. see how long it actually takes them to repair it. check the quality of the repair.
It isno good to say that if it takes longer than 5 days you get your money back. Who cares! I want a repaired phone back. There is nothing that says that it wont take weeks to effect a repair.
Anyway please look more closly at products of this nature before spreading the word.
The whole thing about insurance is getting a lot of people to partisipate. I get that. But anyway you look at it apple care is a proven well paved road. This product is NOT...YET.
Yaesumofo
Kathy replied on Permalink
Maybe you should check Epinions as the article states- not "Eopinions". Square Trade Inc. gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from 620 reviewers on Epinions right now.
IMHO you should take your broken iPhone to Apple and see how much they charge you for a repair with Apple Care. There is no free lunch. Square Trade is charging a price to deliver a service.
Seriously, did you buy Square Trade and have a problem?
Anonymous replied on Permalink
NO I don't have a problem with square trade.
I have a problem with poor quality reviews and untested statements.
I tried and failed to find any . to square trade on eopinions. Can you provide a link?
"
We found no matches for: "iphone insurance"
However, we did find results using fewer keywords.
See results for:
iphone insurance
iphone insurance"
When you review a product one usually actually USES it in order to see if it is any good. One doesn't just copy a press release.
I have tried several different search strings and have not found any references to square trade on the epinions site.
Again when you review a product you don't just go by what the company says. you try it out.
Now you suggest I buy the product and send my broken iphone to them and test them. Why?
It isn't my review.
I have no issue with the product I have an issue with poor writing and journalistic partice.
If I were going to use a source Like epinions I would at the very least include a link. Especially if it is as hard to find as it apparently is for me. For the life of me I do not understand why I can't find any thing on that site referencing either iphone insurance or square trade. Go figure.
In the end that will not actually solve the issue I have with the review. Iphone Faq has not actually written a review of the product. they have passed on information provided by square trade.
Normally a review is written by somebody who actually tries the product.
Would you want to buy a car based on a review written by somebody who has not driven the car?
I wouldn't.
Would YOU recommend a product you don't own or haven't tested to a friend? I wouldn't.
Would you review a MOVIE if you haven't seen it?
I could go on and on but I will stop.
I would like to see a couple of links and an attempt to actually review the product. Almost more than anything I would like to know more about the actual quality of the repairs. Insurance is all well and good but if at the end of the day the quality of the end product (repair service) is poor then it really is all a waste of money time and energy.
Yaesumofo
FRK replied on Permalink
Try google next time buddy
http://www.epinions.com/pr-Online_Stores_Services-SquareTrade_Inc
What do you want this guy to smash his phone to test the repair? If you don't want insurance thn don't buy it man
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Again you guys miss the point COMPLETLY!!
Thank you for the link.
I was not able to find (of the 269) reviews there of the square trade company reviews, any referring specifically to the Iphone insurance service. There certainly aren't 200 plus positive reviews of the Iphone insurance service there.
The point is this article is NOT a REVIEW of the Iphone insurance service provided by SQUARE TRADE. IT IS A COPY AND PASTE job of a press release.
There are no references that I can find regarding the QUALITY if the work done.
Like I said would you go send a friend to a movie that you haven't seen?
IMHO this is pure marketing BS. The service might be excellent.. But how good is it?
what are the repairs like? Any good? Nothing worse than receiving your Iphone back only to have it break down because of poor work.
I suggest that you become less like sheep.
I suppose it is too late for that.
I guess if they say it ...It must be true.
Yaesumofo
.
Andrew J replied on Permalink
I think you have anger problems. Personally I found this review really helpful.
You want them to buy an iPhone, break it, get it repaired, and tell you how good the repairs were? Give me a break.
This review is a comparison of the Squaretrade warranty vs. other options, and I think they covered important points. The positive reviews from hundreds of customers speak for themselves in regards to the repair quality. Also, I'm sure anything but minor repairs result in a brand new iPhone replacement.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I undestand what "Yaesumofo" is saying. The article is deceiving because it does read like a company testimony.
As a reader and prospective customer of SquareTrade, I am looking for unbiased actual experiences with SquareTrade.
This article represents itself as one, but digging deeper does not appear to be.
Think it's reasonable to have the writer actually test the service before making a recommendation. Or at least, responsible journalism should include a statement that clearly states that information is being taken from third-party or company representations of the service.
mike replied on Permalink
13.99 for iphone insurance? lol, the only reason i could see anyone going with apple's insurance plan is because of the name. I currently use www.insuredconections.com and only pay 7 dollars a month and 40 dollar deductible. They cover anything from cracked glass to water damage. If you have a iphone you might wanna look around before going to apple's insurance plan.
connor replied on Permalink
i don't know what all the fuss is about. ST seems well loved to me.
i had them for my original iphone and went swimming with it in my pocket and they sent me a new one no questions asked.
what more would you expect a company to do? people love to complain about nothing.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
He was commenting on the quality of the review not the quality of ST.
Maybe he is angry.... maybe not. It doesn't matter. His comments about the review appear to be accurate. The author does not appear to have used the product. It might be more accurate to call it a summary of ST advertising.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
One of the best features of the plan is NO deductible and NO shipping charges. If you need to send your phone for a standard warranty repair everything is completely covered. Accidental damage repairs have a low $50 deductible. Some other insurance products we've seen have deductibles of $100 or more.
Ummm am I the only
one who sees this sketchy already? It's said in bold letter NO deductable. The very next line says damage repairs $50 deductable? Then they try to cover it up by saying other companies charge $100?are you guys stupid. That's like saying your getting a house for free but you owe 100,000 for house. WTF?
Anonymous replied on Permalink
This article doesn't make sense. In the same paragraph, they say there's no deductible and then there's a low $50 deductible. Go to their site-- this whole thing is not true! They are not an insurance provider. There whole stance is like there's no hassle, no deductibles, no yucky refurbished phone replacements, but then their claims are a total hassle, even they say there's a deductible and they say in the fine print they have the right to give you a used or refurbished iphone. There are good warranties out there for iphones, this is just not one of them.
Sam replied on Permalink
A friend of mine had ST insurance on their iPhone and had to ship their phone off several times before ST would consider the phone unfixable. To make matters worse...they replaced her phone with a refurbished phone that doesn't work very well at all. I have Worth Ave Group insurance on my iPhone and was told they would never ask me to ship my phone anywhere unless they had already established my iPhone was unfixable AND they don't replace the phone for you...they send you a check to do it for yourself!
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I had a iPhone covered by squaretrade. It was very easy and took about 5 business days for the whole process. I called them, they then emailed me a shipping label that I printed and returned via UPS. I tracked the package and within 1-2 days of receiving ST contacted me and stated the phone couldn't be repaired. My phone was dropped in water, so the $50 deductable was taken out of my reimbursement of $399. They then deposited the remaining $349 into my paypal account. Very easy- no questions asked. Something else that I like were the monthly payments that I can make for the warranty. I didn't have to come out of pocket for the full price of the warranty. I pay like $8 for 24 months. It costs a little more (okay about 50% more)in the long run for me to have monthly payments as opposed to paying for the warranty in full up front, but it works for me. I don't know any other iPhone warranty out there that allows this payment option.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
When I called SquareTrade and asked them if they would cover the 13 phones I just bought for my company they said that they do not cover company's phones -- only ones for personal use.
I would think that covering a company's phones would be more lucrative since there is a low likelyhood that all of these phones will break.
Too bad SquareTrade is limiting coverage to only personally purchased phones. They are missing out on a large opportunity.
Jeff M. replied on Permalink
Have you considered GoCare which is only $20/iPhone? Available only through GoTronics. Call us at 888-269-5658 for more information or visit our website at gotronics.net/gocare.
Jeff
Robin replied on Permalink
GoTronics is a RIP OFF! they dont cover anything! Read the fine print, they dont even cover buttons. No wonder its only $20! BIG JOKE!
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Rip-off? How is $20 a rip-off?
That's a crazy awesome deal that isn't offered anymore! Even if it didn't cover half the things it covers, it still would be a better deal than anything out there.
And buttons? Is that really a big deal to you?
Aren't there more important things to worry about like water damage, theft, broken glass, free data recovery services, loaner phones, free 2 year tech support for any question about your iPhone? GoCare even comes with a free case with your order.
GoTronics.com is the only company to cover accidental damage, theft and normal use failure. Is that a rip-off? I don't think so. For all the things you get with your plan.
Come on. The $20 deal was only a down-payment. You still have to pay the balance when you make your first claim.
Jake M replied on Permalink
These guys don't even compare to goCare iPhone insurance. I found them on google and insured my phone through them. goCare iphone insurance is much cheaper than any other insurance you'll ever find. Trust me. I've looked at Square Trade, safeware, aveworthgroup. None of them can compare. I purchased a plan for only $45.00 for 2 years which covers the whole phone and failure of any parts due to accidental damage, even water damage. There is no claim limit and only a $10.00 deductible. You get your original iPhone back, not a replacement. Their website is gotronics.net/gocare.
Check them out. They are also the only company that insures phones that are jailbroken and unlocked too.
Jake.
Jake M replied on Permalink
These guys don't compare to goCare iPhone insurance. I found them on google and insured my phone through them. goCare iphone insurance is much cheaper than any other insurance you'll ever find. Trust me. I've looked at Square Trade, safeware, aveworthgroup. None of them can compare. I purchased a plan for only $45.00 for 2 years which covers the whole phone and failure of any parts due to accidental damage, even water damage. There is no claim limit and only a $10.00 deductible. You get your original iPhone back, not a replacement. Their website is gotronics.net/gocare.
Check them out. They are also the only company that insures phones that are jailbroken and unlocked too.
Jake.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Hi guys! I got my iPhone insurance at http://www.iphoneinsurancecover.co.uk - it looks ok - I spent some time checking it out - try visiting their site and assess their excellent insurance coverage for your iPhone!
Me replied on Permalink
Yeah, that's not spam.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
square trade is a joke with iphone
. They decide what is a
accident, If you set your phone next to the edge of a pool and it gets knocked in the pool. that is not an accident that is neglect. If you set phone on vehicle while pulling something out of your hand bag and forgot it is on the vehicle, that is neglect. They have a guy that has been trained to not accept claims that were caused by accidents to say that its neglect.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I was going to sign up for this insurance. I have been reading a lot of posts about insurance and this seemed to be a good deal.
So I downloaded the app and went through the steps and filled out the form. then there is a button that says terms of service. and in that terms of service, which I never usually read.... it says that they will only reimburse up to the price of the phone WITH a new 2 year contract.
The insurance price is $100-145 depending on if you bought your phone in the last two months or not... which I bought mine 3 months ago so mine is the higher rate, then it says there IS a $50 deductible.
Now lets say I drop my phone and break my screen. I don't know the cost to repair the screen, but I pay $50 in deductible, and send in my phone. It comes back repaired and life is great right? now lets say the phone gets completly broken and has to be replaced. According to the terms of service you agree to when purchasing the insurance, they will reimburse you up to the cost of the phone with a new 2 year contract (Currently $200.00 for the 16g) MINUS the cost of any repairs you have had done on the phone. they will only reimburse up to the value of the phone with contract. period. not one penny over. and that includes the repairs.
If I have to pay $145 for the insurance, and it is going to cost me $50 for the deductible. I am saving a whopping $5. and I am still paying $400 out of pocket for a new phone.
g replied on Permalink
Yes square trade does charge a deductible as do the other's, but i found a company that offers the exact same coverage and doesnt have a deductibel and they cover the full retail price not the upgraded price so visit www.phoneguardglobal.com they cover all electronics but advertise on there site iphones and ipads.
Anthony
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Squaretrade gives information that are not in line to what they are promising. They don't mention that the claim limit is just a fixed amount, and if you do have a highend phone, say like the iPhone, you will easily use up all of the claim limit which leaves you to pay whatever the cost of repair or replacement on your next claim.
I've read about this on this site, I know this would be useful for all of you as well.
http://www.ensquared.com/iPhone_Insurance_Reviews_SquareTrade
Augustin replied on Permalink
Hi there,
After comparing the policies I went for Worth Ave. I cannot comment on how they are responsive etc. but I can let you know the information why I chose it:
I wanted to protect my iPhone against accidental damage and theft, as this can happen anytime in the streets who knows.
According to what I understood, they seem to cover all that (except loss in an unattended vehicle, which makes sense), and they cost about $80 per year, and have a %50 deducible. This makes the insurance affordable (the other option I found with theft coverage is the mobile protect with $144/year and a $199 deducible, or Ensquared with roughly $90/year and $150 deducible). To cover a loss of $600, that seems too much to pay. Peace of mind should not be 2/3 or the actual possible loss.
I will be able to tell you, if something bad happens, whether it was a good choice. The company seems serious (several article in general websites including press magazing, and a A+ by better business bureau). It's always hard to tell but that seems to me the best choice (or the less worse :) ).
Hope this helps, -- Augustin
James Snowery replied on Permalink
The best bang for the buck is Insure Apple iPhone. They offer coverage for everything including loss or theft for $5.99 per month. Unlike most of you other posters, I do not represent their company, I am just a happy customer spreading the information!
www.InsureAppleiPhone.com
Schnikkity replied on Permalink
I went with www.InsureAppleiPhone.com!!
I agree with the first poster, sorry but this review sounds pretty biased! How can you "personally" suggest an product or service that you haven't used yourself? You can't just say "oh, I read lots of good reviews online". Sorry, but there's tons of people-bots out there getting paid to post "good reviews". When it comes down to it, all one can really do is look at the fine print on all these companies and compare them. That's it.
I used to work in the insurance game, and I can honestly, personally, highly recommend InsureAppleiPhone.com. There are a total of 3 iPhones in my home, and with teens, you NEED insurance!! I found that InsureAppleiPhone was several levels above the others on nearly every account, and purchased 3 plans. I've made 2 claims since, and it was easy, breezy, and got brand new current gen phones each time. Customer service was friendly, and called me within one hour of posting each claim online. No rigamaram, no b.s.-ing, just "let us get you your phone out asap".
In the end, you have to make your own decision, what plan is right for YOU, but IMHO, InsureAppleiPhone was the best available at the time for our family, and we've been very pleased with their service ever since.
(P.S. I am NOT a people-bot! LOL)
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I have this service. Unfortunately I had to use the service. Took nearly 2 weeks. I can't afford to not have my phone that long. Never again. I'd rather pay double and use AT&T's insurance, which does cover spills and drops.
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