When I got my first cellphone and my parents were footing the bill, I of course got the carrier’s phone insurance plan that came with it . When I grew out of that family plan and started paying the bills that come with that reality, I of course canceled the insurance plan. Then I grew up a little more and realized that it’s probably a smart move to insure my $500 smartphone. At that time, I had a Blackberry on the Verizon Wireless network and Asurion was the insurance provider they contract to. There were no alternate options to choose from so of course I went with what was offered. However, the monthly fee slowly increased over time, and on the one instance that I did have a broken phone and needed to use the insurance – it was a hellish experience. Asurion wouldn’t replace my phone unless it was absolutely broken and rendered useless. What good is that?! Plus, I had to wait a day or two for their logistics carrier to get me my replacement phone in the first place. I should have just used a local service like Laptop Repair Los Angeles in Venice Beach.
Nowadays I’m an iPhone user and couldn’t be more pleased with that upgrade from the Blackberry. But there’s another upgrade that’s available in terms of insurance. Apple got smart and started offering a comprehensive insurance plan of their own that includes coverage for dropped phones and smashed screens. That’s a new addition to their original AppleCare program. This program is called AppleCare Plus, and its awesome. It costs $99 for two years of coverage and the deductible for a phone replacement is just $50. And when/if you do break your phone, just walk into an Apple store same day and they’ll send you out with a replacement. Now that’s customer service. Don’t lose your phone however, that’s not covered. Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but thought you should know.