Should I get monthly phone insurance?

If you’ve got an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Nexus, or cherished flip-phone, you may have wondered if getting insurance on your phone is worth it.  What will happen if you drop and crack your phone glass screen?  How much will it be?  How long will it take to fix?

With a month-to-month insurance plan, you can purchase it from your wireless carrier, i.e. Verizon, AT&T, or you can go with a third-party insurance company, i.e. SquareTrade.  With your wireless carrier, you’ll be looking at about $8 – $11/month with typically a $199 deductible for each incident.  As per SquareTrade, you are looking at $6/month and a $75 deductible and you’ll need to go to local phone repair shop to get it fixed.

As for wireless carrier insurance, paying $100+ per year and $200 for a cracked phone screen is ridiculous when you look at the $300 + tax all-in dollar amount.  Plus, you have tons of paperwork to fill out.  This is not even considering that most carriers will charge you on top of this to decide not to fix your phone; rather, giving you a refurbished phone with a premium added.

SquareTrade is more reasonable although if your phone is unrepairable, it won’t give you a new phone.  You’ll just get money it thinks will cover a similar replacement.

I’m not a fan of the insurance aspect.  Chances are you will crack your phone screen once a year or less and don’t have to fork over the hefty insurance premiums.  Plus, you will most likely get a refurbished phone instead, meaning you’ll need to start fresh and move all your files over from iCloud, Google Store, or another online site you hopefully backed up to.  Further, you will not be covered for loss or theft.

Your best bet is to go to a local phone repair service shop that will charge you a fraction of the cost and take care of your phone on the spot.  Plus, you should check into recouping the cost with your credit card company or home owner’s insurance.