I’ve just been duped. Lied to. Cheated…. You may be getting duped as well.
Yesterday, I dropped my iPhone 5 really, really, hard on a weird angle and the front split off from the back. It was toast. Totaled. Kaput.
So I pulled up my plan and called in for my insurance claim. I had been making all my payments on time and paying $10.00 a month for insurance. Well, Verizon sent me to their insurance provider Asurion. Asurion is the top cell phone insurance company out there.
Below you can see which companies use Asurion:
Imagine my shock and surprise when Asurion’s teleprompter (not a real person mind you) told me that I owed them a $199.00 deductible. I tried pressing 0 to reach a representative, got hung up on, and called back trying to reach a person with no luck.
So I called Verizon. I told them, “Hey, I paid $10.00 a month for 15 months=$150.00 for insurance. Then when I tried to claim my insurance, Asurion said I have to pay another $199.00!?! This was never disclosed to me in the contract (come to find out hundreds of others are complaining online because the cost of replacement for certain phones is not listed in the contract). Had I known that the cost of replacement was so outrageous I would’ve never opted to pay for the ‘insurance’.” The Verizon rep said, “Oh, I’m so sorry, blah blah blah…” Then something he said really got me thinking. He said, “But if you think about it, Mam, it’s just like your car insurance. You have a monthly fee and when you get into a wreck or damage your car, then you have to pay a deductible.”
I calmly replied, “This is not like car insurance. Or home insurance! What kind of car insurance costs you 2% a month of your car’s total value? And then when you put in a claim they charge you another 40% of the price of the car?” I said, “In numbers, it would be like this. My phone was worth $500.00, and I’m paying $10.00 a month which is 2%. So say it was the same with car insurance. It would be like paying $300.00 a MONTH just to insure a $15,000 car which is $3,600. a year. And then when you wreck it and send in a claim your deductible cost you another $6,000.00 (or 40% of the car). No car insurance company out there makes you pay for 40% of the car when you wreck it. No home insurance makes you pay for 40% of your house if it burns down. But that is what your ‘insurance company’ is doing. This is no insurance plan.”…. silence… no response then, “Well I’m sorry. But there is nothing I can do.”
…Seriously, it cost me $350 to replace an iPhone using the ‘insurance’ when I had originally paid $199.00 for it. Sure, Apple says they are ‘worth’ $700.00 without a contract but I looked at buying a new one outright, and it was only $400.00. And I’m sure Asurion is getting a heck of a better deal on iPhones than the average Joe.
Had I broke my phone 7 months down the road the insurance company would have made a profit off of my claim. Insurance companies make a profit. That is no hidden secret and I’m not against that. What I am not in favor of is that they are charging me an insanely huge percentage to replace the item that I’ve chosen to insure. Not only are they making a profit off of everyone who isn’t making claims, but they are also most likely making a profit off of everyone who is.
Case in point. I’m a little embarrassed to admit this but my kid’s dad insured his phone for 26 months now. His payment was $6.00 a month for a $100.00 phone. We never put in a claim and after just running the numbers, I realized that we have already paid more than 110% for ‘insuring it’ than we did to buy it in the first place. If we did have to claim it (if it broke) we would end up paying another $99.00 for this model to replace it. Say his phone broke tomorrow and we made a claim, we would end up paying for his phone 3 times over! As a business model, these companies are making bank. I gotta give them credit, this is a brilliant model. They say its insurance but the fees are so high on the claims I call it deceit.
Thanks to readers and further information I have, I have now realized that Asurion is replacing most damaged phones with REFURBISHED phones. So when you make the claim you HAVE to supply them with your damaged phone. They fix up your phone and then your old damaged -yet-fixed-up (aka Refurbished phone) gets shipped to someone who broke a similar phone. Which illustrates the fact that this is even a WORSE deal that I originally thought.
So why do most cell phone owners choose to insure their phones? I think it because the charges seem minimal so it’s easy to justify. $10.00 isn’t that huge of a payment. But if you think about it, many of us are paying about $20.00-50.00 a month to insure our cars! So yes, $10 is a huge insurance payment for a phone, especially considering that if you do end up claiming it you still have to pay another 40% of what they claim is market value. Most likely it will end up costing you about what you originally paid for it with a contract.
I understand that people break their phones more than they crash their cars. That said, I’ve dropped my phone over a hundred times and it was only this once (when it fell from a pretty high spot to a hard floor, that it broke). I’ve had cell phones for over 15 years and this is the first one I’ve ever broke. As fragile as they may seem, if you use a really great case for it like this, and a screen protector like this, and are somewhat careful, most likely your phone is not going to break.
What I’ll do this time around is I will take that same $10.00 I was paying towards phone insurance and put it in a bank account or in a tin can. If I do end up breaking my phone, I’ll pull out that money I’ve saved and added it to what the deductible of the phone would have been had I gone with Asurion and buy myself a new phone for basically the same price. If I don’t end up breaking my phone, I’ll get to keep my money.
If your phones are insured, I’d recommend running the numbers and reconsidering the huge amount of insurance you are paying to Asurion and/or other companies. So unlike me and most other insured cell phone users, you don’t end up paying for your cell phone twice… or possibly even three times.
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FYI Wells Fargo and many other banks offer cellphone replacement programs in the fine print of their credit cards IF you pay your cell phone bill w that card … The deductible is only $25 !!!!!!!
Katie- Great idea thank you! I’ll my credit card company tomorrow because I do pay with them.
Commenting a year later– Just wondering – I have had a Wells Fargo credit card for a while – will this still apply. How can I get this to take effect – is it for lost AND DAMAGED PHONES TOO? My phone – on my daughter’s family plan is not supposed to be repairabe – we didn’t want to buy another phone.
I’m not sure Katie will even get this. But I’d call Wells Fargo if I were you.
I’ll tell you a little secret that Verizon won’t tell you. If you take your broken cell phone to an apple store you can pay 199.00 for a brand new phone instead of a refurbished one from Assurion and you don’t have to have any insurance. Insurance is helpful when you don’t have a phone to take in such as it is lost or stollen. That’s when you need Assurion. Apple rep told me about this 2 weeks ago when I ran over my phone.
Teri- that is awesome advice! Thank you I will try it tomorrow and report back and see what happens!
I to have ins on one phone out of 3. My son just dropped his galaxy s3 and the same ins as you I have to pay $100 deductible. I’m calling verizon now thank you
You are welcome! Good luck with them!
Hi Anita,
I just came across your post and wanted to thank you for the helpful information. I don’t current have insurance on my phone, nor ever have, which is probably particularly unwise for someone like myself who drops their phone daily. But I’ve always had a hard time justifying paying for something that you’re not using in the moment and your post made me feel much better about that decision.
However, unsurprisingly my phone has finally succumbed to its millionth drop this morning and now the entire screen is cracked. I’ve been making it work with just half the cracked screen but this seems too badly damaged. In any case, I’m trying to assess what my best options are at this point. I initially thought about buying the insurance now, filing the claim, and then cancelling the insurance shortly after receiving a new phone. After doing some research it looks like that process would be much more complicated than that, and maybe not even possible. Or at the very least, much most expensive than I assumed.
I was scrolling through the comments to see if anyone else’s situation was similar to my own and came across Teri Yover’s advice to try an Apple store. I see that you replied and said you’d try it so I was wondering whether you had any luck with that.
I realize these posts were made over a year ago so I apologize to bother you with this now, if you’re no longer dealing with the situation. But any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!!
Lana- I never did try the apple store. But you can try buying a used cell phone- it may be cheaper than repairing. That said, cracked screens may not be all that expensive. Give apple a call and see what they say. Look online for used phones or the classifieds near you-just make sure they are working and you verify with your cell carrier that it hasn’t been stolen before buying. Best of luck. And yes if you had had insurance all these years and then had to pay the deductible of a couple hundred you’d probably have spent more using asurion than you will by replacing the screen or getting another phone. Best of luck!
If you get lojack for your phone and for a small fee they will recover your lost or stolen phone. Do not waste your money on insurance. Broken phones should be sent back the manufacturer,all phones should have lojack on them. Saves you money in the long run.
I’ll have to look into LoJack. Thanks for the recommendation!
LoJack? Where do you buy this? Through your mobile company?
that’s not true as i tried to file a claim on my lost and stolen phone and assurion said that i didn’t make calls on my phone for a certain period of time they denied my claim for non-use as per my contract, figure that out.
Thanks Teri, I also found out a few more secrets about the cellphone insurance reading online.
– Your deductible could equal the amount you paid for your phone.
– You have little control over your replacement.
– You can get dropped from your plan for making a claim
Hope this help someone out there.
Thanks,
Jenn
I shared on my social media today. Just good advice that people don’t really think about. It’s insane.
This is awesome advise. I will have to look into this.
I have never had insurance on my phone for this reason. In my family, my dad has always said that if you break it that you need to pay to fix it, so be careful not to break stuff! I have a crazy big case for my iPhone for this reason (Otterbox Defender) as I drop it all the time and have yet to damage the phone. (I have gone through a few cases though!) In a way, I have viewed the expensive, protective case as my “insurance plan” of sorts. Looking back, the only time that I was thwarted in this reasoning was when I was given a phone that was defective. Because I didn’t have the insurance on the phone, they almost left me without a phone as they told me that they had to mail it in for repairs (seriously!!!).
Thanks again for letting people know the truth about cell phone insurance plans. They are really not that good of a deal after all!
A.P. I’m so glad you have outsmarted many of us and saved yourself some serious cash! I love Otterbox cases! I linked to them in the post because seriously they do help protect phones way more than some others I’ve tried. If other readers don’t go with otter box I recommend high side walls and thick cases as well. Thanks for the comment
Also the good thing about Otterbox (which I have for my iPhone), if the case breaks, they will replace it for free. Just go to their website, and submit a picture of the broken case along with shipping details and they will send you a new free of even shipping charges. Will never buy another case because of this.
Tosha- Great tip on the Otterbox case! Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for running the numbers – you’ve really thought this through. Thanks for the info. I’m going to make some changes!
Suzanne- you’re welcome, numbers are something that come fairly easily to me. As soon as he told me it was like car insurance I was able to calmly (through the numbers) prove that it wasn’t. 🙂 thanks again for the comment.
I don’t have in in-contract phone anymore – we went with republic wireless – but when we did, I had insurance. Oh man, I never thought about this, but I remember the insurance deductible being absolutely outrageous. Thanks for opening my eyes to just how terrible of a deal this is!
Glad you wrote about your eexperience. I find most insurance companies to be very dishonest.
I am so sick of these cellphone companies taking advantage of everyone i do like the money can idea and if it does to break for a long time you get a great upgrade!
Back when I bought my new Samsung from Tmobile, they clearly listed the replacement costs. Some phones only cost $25, others (notably the iPhone) cost a lot more.
I would say this is a Verizon fail.
Karey- Yes less expensive phones cost less per month and the replacement cost is less as well. I used my husbands android as another example. Although it was worth almost 1/2 of what my iPhone is, we still ended up paying for it twice/three times had we utilized the insurance. But the even less models may or may not work out like that. thanks for the input.
The only thing the insurance does for you with a company like Verizon is keep you from having to buy a replacement phone at full price where say tmobile you can go to Wal-Mart and get a prepaid phone. To save money never trade your phone in with Verizon keep it for when your phone breaks if you can resist don’t buy iphones the are the most costly to fix and are mostly untempered glass which is why they break so easily and you are buying a name not necessarily quality you can get a faster more user friendly device with a android. The android operated phones can do more too. I used to work for Verizon they suck change your provider to anybody else all they care about is profit they don’t care.y they just want your money. If you ever need to cancel there service call in claim you are dead they can’t ask for proof just terminate service.
Rachel- Thanks for the information. I appreciate it. Yes I agree with Verizon sometimes (if not always) working for profit. With my husbands android it still cost a crazy amount to replace as well. So even though Iphones are worse(more expensive) I think no matter the make and the model you end up paying pretty much twice.
Not using the upgrade (saving it) is another great way to prevent this from happening so thank you for this insightful info.
I had a phone that was malfunctioning, Verizon offered to replace it, citing my insurance I was paying monthly. It was overnight shipped, and the new one works great. I never had to call anyone else…not sure why you had such a problem, but they get an A+ from me.Satisfied Customer.
Trudy- You may have still been in the one year manufacturers warranty. If there was a glitch on the phone (i.e. out of your control) they will replace it without charge but you don’t need to buy insurance for this year coverage from what I understand. If you were to have dropped it, had it stolen, etc. You would have had to pay for it.
I have Verizon and can’t wait to get out of it. When my brand new android malfunctioned, they gave me a REFURBISHED replacement, not a brand new phone like I had just bought. And if I ever have a billing question, they NEVER give me a straight answer, just talk out of both sides of their mouth. They may have the best national cell coverage, but their customer service STINKS when it comes to billing charges. They have lied to me on more than one occasion. I’m leaving them as soon as I can.
Mary- I’m so sorry they have you a refurbished phone that’s not cool! Yeah they are all about making a profit. They are so big that I think they are losing customer service quality for sure. I hope you have a better experience elsewhere.
I have had to quit going into the store and now I only deal with the reps on the phone, I have been getting much better customer service. To be honest, that has changed over the years and there were times that my local store was better.
As far as them being “all about the money” I work for a living and I expect to be compensated for my time. I appreciate a living wage and increases in that wage based on my performance.
Why should I expect less from anyone else? I hope that everyone wants to do a good job and is supported/empowered by their employer to do a good job, but at the end of the day (almost) no one works for free. We all have to eat.
AS mentioned in the article. I’m OKAY with Asurion making a profit. What I’m not okay with is them making a profit off of every single person—even the claims. Insurance companies make profit that is no secret. But making a profit where they should be taking a loss is unacceptable. They send out refurbished phones and charge the same as if it were a new phone. We pay a huge insurance fee monthly and then we are expected to pay an astronomical deductible. Thus, they make money off of everyone claim or no claim. That is where I have the problem.
I have returned 4 Iphones, and never have I had to pay a cent for the brand new replacement, I also have Verizon… what is it that you are doing wrong, cause it looks like I’m doing something right, and I want to keep it that way.
Billie- You may have still been in the one year manufacturers warranty. If there was a glitch on the phone (i.e. out of your control) they will replace it without charge but you don’t need to buy insurance for this year coverage from what I understand. If you were to have dropped it, had it stolen, etc. You should have had to pay for it.
Billie,
That is because your insurance gives you an extended warranty on your phone too. For people who don’t have Apple stores around them or choose not to go with iPhones, manufactures offer a very limited 1 year warranty. In order to take advantage of it, you generally have to send your malfunctioning device in and once they repair it, they send it back. With your warranty through insurance, they just send you a replacement then you return your device. Obviously there are different situations with different manufacturers and there are different equipment protection available out there. So do your research. Just make sure when/if your phone stops working or is lost/stolen/broken, you aren’t going to your cellular service provider to fix it, contact the manufacturer 🙂
We just discovered this very same thing last week! My daughter’s cell phone was damaged and we thought, ok, no problem, we have insurance. Pffft!! Insurance, shminsurance! What a racket. Thanks for sharing!
Ceej- You’re welcome. I’m sorry this happened to you. One reason why I love blogging is to expose these kinds of ‘ripoffs’ to others so they can avoid these mistakes too.
I use an EBay service called SquareTrade for all my warranties. They will warranty almost any electronic device for a fraction of the price. And the deductible on my iPhone is only $50. I’ve been lucky with my phone (and careful!) but I did break my laptop screen and they paid to have a local shop fix it, 48 hour turnaround, I believe. You’ve got so many great ideas in your comments, you could do a great follow-up post with some of them!
Adrian- Yes I do, my readers have been very helpful in their comments and your suggestion is great as well. I’ve looked into a few of the suggested ones, I’ll have to do some more research!
Great info. Thanks.
Any thoughts on how does Tmobile’s JUMP compare?
Chloe- Another reader suggested I do a follow up posts on all of these options that have been commented on. I’m really not sure about JUMP but I’d love to do a follow up on all of these options that were mentioned and I’ll include JUMP in that follow up post. Subscribe for that post update when I make it. Thanks!
If you insure your phone through Best Buy there is no deductable. All of my phones are insured through them. They do allow you to transfer iphones from other insurance
Jenn- thanks for the heads up, I appreciate the info!
best buy changed this policy FYI… You do have the same deductible as verizon, 100-200 depending on what phone- and thats even if you crack screen…
of course they changed just when we bought my husbands phone from them.. The only thing I am glad I have insurance for is the DAY I got my new phone, I dropped it., Broke the screen, and Verizon would not do anything. Not even a day old. So I had to pay 100 to get a new one, which was way cheaper than buying a new one outright.. And those screen shops in the mall couldnt fix mine for under 200… So It can be worth it if you don’t have 400 in case your phone does die! I agree that its ridiculous that they charge you 40% deductible, but what other options do you really have if you have no old phones, no amount of money just sitting around, and you break your phone early on to where you havent saved 10 a month just for this reason…
If you do break your phone in the first couple of months it may pay you are correct. The majority of people don’t though and we are left paying for our phones 2, 3, sometimes even 4 times and were not told about the deductible. There are other ways to insure phones as well. depending on type but I haven’t done indpeth research into this, this is just what other readers have suggested doing to cover the phone without using Asurion.
Im sorry but I cant stay quiet on this one. BESTBUY will charge you at a minimum $150 deductible to replace your phone. Thats what they did when my wife dropped her GS4 and then we dropped them and went with sprint and now sprint we are finding out would charge us $200 to replace the phone.
You should check with your homeowners insurance. Sometimes, a cell phone is included as a “freebie” in some of the plans out there and you might have a $50.00 deductible.
Additionally, you can schedule a cell phone on your insurance plan for a small amount (usually) and the deductible is actually reasonable. However, you do run the risk of having a new company use that claim against you in the future if you file. 🙁
The “insurance” plan you have on your phone IS a rip off! I would be livid!
I have never and will never purchase insurance on my phone or any ther electronic device.
Cindy- That’s good you have made up your mind about insurance. Most people wait until they are in the high pressure sales situation before thinking or researching and end up just buying it. That said, I have used a laptop warranty that was only $40.00 to fix my entire harddrive that failed just over a year of owning an expensive laptop. I bought insurance this time because I made the mistake of not buying it before as a college student. My $900 laptop (after just 2 years of owning it) started malfunctioning and I basically lost a lot of money. I wished I had bought insurance. For the plans I have seen on laptops they are much better than cell phone plans (a one time fee with no deductible). So yeah smaller electronics I would steer clear of, but larger electronics that are more prone to breaking, may be best to have insurance on. But that’s up to the owners 🙂 Thanks for your input! I appreciate your opinion.
very informative. i appreciate your post!!
Thanks Ryann, hopefully it will save you and others you know some money!
I will never do a contract for cell service. My husband and I have used Virgin Mobile, not contract phones, for years. NO insurance. My husband has a very nice phone with a large screen and unlimited talk, text, data and web for just 30 bucks a month. The phone was on sale for 65 dollars. IF you want the latest and greatest phone, fine, but my phone does everything those top of the line phones do for WAY less!!!
Sharon- That is actually an excellent suggestion! Thanks for sharing. I have almost made the change multiple times, but because my husband is a landscape photographer we are always off ‘the cell phone’ maps and Verizon has the best reception. It’s more of a safety thing for me. I know some smaller companies utilize the larger network but my husband refuses to change so I just go along with him on this one. Great idea for others who don’t have the NEED of reception in remote areas!
FYI: those replacement phones from Asurion are REFURBISHED. Your returned phone will get refurbished and then sent out to another customer so Asurion is making a lot of money on this insurance.
Lynn- Yes that is something I will update the article with. I had no idea they were refurbished until a comment on Pinterest made that known to me. What a rip off!
Seems to me tht no matter what cell phone and/or insurance company you use you’re getting ripped off !! If you consider
the rediculous fees such as, the insurance deductables, monthly insurance fees, the $35 for turning it on when you buy it, the
“re-stocking fee, etc, etc, (per phone sold)
multiplyed again when that same is phone “traded in” for what ever reason and then “refurbished” to be “reused” by another consumer, that cell Company makes the
cost plus profit no less than 8 times over
on the same phone !! More depending on
how many times they can refurbish/resell that phone !! This is based on my personal
dealings with ATT. It is shameful the crap
they are allowed to get away with, at our expence, and we can do nothing about it.
I use Squaretrade! Saving some money per month may be a better plan for some people, but I wouldn’t be so good at saving that money. Squaretrade has an absolute guaranteed replacement for your phone (even if you are responsible for the break) for a pretty small price (ranges depending on the phone). I also use it for my MacBook Pro. I broke my last MacBook and replacing it was so much money! I wasn’t willing to take that chance again. For only about $100 I insured it and they will replace it for up to 3 years no matter how it breaks. Even if it never breaks, I think that $100 is worth my peace of mind for three years!
Brenna- Thanks for the suggestion of using Squaretrade, I appreciate that. I’m planning on looking into these companies to see what the best deal is (if any).
Just did a little research on this just to see what I could find out. Turns out that you had to pay that much only because you had an iPhone (which is a load of crap as far as I’m concerned). Because you have an iPhone you have to pay what those who are replacing tablets would pay. I have an LG G2 and if (God forbid) my deductible would be $99. Unfortunately that is what I paid for the phone with a two year contract, so essentially I am just paying for the phone again and I may or may not get a new phone. Most times they will replace it with a refurbished phone whenever possible. No matter what the whole thing is highway robbery as far as I’m concerned!! *sigh*
Here’s the website I found with the information I shared. If you scroll down a bit there is a table with deductible amounts on it. http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/10/11/a-detailed-guide-to-phone-insurance-in-the-us-who-has-the-best-coverage-and-is-it-even-worth-it/
Thanks for the info and the research Missy! Yeah it is bad! Especially because the majority of the phones they do send out are REFURBISHED! and many are laden with problems. Thanks for the further info so others can see what their deductibles are. Anita
I like your breakdown about how this is highway robbery compared to car insurance and home insurance. I pay for all three of these and honestly never added it up before. I hope something is eventually done about this, but I doubt it.
Nonetheless, I wanted to provide a different perspective. In 2012, I was with AT&T and accidentally left my phone in a Taxi (long, dumb story). I DID NOT have insurance on my iPhone 4S 16GB. I also WAS NOT eligible for an upgrade or early upgrade. After a bit of time in the store, pleading a poor, dumb me case, the customer service rep spoke with his manager and she agreed to let me do an early upgrade, even though I was many months away from being eligible. Even with this early upgrade, I ended up having to pay $600 for the iPhone 4s 16GB (got the exact same one), around $100 to replace the Mophie charging case (extended battery pack/case that fits on the phone), AND I had to extend my contract for 2 more years from that point. They informed me that if I’d had insurance, I would have only had to have paid the deductible of $199 (plus the monthly insurance rate that I’ll round up to $10 for simplicity) and repurchased my Mophie. If I’d had insurance, my total would have come to $289 and I wouldn’t have had to extend my contract. Even if my phone had been 2 years old, that would have put me at $240 in insurance payments, $199 for the iPhone 4S 16GB, and $100 for the Mophie. So instead of paying $700 AND extending my contract, I would have paid $539 and NOT extended my contract. If I had paid myself $10/mo for the insurance, as you suggested you would do, my total bill at that point in time would still have been $610 and I would have had to extend my contract. If I had outright paid for the phone and not extended my contract, I recall the total bill would have been several hundred dollars more.
I have since switched to T Mobile for the international flexibility, and when it came time to deciding on insurance, I STILL opted in. I recognize that there ARE better services as mentioned, but I prefer to just keep everything related in one place. I don’t recommend that for everyone, but that’s what works best for me. Although insurance on phones overall IS a ripoff compared to rates on car and home insurance, I’ll keep opting in because of my past experience.
Just some food for thought.
I can definitely see where you are coming from. Thanks for the alternative perspective. I think that having a lost or stolen phone would make insurance perhaps worth the charge (on an expensive newer phone). It’s something for people to definitely take into account. However stolen phones are VERY easy shut off and typically the cell phone company will shut off and put a ban on the stolen phone so no one can use it and ship and other out as part of their general accounts & they don’t require insurance (as I understand it, it may not be the same with every company).
I’m not certain if you were saying that stolen phones are treated differently, but just in case, I wanted to clarify that they’re not. That goes for Verizon, AT&T and T Mobile. While you can file a police report and it MIGHT be required, it won’t prevent your phone from being shipped to another country for money. Unless the carrier requires that you report the phone, it’s really not worth the effort. Lost and stolen phones both require insurance if you’re not eligible for another upgrade and don’t want to pay full retail price. I forgot to add in the last comment that I’m also a former Verizon Wireless employee, and my ex-husband worked for both Verizon Wireless and AT&T. That’s part of why I swear by insurance. I’ve seen far too many disgruntled customers who came in and wished they had it. I was actually shocked when I found out that my iPhone (setup by my ex) through AT&T didn’t have it. The hard thing that most people don’t realize until they damage or lose their phone due to either theft or their own stupidity (me), is that the full retail price of a phone is often double or triple what you pay for when you set up a new phone line or upgrade. That’s why insurance is usually the better option. I would like to add that I am NOT a promoter of any cell phone company. I actually hate both Verizon and AT&T for how they treat their employees. Btw, the next time you have an opportunity to rate one of their employees, give them all perfect 10’s unless you truly want them to get written up or fired, because that’s exactly what will happen. Luckily I left before that policy started.
Wow good to know. I thought that stolen phones were blocked and replaced by the company. Well In the off chance that someone looses or gets their phone stolen, than insurance might be worth it. But I haven’t had a phone lost or stolen for 15 years and I’m very forgetful. So I guess it really depends on the person. It’s something to think about and for each person to weigh the pros and cons.
I don’t think you are promoting a company. I understand that for some people paying for insurance may save them money, but for most its a rip off. Thanks for the info!
Thank you so much for this post. I actually realized they were over charging for insurance when I was paying a sur ion $20.00 a month for insurance. I thought at most it would be $75 to $100. then when my Note2 broke my deductible was $175 plus shipping and handling. I was very reluctant to pay that but, I end up having to so I did. Well a few months later as I was putting my phone in a protective case it fell! And of course the screen broke. Ugh but this time I’m just buying a new phone altogether. I refuse to pay for my phone 3 times. I will have paid 3 times if I replaced it. But I will be cancelling my insurance and saving that 20 a month in case this next one breaks.
Zoe- I’m sorry you have had a tough time with Assurion and with your Note2! I think you have a good plan to save the money and just replace it if and when it breaks again. Good luck!
This is exactly why I have never insured my phone. My family used to have T-Mobile, which used SIM cards, and if anyone of us broke a phone (my sister dropped hers in the toilet once), we could replace it with one of the prepaid T-Mobile phones from Walmart for a small fraction of the price. And just last year, when my HTC One fell out of my pocket on a roller coaster (it didn’t survive), I just ordered a used Galaxy S3 from Ebay for less than half of what it would have cost me to buy a good smartphone through TMobile. The S4 had just come out, so people were replacing their S3s. You do have to be very careful and make sure you are getting a phone that isn’t locked or has a bad IMEI or anything like that.
Kelsey- Yeah I totally agree, buying a used phone as long as you have checked first with the cell company that it isn’t lost or stolen is a GREAT way to save on replacement phones. I’ve done that a time or two.Thanks!
Thank you for blogging about this outrageousness! I’m wondering how much work would be involved to file a civil suit against Verizon, and the other cell phone companies, – they should have to assume some responsibilty for not disclosing this information up front. I’ve seen other civil cases for much, much less offenses. Hmmmm???
Lisa- Yeah if I were a lawyer or if there were one in my family I’d definitely look into it. I told them that I would be writing about it on my blog. They kind of scoffed at me but so far in a few months over 15,000 people have read this post. Hopefully others will continue reading and sharing it…Once enough people opt out/cancel they will have to rethink their ‘strategy’. Thanks for the comment.
Well I just found out the hard way if it’s too good to be true its usually a scam. I too bought the insurance and when I went to file a claim found out that I had a $199 deducible. At&T salesman never said that even when we asked 3 times if $10 per line was all the fees involved. He flat out lied and said that was it. Called the store and the sales lady said to me they don’t have time to go over every little detail. To me 200 bucks isn’t a little detail! Manager of the store who got very rude and got the same crap…well when you buy auto insurance their is a deducible…I told yup he’s right but my auto insurance agent told me up front about the deducible…he didn’t hide that little fact he told me up front. RUDE RUDE RUDE people!! As soon as my contract is done I’m moving on to another company and I will NEVER recommend AT&T again. If they have to lie and deceive the public to get a sale this is not a company I want to do business again with.
Chris- I’m sorry you’ve been dealt this way too. I totally agree and that is a great point! When you sign up for car insurance the deductible is disclosed… with asurion its almost like they hide it. I hope one day someone with enough money and influence sues the pants off of them!
I agree. That happened to me today. In all our conversations with three reps at AT and T stores and with Asurion did we hear mention of a $199 deductible. In fact, the sales rep in the store attached the insurance to the wrong account initially so when my son’s Samsung phone had a mechanical error (read is this a manufacturing problem?) 13 months into having it, he was told he didn’t have insurance. They fixed that after I got to the bottom of it but never mentioned the deductible. The rep said my son would have his phone the next day. Well that’s not true either. As soon as you call Asurion they tell you otherwise. It will be three days now. We see if he gets it tomorrow. So are they making these phones to break after 12 months? I have to say I don’t feel like I am going to buy a phone outside of the apple store again. Apple makes it easier and train their people better. If a phone breaks during exam week, you simply go in and get your new phone pronto.
Melissa- I’m sorry you just went through this. I too agree that I feel like phones are not built to last. I think they are probably built for 12-15 month life. I’m sorry you had such a struggle with this situation and yes it is rarely if ever mentioned about the deductible when buying a phone!
Just a thought … if you saved the $10 each month in your savings account, in 2 years you would have $240. Most people “Upgrade” their phones every 2 years with a free or nearly free phone. If your phone broke in the meantime, you would have the money to replace it yourself.
Marcy- Yep those are my thoughts exactly. I mentioned doing that in the article but I didn’t add how most upgrades are about that price. It’s a good idea! Thanks for commenting!
That’s odd. I have Sprint and when I had my iPhone they told me that they (sprint) don’t insure the iPhones themselves, apple insures them. I purchased insurance for a 1 time fee of $99. There was a deductible but I can’t remember if it was $100 or $199 (I didn’t have to use it).
April- I’m not sure. I don’t have sprint. Assurion’s official site says they work with Sprint… so I’m really not sure??? Good thing you didn’t have to use it though.
I was recently at a large festival and reluctantly used a port-a-pottie when all the beer had filled my bladder. My Samsung Galaxy S5 was in my back pocket and after leaving the port-a-potte it was not in my back pocket. I went back to the port-a-pottie realizing that it must have fallen in the port-a-pottie toilet. At first I thought eww i’m not digging in a port-pottie, I’ll just file an insurance claim but when my friend told me it was $199 deductible I marched right in that port-a-pottie dug through the toilet and got my phone out. Take a minute to digest that. I dug through the toilet of a port-a-pottie to get my phone because the deductible was so outrageous there was no way I was gonna pay it in this situation. The deductible for Asurion is outrageous. Back in 2010 if you lost a new model phone Asurion only charged $50, fast forward to 2014 and its $199?????????? Rip off.
Hahahahaha… Okay so the real question is, if this story really did happen, how in the world did your phone still work after a port-a-potty drop? I have been known to be gullible. So just to let you know I’m giving your story a 30% chance of actually happening… 70% doubting Mainly because I’ve never heard of a phone being able to withstand such a horror and still function.
Gotta say, Samsung Galaxies are pretty resilient, so I’m thinking this is a true story. Dropped my S3 in a regular toilet (thank goodness, not a Port-a-Potty!) — simply opened the back, took out the battery, dried as much as I could, then left it apart overnight to dry completely. Still works today!
BTW, Anita, your story makes me extremely glad we did NOT opt for the insurance! 🙂
Haha! Okay I appreciate the info… I may just believe him/her now! yuck! Anyway I’m glad that you were able to keep your phone and it worked! Thanks for the comment.
I know this is an old post, but the reason the S5 survived the Port-a-Potty is because that particular phone is water-resistant: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/faq/FAQ00059899/86028/SM-G900TZDATMB. There’s even YouTube videos that show the phone can be submerged for an 1 hour and be okay. So although it was a disgusting act, it actually did make sense for Layla to get the phone. Once it was cleaned up and sanitized, it would work fine.
For the first time ever did I purchase insurance on a cell phone, the original of the phone I currently have. I too had this experience with Asurion through Verizon when I had to file a claim and replace my Droid Razr Maxx. Between what I had paid through monthly insurance premiums up to that point and a $200 deductible, I ended up paying almost twice the price of a brand new 2yr. contract price of my phone to receive a crappy refurbished phone that never worked right from the time I received it. When I contacted Asurion again about the condition of my replacement phone, I was told I would have to file another claim. Another claim? It wasn’t another issue. It was an issue with the original claim. I was also told that I would not only have to send the replacement phone back to them, so they could check it out for “damage I might have inadvertently caused my (crappy refurbished) replacement phone to not work properly”, but that I would need to pay them another $140 up front to do so. They told me the fee would cover any damage caused by me that they “might” find with the phone, and that if the damage was less than the $140, they would refund me the difference. I told the woman I was speaking with that I refused. I told her if I let her do that, I was certain I would never see any of that $140 again, and that I could’ve bought a brand new phone for a lot less than what I already paid for the refurbished phone. She didn’t have a reply to that, because she knew I was right. She then told me that she would work with me and allow me to send the phone back without paying the fee. (Gee, thanks!) She said she would e-mail a link to a pre-paid FedEx shipping label. The link was through FedEx, but when I clicked on it, it didn’t work. She had sent me a false link. At that point, I gave up and have been suffering through all kinds of problems with my phone for months now. I’m chomping at the bit for Sept. to come when I’m due an upgrade and can get a new phone. No, I will not be purchasing insurance on the new phone or any phone from here on out. Never again!
Cary- Thanks for sharing this. It made me mad just reading it. They get away with soo much! I’m so glad I wrote this article because thousands and thousands have read it. My hope is that I put a tiny dent in Asurion’s pocket or adds enough fuel to the already growing fire against them and forces them to stop charging these huge deductibles. I hope your phone makes it to Sept. as well. I’m sorry for what they put you through.
Hi Anita!
When I bought my phone from my phone company, the guy who sold it to me said, dont bother with our insurance, go to the Apple store and get their insurance directly for your iphone. Within a month, my son’s phone started acting up. I went to the store, they tried to repair it but couldn’t and i paid my $50? deductible and got a new one right then and there. They were great!
Roma- Thanks for the info. That was an awesome representative who told you that advice. This is definitely a great option for us iphone users!
This won’t help everyone, but if your iPhone screen cracks, iCracked is a company that hires individuals all around the country to replace the screen for you. Mine was about $100, and it even came with a nice screen protector. If you don’t mind a little afternoon project and have great eyesight, they even sell $60 kits to do it yourself. I’ve done both now, once for myself and once for my husband, and both were awesome. Something to keep in mind!
(I’m not affiliated with iCracked at all. I just loved the service!)
Great thanks for the heads up! This is a great option to know about!
We have an emergency only TracFone in our car. We pay $50 a YEAR on minutes for it, worst case scenario. The phone cost $10. We use it only in emergencies or busy seasons when we coordinate with my MIL for things. We have significantly less stress and disruptions than the average family, even though my husband is in law enforcement (which is insanely stressful during working hours). We’ve done just fine the last 4 years without a cell phone. I have not looked back once and said “gee, I miss it.” Instead, I skip happily around, stress free while everyone else is bothered everywhere they go by their cell phone. 🙂 Our family is close-knit and we’re a lot better off than most!
Mandy- Wow that’s pretty awesome! I cut cable out and then TV out for 5 months and was really grateful for a distraction free time. We have eased back into watching kids shows because I’m pregnant and can’t do a whole lot with my PGP… anyway, I just think that what you do is awesome! I bet its pretty liberating to have that kind of peace and quiet. Thanks for the comment.
I too have had issues with Asurion thru Verizon. They will replace a non working or malfunctioning phone at no charge if it is in pristine condition. Any scratches or cracks, etc voids your warranty and you must pay the detuctable. And if they replace more than 1 phone in a calendar year, they will void and drop your insurance for that line. Even if the stupid replacement they sent you malfunctions. I have been thru this!!
Sorry to hear about this. It really stinks to be taken advantage of!
Has anyone sent this web site link to the President/CEO or any of the Executives of AT&T. Let them read how unhappy customers are about getting ripped off.
I’m not sure if anyone has. You are totally welcome to! Maybe it will do some good!
My phone is insured under my house insurance policy, and it costs less then $10 a year, and there’s no deductible. It’s the best deal that I’ve found!
Anna- Great idea thanks for sharing. I will definitely be looking into this!
Excellent article and so true. The kicker that Asurion has the audacity to send you a refurbished phone for 100 dollars and, if they dont receive your damaged phphone within a certain time period they then charge you anothet $75. That’s SATAN for you.
As far as VERIZON…cannot wait until my contracts expire. BIGGEST RIP OFF.
Yes they are very dishonest. I agree.
We also had Verizon. My husband dropped his phone a week after we bought it and it stopped working. We thought that they would would let us buy another one for a discounted price but NO they wanted $400 for a new phone and laughed at my husband for not buying the insurance. It was just crazy the way the young man spoke to my husband. Luckily for us, we couldn’t get adequate coverage at our home and after many phone calls and tech investigation, they agreed that we didn’t have good reception and allowed us to cancel our costly, useless two year contract. We now have Net10 and have been extremely happy with the no contract service and low prices. I would highly recommend Net10. Once you get through the initial headache of activating the phone, the cell service and prices are fantastic!
Thank you Tess. I appreciate you letting me know about that. Granted insurance can be good for the first few months if something bad happens but overtime it is a rip off. I’m glad you were able to get onto Net10. I love the no contract thing as well! I’ll look into it!
T-Mobile no longer uses asurion since their monthly premiums increased. They now use assurant, which includes the jump program (early upgrade program allowing you to upgrade your phone as many times as you want once half of the phone is paid off; at which point, you trade in your phone and T-MO pays the other half for you. I agree asurion is not a good insurance company to have. ..avoid using them whenever possible.
Asurion and Verizon Reps will both tell you that these phones are brand new and never refurbished. That being said, my husband had his phone replaced in 2013 by Asurion. When we received the phone, we activated it and realized that someone else’s info was synced to the phone along with my husbands. By info I mean all of their contacts, personal credit card accounts, personal bank accounts, social media, name/address, Social Security #, etc. We called both Asurion and Verizon. Verizon only wanted to delete the info at one of their locations and return it to us while Asurion was desperate to have the phone returned to them so they could get us a new one out ASAP. They “were’t sure how this could have happened since their phones are not refurbished.” We found the original owner’s phone number in contacts and called them to let them know of the breach of their personal info. Apparently, they had dropped the phone which resulted in a crack screen and the inability to power the phone back on. Due to the damage, they were unable to wipe the phone of their info or to set it back to default. They made an Asurion claim and sent the phone in as requested. Someone in refurbishing obviously made a huge mistake and overlooked resetting the phone. Moral of the story: If you are not able to reset your phone due to damage, do not send your phone in to Asurion. Claim that you lost the phone and dispose of the damaged phone safely and responsibly. If this info fell into the wrong hands, you could very well being dealing with an identity fraud case.
WOW this is a very important comment I HOPE EVERYONE READS IT!!! Thanks for the heads up!
“Claim your phone is lost…” That is fraud.
AT&T uses Asurion for their mobile insurance provider, and actually have a greater partnership with them than other companies. Apple requires any company selling (or replacing in this case) their products to sell products -NEW- unless the product is returned to Apple, re-certified by Apple and sent back out to be sold as pre-owned, re-certified. I know for a fact AT&T’s partnership with Asurion requires them to send brand new Apple devices, nothing else.
There is also an app to download on your phone (with AT&T) when you purchase mobile protection. It allows your device to be located, locked and erased if it is lost or stolen.
This whole post is full of angry consumer-isms. There are no legitimate facts about Asurion or any of the phone companies. There is no knowledge shared about the actual product. The author should really learn more about the products they are using before going on a tirade about their own experience. I have used AT&T and it’s insurance for 10 years and never once received a device that was not worth paying a deductible for. I’d much rather pay for a phone to be sent to me with a 90 day warranty, covered by insurance and guaranteed to work (or be replaced if not) for a fraction of the cost of purchasing it outright at full retail, which is NOT an inexpensive feat.
Also, AT&T’s insurance deductibles decline over time. I recently made a claim on my iPad mini and a Moto X device on my account, and after the discount on the deductible, I paid $150 for two brand new devices. Since they could not send me a Moto X (“phased out” phone), they send me a Samsung Alpha, which is a much more up to date, better quality phone than I had originally. Not to mention I was able to avoid paying $529 for a new iPad.
Thank for $10 a month insurnace– definitely worth it in the long run.
Anita,
We have the family plan from Verizon which has 4 smart phones on it. We have protective cases on all of the phones. And, about a year ago when I found out about the deductible on the insurance from Asurion, I cancelled it. I set up my own “insurance” plan. I opened a savings account put 1/2 the deductible into it. Then I set up an auto payment from the account that I pay all of my bills from to deposit the amount that I would be paying for insurance on all 4 phones into my “phone insurance” account. I now make money on my money with the interest I accrue. And, whenever something happens with one of the phones (i.e. run over it with the car), I can replace the phone. However, I also search online to find the best deal and I can even choose to upgrade if I wish without anyone telling me I can only get X, Y, or Z phone. I got this idea after hearing a company on the radio advertising to ensure your home appliances through them. But there were little “catches” to it and they wanted $75/month. I now have my own account that I pay into for my “home appliance” insurance, too. (Btw, check your home owner’s insurance, they will sometimes cover appliances that go out – water heaters, furnaces, etc.) If I can do what the insurance companies do and make money on my money through the interest, why pay them?
Great idea thanks Crystal! You are very savvy with your money and I’m glad you’ve outsmarted Asurion
This is not a “scam” or a “dupe” – it is you being inattentive to what you’re buying.
Seller X (in this case, Verizon) is holding a product out and asking $10/month for it. You are standing directly in front of the seller as he’s holding out the product. You have the opportunity to look at the product and THINK about the transaction, but you choose not to. You. choose. not. to.
John while you are partially correct seller X’s sales representatives did not disclose that the insurance was through a third party and that the deductible would be $199.00. So Seller X’s sales team didn’t disclose the information that would have empowered me to make an educated decision. The main details of the transaction should have been explained and transparent as with ANY other type of insurance. Would you buy car insurance if you weren’t told the deductible? no. Most of us who buy cell phone insurance are duped into thinking the deductible will be low because all of our other types of insurance have much lower percentages of deductibles and are not told otherwise. the sales representatives don’t know that information and/or do not disclose it. So yes it was partially my fault but it was also a type of scam in that needed information is withheld, unknown, or not disclosed. as you can see from all of these comments I was not alone.
Just my opinion. Comparing houses, cars and phones is like apples, oranges and bananas. There are probably more lost stolen or damaged phones then houses or cars will ever be. People are more apt to lose, break or have phones stolen. Just about everyone has a cell phone . I’m sure the insurance company couldn’t afford to replace your phone with new ones as they would probably go broke. Especially when everyone in some families have phones. I wonder just how many phones these companies have to replace in a year. I would think a lot. Maybe I’m wrong ???
Um…. the insurance only covers out of their own pocket if the phone breaks and it’s due to the actual hardware, like it stops turning on, battery dies, etc. Water damage and stolen or dropped phones are not consider manufacture defect and they charge you a fee to replace the phone then with insurance, which is still less than outright buying a new phone.
Thanks for the comment. Well it depends on how long you have been paying insurance on it whether it is actually cheaper or not.
For example, we more than paid for our phones a three times over because we had been paying insurance for years without realizing how horrible a deal it is if we were to actually need to use it.
Im currently employed by a major cell phone company , and i believe in our mission , and because i believe in it so deeply i dont feel comfortable letting a customer leave with out being 100% insured. We have declining deductibles, if you dont make a claim with in 6 months your deductible lowers 25% (iphones are considered tier 3 phones, which will start at $200) so after the 6 months its $150 if you go on 12 months claim-free it lowers to $100) What i tell my customers is after the year passes removethe insurance!, at that point an upgrade would be cheaper. I was very hesitant to enter the world of sales, in such a hated market. But ive learned that by taking the time to educate customers on things like deductibles, one time fees, proration, cost for data overage, and helping them set up an online account our app on their phone to where they have 100 percent control, access and flexibility to their account, to where they can control usage remove and add features, such as insurance, customers are happy they are educated on how things work and what they should expect, it reduces churn and it truly is a win for everyone, anita im sorry your rep did not take good care of you but know there are some people who take pride in their company and what it stands for ,
best wishes.
-connecting your world.
Great tips. It may be good to have insurance for the first year if you have a new expensive phone. That does make sense.
Hi,
Since you work for a major cell phone company, maybe you can answer this question for me. My wife lost her iPhone last week. She suspected it was stolen by movers during her company’s office relocation. She went to her carrier’s store, suspended the account, and since she was insured they ordered her a new phone ($150 deductible). She asked if she could return the new phone if her original phone turned up. The simply told her to keep it and sell the old phone. Well .. she found it before the replacement phone arrived so reactivated her line. Her phone isn’t that old and she didn’t want to have to re-setup everything. Is the new phone that she paid the insurance and deductible on now hers to do as she wishes? It’s unopened, not activated.
I have worked in the cellular industry for 15+ years. I will say that most reps don’t give all the details on the insurance program, but I will also say that none of the major 4 carriers keep it a secret. I would be a very rich person if I just had $10 for every time I got my butt chewed out by a customer because they didn’t have insurance and didn’t want to pay full cost for the phone they got free a few months ago. The biggest problem is that most people do not realize that most cell phones are not cheap, even cheap phones aren’t cheap. The current average full price for a smartphone is around 600.00, now a dumb phone is about $130. Long story short everybody feels like insurance is a rip-off but if you had to fork out $600+ to replace your phone because, stuff happens you’ll be thankful you only had to pay the deductible. I strongly agree that after a year you probably don’t need it anymore. I too have always been upfront about the “because they can cost” when dealing with customers. My line was always if at any point are you going to be in a bind if you have to fork out xxx$ to replace your phone if the answer was yes, then I strongly recommended device insurance. For the one that said it’s not like automobile insurance, maybe $ wise it’s not but the general basis behind it is correct. You pay a monthly fee so you don’t have to fork out full cost if something happens, and if something happens you pay a deductible. I’ve been paying automotive insurance for a very long time and thankfully I’ve yet to have to use it, I could have bought 3 or 4 very nice brand new cars with what I’ve paid in premiums. Moral of the story is know exactly how much something cost before you write a blog about how much your getting dupped.
Thanks for your insight. You are one of the few who disclose the hugely insane deductibles. But I think you may have missed my point. If you bought a car on sale for say $15,000 and paid insurance for a few years and then wreaked it and had to pay $15,000 to your insurer because they claim to replace or restore it now costs $50,000 you’d feel like you got duped in ever paying for insurance right? That’s the POINT. When you sign up for insurance you NEVER expect the deductible to cost as much as the item you bought. NEVER. That is why we are all so furious. Like you said, most cell phone reps don’t tell us consumers this. I would never choose to insure my $300,000 home if I knew that if it burned down I’d have to pay $300,000 to replace it. That is the point. It doesn’t matter how much the phone supposedly ‘costs’ it is the idea that insurance is going to help you fix or replace the item you bought for much less than you originally paid for it. Further, getting restored phones for the price that you bought a new out of the box phone is a rip off. Apparently many who have made claims with asurion received phones that were restored. I ask you, even dare you, to find an insurance plan (besides Asurion cell phone insurance) out there that requires you to pay the original amount you paid for a new item as a deductible to restore or replace it. It’s ludicrous.
I have had Verizon. Or should I say they had me. I have always had the ins. For 2 phones. They charged me $400.00 yes $400.00 for a Samsung galaxy 2, with a cracked screen…….how is this when I have ins.?????That doesn’t count the MANY MANY Times I caught them ( I call it Stealing) adding 411 charges to both of my lines. First it was 1 $1.99 charge, per line, snuck in there. I called every time, & wasted on average a half hour, getting them removed. Then I noticed its 2 $ 1.99 X 2. I called every time, at first thinking it was a mistake. Then I was convinced it was fraud….In the end, i was Correct. I believe fraud is the proper term. As it goes Verizon was fined for adding charges for 411, when customers weren’t using it…..I believe fraud is the proper term. I should have left them then. They don’t deserve customers that pay their bills on time EVERYTIME FOR 15 PLUS YEARS, ONLY TO BE REWARDED WITH SOME VERIZON CEO, STEALING DOLLAR BILLS FROM MY WALLET !
If you have any doubt simply Google Verizon 411 class action lawsuit. It was I think 2010. But appears their little (i call it fraud) game may be starting again, as I’ve noticed new complaints about the same. I would not be surprised in the least. As I’m sure, 1.99 X 5 Million? 2 million? Per month is fine with them, when the slap on the hand probably doesn’t even equate too a week of theft. Of course you can do your own math. Its a shame that Verizon’s greed, or its ceos greed, led to fraudulent billing PRACTICES. Most people don’t spend 30 minutes on the phone to remove $3.98. I did. & i believe its time for people to either reward the thief, or leave. I’m leaving.
Holy crap i love you. I found your link on pinterest and after reading this post and several others I’ve found we think alike. This was so informative and i signed up to get your post. I’m now a stalker. Thanks so much
Thanks Amber! I love blog stalkers! They make the best readers. Thanks for saying hi!
We just went through this with our company. And I realized we have been getting bamboozled for years. My I phone fell out of my pocket getting my 3 yr old out of the car seat and the screen cracked. First, I went to the mall kiosk to have it replaced. So, for eighty dollars I figured I better go to the sprint store, after all, we have been paying that minuscule 10.00 a month, may as well put it to good use. After I had explained what happened, without a word the associate walks over to a row of pamphlets, takes a highlighter and underlines a 1-800 number and says, “call that number, follow the directions to make your claim, is there anything else I can help you with?” Wait, what? I’ve been paying …..well you know the drill, that didn’t go well and do the quick math. ‘SUCKA’ (tatoo’d on my forehead!)
Our Solution: Cancel our Cell Phone Plans….Buy Cards at Straight Talk
I know, it sounds ghetto, but I got the info. from my husbands boss. (he isn’t the boss b/c he makes poor choices now, isn’t that right?) He bought one of the new 4G phones and pays $45 a month on-line for *unlimited service* (txt talk data). And now, they (ST)have plans where you can still use your old phone (even I phone, but not Sprint’s I phones) and keep your old number. Cuts out the middle man, and now that $80 at the kiosk seems a heluva lot less expensive than a $200 deductible, $200 worth of… $10 a month, and $45 a month instead of $110……did it cost me to get out of my contract? Yes, but would I have paid more to stay? YES!
Thank for the post Anita, wish I would have seen something like this a few years ago. Oh, and FYI my phone coverage is better than it ever has been! Booyah!
AWESOME Joan! thanks for the comment. I may get on this straight talk plan as well. I’ve been seriously considering for quite some time now. Thanks for the motivation and testimonial.
me too! thanks
My experience is a bit different than any other I read here and I’m wondering if anyone else has had this happen. My S4 just quit accepting a charge and went completely dead. It is still under manufacturer warranty. I called verizon and requested a replacement under the warranty. I was told it would take 3-5 business days to get the new phone. The problem is I was literally moving by then and I really needed the phone overnight. I agreed to pay for overnight shipping and was assured my phone would be there the next day. Of course that did not happen and when I checked the tracking it was not scheduled to arrive for 3 more days. So I had to make arrangements with my postal carrier to intercept the package so it would not be forwarded to my new address and drive an hour out of my way to go pick it up. Meanwhile, as we were moving my old phone fell out of my purse and the screen cracked. So I called verizon from the new phone, told them what happened and now am forced to file an insurance claim for $149 deductible instead of the warranty claim which costs $0. After fighting with them for hours on the phone they agreed to give me a $75 credit on my bill to help with the deductible. The point is if they had shipped the phone overnight like I requested and paid for… I would not have already shipped the old one back. Also, I would never file an insurance claim for just a cracked screen if the phone still worked. The phone was already not working for some other reason…
Correction: I meant I would have already shipped the old one back…
Wow, what a scam. Thank you so much for bringing this to light!! I’m definitely going to start a “savings can” like you suggested. Thanks again!
No problem! thanks for the comment
The exact same thing happened to me. This isn’t insurance it’s a scam.
If you break an iPhone 6S three months after buying one, trying finding another for less than $200, after a while yes ins is worthless, but also remember now a days with the phone payment, break your phone and then try and trade in and upgrade, won’t happen, you will need an “official” replacement. After 2 years and keeping the same phone, yeah drop it, an iPhone 5S still runs more than $200.
Yeah I do agree that insurance can be worth it for the first few months for very expensive phones that you can’t find used for under the deductible (like $200 for most iPhones 6s). So yeah but most other phones you can find used for less than the deductible. So for really expensive phones and only for the first 6 months or so, insurance may be worth it. It is a gamble but one where most of us lose and they win.
A $40 Otterbox for my iphone has been the best insurance; it protects the phone like no other.
I don’t care which corporate logo or name is on the outside of a cell phone. No phone is worth more than $100.00, if that much. Think about it. Those things are manufactured in such quantities that, they could all be sold at about $100 each, and they’d still make a hefty profit. The fact is, Apple,Verizon,TMobile, ect, charges what they do for phones, because people are brain dead enough to pay it. Don’t get me started on data plans.
Yeah I would have to agree that they are way overcharging for such devices! however many of us are required to have them for work. Truly. But yes they get away with it because they can that is for sure.
I actually work for Asurion and the problem isn’t us, it’s that you picked Verizon. They set the terms, the price, and the details. They just hire us to do the customer service part and to do any walkthroughs on software or wireless issues. The Verizon building is here in Phoenix and probably the worst Asurion building to work at or for customers to deal with. Our Sprint / AT&T Center is 100x better and the #1 cell insurance center in the country. Verizon is a joke.
I had a malfunction with my Samsung Note 3 that I bought through Best Buy. It’s a Verizon phone. And I ran across the same problem. I told them I could buy the identical phone off eBay for less than their deductible, cancelled the plan and told them to stuff it. The malfunction somehow resolved itself.
I’m eligible for a new phone from Verizon but their prices are driving me crazy. But coverage for Sprint or TMobile here near or in the mountains is terrible.
I know its such a catch 22 you want to get a new phone but it is such a pain to pay the high prices. Thanks!
We have an AT&T corp. store in my small GA lake town whose employees are as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. Three trips to the store to solve a simple billing problem and I was blown off each time. Finally got help and an apology from the 800 # customer service. Then I spent 6 months trying, with Apple’s help, to enable my i-phone to communicate with the Cloud. No luck with that. Could never even print a picture. The AT&T store employee, when I bought the phone, had entered the security question answers for me but then Apple had different answers for the questions! Finally, I just stopped paying my bill after 15 years as a customer. The idiot manager of the AT&T store would not communicate with the Apple guy to help even though her employees had created the problem. The last time I spoke to the Apple guy, he said he would not be in the middle any longer and hung up on me. I had been without any service for about two weeks because of the AT&T employees entering my birthdate incorrectly. So now I have an Apple 5c and a new Samsung something-4 from Verizon. Got so mad with Verizon in the first two weeks that I paid for the phone but am looking to change service carriers ASAP. So very happy to have found all this great information and feel much better about everything that has happened. Looking back I would have done things differently but sometimes I just procrastinate and don’t do my homework. And yeah, I did pay insurance to AT&T and am paying it now to Verizon, BUT only until I find a dependable company to switch service. My question is: Do any of the services you guys mention such as Net 10 and Straight Talk come with the “Help” that Asurion does. I’m old and have no one to teach me things about the smart phones. I was just getting used to the i-phone when I left it because of the Cloud and wrong birthdate problem. If anyone does know of a help service for me, I’d be so grateful.
I’m an attorney, but this is not legal advice, per se.
There are a couple of websites where consumers can make complaints about poor service. Make a report on them as to your experiences. Big corporations will monitor the sites. They don’t like seeing their name there without a response that appears to show courtesy to the consumer. They’ll get Cindy Lou to write a real sweet note and reach out to you for a problem. Sometimes you’ll get the problem solved.
My ethics professor used to say “A postage stamp is your cheapest malpractice insurance.” Conversely, a postage stamp has a lot of power to get things done if you’re the little guy. Let me suggest how.
Write a letter addressed to the (1) The Attorney General of your state (2) the Federal Communications Commission in Washington DC (it’s the regulatory body for cell phones.) Also address it to (3) the General Counsel(s) of the corporation(s) you are mad at. (You can usually look that up on the corporate website. If the name is not given, just address it to “General Counsel.”) Same letter, addressed to all.
Describe your problem, state how you tried to resolve your problem, and state what you would like as a remedy for the problem. It doesn’t have to be a fancy lawyery letter, just clearly worded. Send the AG and the FCC letters by regular US mail. Send the letter to the general counsel of Nasty Corporation by certified mail, return receipt requested. (If you don’t know how to do that, the clerk at the Post Office will help you.)
This will get a response, I’m almost positive. I can’t guarantee it but it hasn’t failed for me yet.
Cell phones started off as ‘wild west’ sort of industry – few regulations. And they liked it that way. It’s less so now but consumers continue to be ripped off and bullied. Don’t take it.
Cell phones companies are horrible with overcharging for everything. But I just gotta say I was shocked when you said some people only pay $20-50 a month for car insurance! What car insurance do you have? I pay $180 a month.
We have Esurance and had Progressive at about the same rates. we pay about $150 a month for three vehicles. It used to be less until I got into a fender bender :(… but such is life. Check out
You have no idea how deeply i relate to your post here!! I broke my phone little over a week ago. It’s a Samsung note 4 that i got November 2014 for $50 all said and done with promo, old phone buy back, etc. But i shattered the screen. I went in the next day to file a claim, knowing there would be a deductible. But their sites, both sprint and best buy geek squad, don’t tell you how much, just that it depends on your phone. I knew it would be over $100, but wanted to see what could be done to help me.
When i went in, i was told it would be $199 plus tax. And since my phone was on back order, it would be 5-7 business days to get my new phone. And no loaner phones anymore. Umm, what? I’m a mom of 3 ages 6 and under and one was home from school sick. You really think me not having a phone is something feasible?
The geek squad guy looked at me with a totally clueless look. Clearly, he didn’t get it and doesn’t have kids. We don’t have a landline. Hardly anyone does anymore!
I was told i could buy an unlocked phone and use that a back up until my claim went through. $100 for the cheapest unlocked phone. I asked why i pay insurance if I’m paying $200+and waiting a week.
“Well, it is an $800 phone.”
Umm, no. No one pays that for the phone. No one.
Forced into the claim, i say fine and go through with it. I then went to a sprint spite after being told they had $25 flip phones i could buy. Umm, another lie. That’s corporate stores only.
I was BLESSED to have an awesome man at the sprint store help me out with a loaner and i was on my way.
Long story short, i got my replacement phone just 2 days after filing the claim. Here’s the kicker for you. They sent a phone with no sim card, no stylus, no battery. I paid $213 for a phone with nothing to make it work. Luckily, my battery still worked. Get to the store and get my new phone going, i lost 50%of my contacts, half my apps, all my login info, and my sim card locked up. Now i needed a new one of those! When i called on that, i was told “well send you one. It’s free, THIS TIME.”
Because it’s my fault the sim card locked? What??
I was reading your post to my husband and just seething for you as well and my husband said “speaking of which, i need to call and cancel that!” And is now trying to cancel our phone insurance.
I really like your phone insurance plan more. Sock away what would be the payment (you are living just fine without that $12/month before…)and use that for the future. Only thing i would add is having a cheap flip phone you can switch to in the event you can’t get in and get a new phone right away. Then, you aren’t without a phone in care of emergency.
I don’t think their rep expected someone to have done the math on phone vs home/car /health insurance.
Thank you for your comment and I’m so sorry they did this to you! I’m glad that you are going to cancel the insurance and have a back up phone (great idea!). These losers need to stop scamming us all and lower the deductibles!
You are entirely wrong. Most smart phones are in the 500-800$ range. Just because you signed a contract or turned in another device for a credit doesn’t change the actual pricing of the device. It’s actually cheaper to pay outright for a phone than lock oneself into a contract with inflated plan prices to subsidize your “cheap” phone.
And to address a comment about how is just verizon, no. It’s not. It’s not just the cell phone companies. I use sprint and had the exact same problem. Deductible that it through the roof ,inaccurate “phone worth”, and employees that could simply NOT care less about actually helping. Its not just one company, is the whole lot.
We have Verizon phones. My husband has a flip phone & I have an IPhone. No problems, and our contracts expire in May. But the problem is a jetpack for wireless. The one we had suddenly didn’t work. I took it to a Verizon dealer, he checked it, and sold me a replacement. Ok, it wasn’t insured so I paid full price. They evidently don’t replace non-working equipment without a new contract, so now I have two contracts for two jetpacks because they say it would cost me more to delete the old one… right? They talk about this being the best way to handle this or it would cost more. ??? So I am paying for two Jetpack contracts until May instead of one, and that is supposed to save me money. And one doesn’t work. I have tried calling Verizon and using Chat on their website and no one ever says the same thing. The final answer was to go back to the store and turn in the old one! They won’t take it as it is still under contract. Even if it doesn’t work??? Getting really upset, I said, ‘Ok, I’ll pay off all the contracts and cancel all the phones and jetpacks.” They told me I can’t do that. WHAT??? Then they said if I wait until July, my bills will go back to normal. Sure they will.
We got our first cell phones with Sprint in 2000. When we moved to Louisiana we moved out in the country and ATT was the only service we could use. Three lines, my wife and I and my granddaughter. We insured all 3 phones. My granddaughter dropped hers in a freak snow we had and we couldn’t find it for two days until the snow melted. No coverage on water related damage, sorry! Two phones later she dropped hers. We paid a $50 deductible and she had a replacement phone in 2 days. Then ATT switched to Assurian. When My wife left her phone in a shopping cart I couldn’t believe the hoops we had to jump through. They faxed us all these papers to fill out, plus proof that we had bought the phone from ATT, all those numbers, and a CERTIFIED copy of my birth certificate along with my latest bill from ATT and a photocopy of my drivers license. On top of all that there would be a $100 deductible. I was so insulted. Then I learned we would get a refurbished phone, and it might not even be the same brand or model, but one they felt would work for us. I told them to forget it, called ATT and dropped all 3 insurances. The lady at ATT said every day she got complaints about this insurance company. But They still have them. I now use Square Deal Phone Warranties. They are excellent. Even get you out of your current cell policies. Check them out.
Thanks for the invite!
Actually that $500 that you THINK that the phone is worth is actually worth double that, or at least near double. Most higher end smartphones, if bought outright, without a contract are priced anywhere from $800 to $1000. I know, I have worked at a few stores where these phones are being sold. You have to think. These phones are not just phones anymore. They are handheld computers with all the power and capability of a tablet pc or laptop if you include a keyboard and mouse with it. Then add to the fact that they are touchscreen, and still have a higher resolution than most laptops on the market?
You’re lucky all you paid for it was $500. And then what it takes to repair one is worse than first time assembly because you have to tear the phone all the way back down just to remove the faulty components, and that if the phone is even repairable at all. So you have to take all that into account when you fork up that $200 deductible.
I’ve also worked for Asurion too, and have freinds that actually repair the phones so I know all about it. That’s why most of the phones are at least $100 to replace. I mean it’s unfortunate that something happened to your phone in the first place as they are very expensive devices and you did at least insure your phone. But here’s a tip. In addition to insuring your phone, why not buy a protective case for it as well. It may cost $50 to $100 for a good one, but that’s nothing compared to the expense of having to replace one. Not to mention the inconvenience of not having it, and having to backup all your data from the old phone and put it on the new one.
Rw, I’m calling bs. While the phones are not cheap for anyone, consider this. When i sign up for a new phone, I’m giving them my old one as a buy back, plus buying during some sort of promo that gets me extra money back/off. Considering all the details that went into my incident, i got a refurbished phone and doesn’t work the best, straight out of the box. They only sent the phone. No extra sim card, no battery, not even the battery cover or stylus. Much of my stuff didn’t transfer, i had and still have many issues with my sd card now, it’s reaction time is very slow, and since it’s the old battery, it’s not really working at its best. And i paid how much for this? Mind you, i had had my phone over a year, no claims in years, and had bought a case. Not a cheap, flimsy $5 made in China junk one. Otterbox commuter. Trust me, even a defender wouldn’t have protected it from the fall it took.
Imagine that, a case isn’t 100% and your phone can still take falls that will smash the screen.
No. I call total bs because the phones i was looking at to replace ate not $100 and we’re brand new. I got a refurbished phone with nothing. I’m lucky i looked at it to ensure i would have a stylus, battery back, sim card, and all that before sending the old phone back. To replace a screen? The rest of the phone was still fully operational, it will take no time. Then they’ll resell it to some other sucker for another $250.
If it’s so much time and hassle to replace broken parts, why does the electronics repair shop charge $50?
And if i were to smash my car, I’m pretty sure i could get a loaner. But not with s phone? Umm ok. Yea, makes total sense.
I’m not surprised with this. Companies these days have all kinds of tricks to get you to pay more without realizing it. For example, when they change packaging for an item, they shave off some ounces, and charge the same price, so you have to buy whatever it is more often, etc. With the phone, I was going to say, if you break your phone, and buy a new one yourself with money you’ve saved, then at least you can buy an upgraded version too (more ram, better operating system, more apps, etc). I knew the one they’d send you would likely just be as close to the old one as possible, or even refurbished.
Thanks! Great tips
Hi! Great article. Asurion wants me to pay a $99 deductible to replace my iPhone 6, which has a fully cracked screen. It costs me $60 to fix it locally. What should I do? My phone is also a little bent. Should I pay the extra $40 for a “better” replacement?
I would go with the cheaper option. Best!
I didn’t read all these comments, but I work for an insurance company. SCHEDULE YOUR PHONES ON YOUR HOME POLICY. You can choose your deductible and it is significantly less expensive. I insure 3 phones for about $35 a year.
Lisa – that is an awesome advice! Thank you.
You can always go an get a factory overstock device. New, that does not come in the retail box and as far as current models, it is always one behind the newest. over at http://Pageplusdealer.net for Verizon and any other 4G LTE phones. Also, a great company for insurance, it is about 56 a year then only 50 deductible, is https://my.worthavegroup.com/pageplusdealer take a look at them. When you submit a claim, they get their 50 deductible, however instead of mailing out a refurbished device, they mail you the check of the amount you are insured for. SO you can go and purchase whatever make and model you like. thanks
I have AT&T. I got an iPhone 5s with them, along with a protection guarantee and, a warranty. So later on the following year. I acadently dropped it in the bathroom sink. When I went to AT&T they promised to take care of it. But I had to pay them $350. Than when I got no sooner than a few months the volume stopped became scratchy, and horrible. Just in recent months the select button stopped working. I went in before the select button problems to confront them. They sent me to the apple company. The said that my phone company gave me a hack job fake phone. I confronted AT&T about this. They said that with my plan I could only get a refurbished phone. I was like what, in my head. But cuz I am in a contract I’m stuck. Now my phone cant connect to Wi-Fi anymore.
ugh this sounds so horrible! I’m very sorry you have had these phone issues. No select button and no wifi are two functions I can imagine would be difficult to deal with. I hope they give you a new good phone, keep after them.
I used to work for AT&T doing iPhone support. I would recommend insuring the phone for only the first 30-60 days. Phones typically change size year to year and our phone grip is muscle memory. If you suddenly carrying around a different size phone, you are more prone to dropping it. Most phones get dropped and broken in the first month or so.
If you only insure the first month, and then drop your new $700 phone, you are only paying a $200 deductible and the $10 payment to get your phone replaced. If it’s one of the brand new models, you are likely going to get a new phone and not a refurbished one.
Yeah that’s a good point! I don’t oppose to insuring a phone for the first little bit—esp with a new grip and it being brand-new. just don’t forget to cancel
I filed a claim and in my case the deductible ends up being cheaper than the phone’s contract value remaining. Asurion said the phone would be an “insurance loss” and once I pay the deductible I no longer have obligation to Verizon. Sounded fair until Verizon claims that my contract remains in full force because the insurance covers repairs and replacement NOT the contract agreement of two years.
This sounds like an illegal peactice where Verizon can “double-dip” and still charge me where insurance already intervened.
Now that is an obvious crime.
Yeah, by them being separate companies it seems like they can cross their wires/policies and get away with it… sorry this happened to you.
my humble opinion is paying for insurance is not worth it, you pay insurance for years and when your phone breaks you still have to pay a big amount of money to get it fix.
True
Verizon is shady… I was paying for insurance on phone ($7) and wireless insurance ($5) $12 per line. My hubby has it in his name & refuses to request a refund. Basically 2 – Note 10+ phones $25×24=600. These were 1200$ phones when new (2yrs). Naturally we pay off then I break phone (got run over in mud puddle). I paid $250 for a new replacement ($850). I get the phone and its locked! Yes its a refurb as its laser etched on back ASURION REFURB!!!! Clearly it was dropped (broke screen?) because the pen has scuffs on it! Ive lost allot b/c Google implementing caps & I only have whats on sd-card… Should get recovery included! Prob better off buying new phone or even different one. New Note10+ is ~$600 now NIB. If I cant unlock phone (extra 75$ & they made sure to update it to the latest software) itll go back & ill add another credit card. Not like I can really afford $250 cause rent is going up $200/mo! Sadly I could’ve saved that $ but prob would’ve spent it after the 24moinths & have No phone! Considering people who break phones on purpose & grossly careless…