Most people aren’t like me. While they love their phone, they don’t have this obsessive control issue where it’s the Armageddon when it isn’t within a palm’s length distance. And yes, you read palm’s length correctly. I believe I have what’s akin to a panic attack when I can’t locate it. About a week ago, I did a restore and when I rebooted my superuser and recovery program were no longer installed. After a few days of being unable to re-install either one, I almost thought I was going to cry. It’s that bad. Anti-theft and insurance is a must in my world. I personally use avast! for my theft protection as I think it has more features than the others. One is password protected admin settings. I noticed the majority of anti-theft programs don’t have that feature and what’s the point if the thief can disable it? While avast! gives me a feeling of extra security, nothing is 100% and it doesn’t protect against damages.
I don’t know what kind of phone you have, but I have the Sprint Galaxy Nexus. I believe all the major carriers use Asurion to provide their customer base with insurance. At first I tried going to the Verizon and AT&T websites to compare prices with Sprint, but decided to go to Asurion instead. Asurion has a link that you can choose your carrier and device to find out the cost of premiums. Basically, I have an $11 monthly fee with a $150 deductible and cannot file a claim for the first 90 days. I’m confused about the 90 day clause. I have to pay, but don’t have any coverage if it’s broken or stolen? Another thing that confuses me is if/when I file a claim, my replacement device may or may not be a Gnex and will be refurbished, meaning I get someone else’s repaired broken phone. I’m going to go on a tangent and return to this subject in a minute.
Do you have renter’s, auto, or homeowner’s insurance? If you don’t, I recommend getting them. If you do, this might be useful to you. First, renter’s insurance is cheap! It’s a little cheaper if you have auto insurance, but you can ask for a “Stand Alone Policy†if you don’t drive. The price varies but it’s an additional $6 with my auto insurance. Once you have the policy, add one more feature called “Contents Add-On”. Just hear me out. As a stand alone policy, you’re probably looking at no more than $20 month total. This covers all of your possessions and when you added the contents policy you added the feature that covers damages or theft for personal belongings away from the home.
Back to Asurion and a breakdown of what all this means to you. Let’s say a year into my contract with Sprint I lose my Gnex. With the monthly fees and the deductible, it’s basically going to cost me $300 to have a repaired device sent as my replacement. There is no guarantee I will even get a Galaxy Nexus since they state a “comparable deviceâ€. Considering it only cost $200 with a $50 credit to Wallet when I started my account for a brand new one, I’m not liking those figures. Here’s where the Stand Alone policy comes in. When you opened that policy for roughly $20 a month, it wasn’t just your device that’s covered, it’s everything you own. The Contents Add-On is your device and when you file a claim through that, you get a check for the actual replacement cost. If the “comparable device†is $700, you get a check for $700 to go out and purchase whatever device your heart desires and cash money is better than someone else’s repaired device anyday. It does take a little longer to have your new phone in hand than it would if you went through your carrier, but look at the math. Which would you prefer: $300 for a used device of unknown make and model, or a brand new one of your choice that includes coverage for all of your possessions?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think Asurion has much to offer me. Again, your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
