Is Cell Phone Insurance Worth It?

In the seven years that I’ve had a cell phone, I’ve never purchased cell phone insurance. Luckily, I haven’t broken or lost a single phone, but the question of cell phone insurance always comes back to me when it’s time to upgrade phones.

**Note** I thought about phone insurance the other day when I heard our dog chewing on my iPhone…good thing it had a case and screen protector :) No damage to the phone, but the case was ruined.)

With monthly cell phone insurance premiums hovering between $5 and $10, and deductibles around $100, the cost to buy a used phone on eBay may be less than what you end up paying for the insurance. For me, this is the biggest reason why I have never purchased cell phone insurance. Sure, I may have to get a different model iPhone, but that’s the risk I’m willing to take.

A friend of mine was telling me about their daughter who needed her phone replaced. They contacted the insurance company and were given quite the runaround. It turned out that she couldn’t get the exact model of phone (including color…small detail, but frustrating) and that it was a refurbished phone. If she had known that (it was probably in the small print) she said she would have rather just bought a used phone from eBay.

I probably won’t be buying cell phone insurance any time soon. With the price of cell phones at reasonable levels, I’d rather just risk it and use my savings to pay for a replacement phone. If I have to make payments to someone, I’d rather it go to my savings account and not to an insurance company – but that’s just me.

Have you ever bought cell phone insurance? Was it worth it for you? Were there any hassles in filing a claim?

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