Droids Selling for $49.00 - Why Buy Insurance?

[cuskit]

Okay - now that the Droid prices have dropped so much, and with deductibles about $90.00, why are we still paying for insurance? Wouldn't be be better off just purchasing a new phone off walmart.com or one of these places selling the phones for under fifty bucks? Or are these prices ONLY with plan renewal or new plan? I mean - we are paying the price of a new phone in just five months or less premiums, forgetting the deductible.

Any thoughts? cuskit

 

[cuskit]

Okay - now that the Droid prices have dropped so much, and with deductibles about $90.00, why are we still paying for insurance? Wouldn't be be better off just purchasing a new phone off walmart.com or one of these places selling the phones for under fifty bucks? Or are these prices ONLY with plan renewal or new plan? I mean - we are paying the price of a new phone in just five months or less premiums, forgetting the deductible.

Any thoughts? cuskit

Hmmm - just checked the Wirefly ad - "replacement" phones are well over $500.00! Is Wally world and the others the same? cuskit

 

[MotorolaDroid]

The cheap prices are only with a new contact. Other wise your paying over 500 for a new one

 

[shademar]

New phones (with a new 2y contract) are heavily subsidized by VZW or the resellers; replacements are the full list price.

(Glad I have insurance at the moment, though this is the first gadget I've ever bought it on...)

 

[hookbill]

Yep, and I don't have insurance so I just pray that nothing ever happens to it. I really think that if I had paid insurance for every phone I've ever owned I could by 2 or 3 Droids. So if I have to cough up the cash, my bad. I'm still ahead of the game.

I do have the extended warranty that goes beyond the 1 year period. I probably wouldn't have gotten that but phone is in wife's name because we get a discount through her company. She ordered that.

 

[cuskit]

Yep, and I don't have insurance so I just pray that nothing ever happens to it. I really think that if I had paid insurance for every phone I've ever owned I could by 2 or 3 Droids. So if I have to cough up the cash, my bad. I'm still ahead of the game.

I do have the extended warranty that goes beyond the 1 year period. I probably wouldn't have gotten that but phone is in wife's name because we get a discount through her company. She ordered that.

Hook,

I'm not familiar with the extended warranty. Is that through VZW? And I'm assuming that would not cover breakage, loss, theft, etc? And did you have to purchase with the phone, or within a certain window of time? TIA - mike

 

[hookbill]

Yep, and I don't have insurance so I just pray that nothing ever happens to it. I really think that if I had paid insurance for every phone I've ever owned I could by 2 or 3 Droids. So if I have to cough up the cash, my bad. I'm still ahead of the game.

I do have the extended warranty that goes beyond the 1 year period. I probably wouldn't have gotten that but phone is in wife's name because we get a discount through her company. She ordered that.

Hook,

I'm not familiar with the extended warranty. Is that through VZW? And I'm assuming that would not cover breakage, loss, theft, etc? And did you have to purchase with the phone, or within a certain window of time? TIA - mike

No, it only covers if something goes wrong with the phone. Like if I root it, replace the root and it dies anyways.:icon_ devil:

It's just the regular 1 year warranty extended. I have no idea about window of time to purchase it. As I said wife added it on to my Storm when I turned it over to her account for the discounts.

 

[cuskit]

Yep, and I don't have insurance so I just pray that nothing ever happens to it. I really think that if I had paid insurance for every phone I've ever owned I could by 2 or 3 Droids. So if I have to cough up the cash, my bad. I'm still ahead of the game.

I do have the extended warranty that goes beyond the 1 year period. I probably wouldn't have gotten that but phone is in wife's name because we get a discount through her company. She ordered that.

Hook,

I'm not familiar with the extended warranty. Is that through VZW? And I'm assuming that would not cover breakage, loss, theft, etc? And did you have to purchase with the phone, or within a certain window of time? TIA - mike

No, it only covers if something goes wrong with the phone. Like if I root it, replace the root and it dies anyways.:icon_ devil:

It's just the regular 1 year warranty extended. I have no idea about window of time to purchase it. As I said wife added it on to my Storm when I turned it over to her account for the discounts.

Okay - I follow you now, I wasn't thinking about the manufacturers warranty. I'll touch base with my local store manager and see what he can tell me - perhaps it might be worthwhile adding to the year if still possible (I purchased on Nov 22nd). Thanks for the quick response! mike

 

[Matth3w]

LOL because you aren't going to add a line to your account every time you break your phone and the cheap prices are with 2 year service agreements.

 

[silvere2]

Yep, and I don't have insurance so I just pray that nothing ever happens to it. I really think that if I had paid insurance for every phone I've ever owned I could by 2 or 3 Droids. So if I have to cough up the cash, my bad. I'm still ahead of the game.

I do have the extended warranty that goes beyond the 1 year period. I probably wouldn't have gotten that but phone is in wife's name because we get a discount through her company. She ordered that.

Um, I have two droids on my plan, and we pay $10 monthly in insurance for the two phones combined. That's $5 a phone. $60 per year, $600 over 10 years. So over 10 years you could have paid for about 1 droid, not 2 or 3.

 

[ZBoater]

I am paying $6 a month for insurance. Assuming I keep this phone 22 months (I doubt it), I could get a new one for $49. Otherwise, I would need to pay full retail or get a used on on eBay for $400-$500 to replace mine in the case of loss or theft.

$6 x 22 = $132. After that I could drop the insurance, as I could get a new subsidized phone if I were to lose mine. $132 to mitigate the risk of a $400-500 loss. Doesn't sound like a good deal (unless you lose your phone 3 months into your contract).

As with any insurance, it is a matter of how much risk you are willing to tolerate. In my case, I will likely be buyng a new phone in 6-12 months anyway (Droid 2?) so this is just to hold me over...

 

[cuskit]

I am paying $6 a month for insurance. Assuming I keep this phone 22 months (I doubt it), I could get a new one for $49. Otherwise, I would need to pay full retail or get a used on on eBay for $400-$500 to replace mine in the case of loss or theft.

$6 x 22 = $132. After that I could drop the insurance, as I could get a new subsidized phone if I were to lose mine. $132 to mitigate the risk of a $400-500 loss. Doesn't sound like a good deal (unless you lose your phone 3 months into your contract).

As with any insurance, it is a matter of how much risk you are willing to tolerate. In my case, I will likely be buyng a new phone in 6-12 months anyway (Droid 2?) so this is just to hold me over...

That's a very valid point! I've used Asurian 3 times to replace phones in the past (not my droid). All three were $50.00 deductible (you have to add that fee to your calculations per incidence). Though they were certainly cheaper phones (all 3 motorolas) it was still better than buying a new phone - and they were overnighted to me. In addition I was able to keep my battery and charger - yet they sent new ones with the replacement phone. Oddly - I could not tell if they were new phones or refurbs - all looked brand new to me.

Given my history (dropped the first one, broke the glass on the second and third - don't ask...) I'll willingly pay the premium (mine is 5 bucks per month). So I guess we keep the insurance as it appears these cheaper prices are only with plan renewals or new activation (or secondary lines). mike

 

[STVA]

Personally I think that you should never buy insurance for items that you can replace with cash. You have insurance on your house and car because you can't replace them out of pocket. Just do the math: Add the premium for the life of the contract, plus the deductible to replace the phone. I bet you can buy a lightly used Droid off of eBay or craigslist for less than that, especially in a few months.

If you break phones all the time, just take better care of your stuff. I'm careful with my stuff and have never broken one.

 

[hookbill]

Yep, and I don't have insurance so I just pray that nothing ever happens to it. I really think that if I had paid insurance for every phone I've ever owned I could by 2 or 3 Droids. So if I have to cough up the cash, my bad. I'm still ahead of the game.

I do have the extended warranty that goes beyond the 1 year period. I probably wouldn't have gotten that but phone is in wife's name because we get a discount through her company. She ordered that.

Um, I have two droids on my plan, and we pay $10 monthly in insurance for the two phones combined. That's $5 a phone. $60 per year, $600 over 10 years. So over 10 years you could have paid for about 1 droid, not 2 or 3.

You're right. I was talking without thinking. 5 bucks a month is cheap.

 

[jayb]

Thats great hope you never have one stole or broke. you are so smart that I cant wait for it to happen to you. WOW! go figure more $$$$$$ than brains

For STVA