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BrightestBear

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 2, 2008
65
0
So State Farm seems to have decent insurance available for iPhone 3Gs: For about $30 a year, you have protection from loss, theft and damage with no deductible. Great! Sign me up. Except ...

... they only insure phones worth $400 or more. Since my receipt shows that I paid $299 for my phone, they won't give it to me. I gave the State Farm employee the iReady checklist with the two prices for the two models, which shows the higher price I'd have to pay if I replaced my phone. She said it wasn't "official" and suggested I get an online price quote (not possible, I told her) or a mock-up receipt from the Apple store (not possible, the Apple store told me).

Has anybody had any luck getting State Farm to actually insure their iPhone? What did you show them to prove the value? I'm getting ready to pull my hair out over this.
 

oursfan

macrumors member
Nov 28, 2007
93
0
So State Farm seems to have decent insurance available for iPhone 3Gs: For about $30 a year, you have protection from loss, theft and damage with no deductible. Great! Sign me up. Except ...

... they only insure phones worth $400 or more. Since my receipt shows that I paid $299 for my phone, they won't give it to me. I gave the State Farm employee the iReady checklist with the two prices for the two models, which shows the higher price I'd have to pay if I replaced my phone. She said it wasn't "official" and suggested I get an online price quote (not possible, I told her) or a mock-up receipt from the Apple store (not possible, the Apple store told me).

Has anybody had any luck getting State Farm to actually insure their iPhone? What did you show them to prove the value? I'm getting ready to pull my hair out over this.

I just called my State Farm agent to see if they could look into this for me. I had no idea that this even existed until I read your post. I will let you know what I come up with. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 

liziefly

macrumors newbie
Jul 14, 2008
6
0
Which state are you in?

Here in Washington, State Farm Personal Article policy for cellphones is $6.50 for every $100 coverage but the minimum yearly premium ihas to be at least $30. And if you pay 9% tax like we do here, then the phone costs $326 and we would round that up to $400. So that would be $40 per year.
 

Nicolecat

macrumors 6502a
Apr 2, 2008
968
7
yeah...this is definitely news to myself as well.
...and I'm a state farm client.

Definitely going to check into this as well. :p
 

ubersalad

macrumors 6502a
Feb 26, 2008
649
0
Which state are you in?

Here in Washington, State Farm Personal Article policy for cellphones is $6.50 for every $100 coverage but the minimum yearly premium ihas to be at least $30. And if you pay 9% tax like we do here, then the phone costs $326 and we would round that up to $400. So that would be $40 per year.

Wow, sign me up!
 

oursfan

macrumors member
Nov 28, 2007
93
0
Just heard back from my agent and they said it is a no go because I only paid $299 for my phone. The coverage starts at $300. Soooo, basically I am getting screwed because I paid $299 for the phone instead of a measly $1 more. If I would have paid $300 for the phone then I would be eligible. I told them that the phone is valued alot more than that and that I simply got an AT&T rebate on it. They said it does not matter. Sucks! If anyone has any luck with this, please let me know.
 

BrightestBear

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 2, 2008
65
0
The State Farm lady was giving me information kind of unofficially until I could prove that my phone meets the $400 minimum, so I haven't seen anything on paper. But it sounds great, doesn't it?

liziefly, I'm in Illinois. My total purchase was $322, and the employee didn't say anything about rounding up. She said if my receipt showed the $499 - $200 discount = $299 purchase price, that would be fine. But since it rang up as $299 right away, she can't accept it as proof of a higher replacement cost.

oursfan, did you explain that a replacement phone would cost more than that? And don't they count taxes in the purchase price?? And did their policy sound like the one that was explained to me, with no deductible replacement for theft, damage, etc?
 

thor79

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2008
448
0
Chicago, IL
Oooo...I'm going to give this a shot.

I paid full price for my iPhone about $550 with tax. For what...like $2.50 per month I can get a fully insured iPhone...sign me up!

I currently have my truck insured with State Farm.

edit: called my agent...she looked into it but said they don't do any insurance for cell phones.
Going to do some more checking. Any other details on this I might be able to use...such as a type of policy, a specific policy name, or something like that...something that will help them look up the information?
 

Nicolecat

macrumors 6502a
Apr 2, 2008
968
7
Just heard back from my agent and they said it is a no go because I only paid $299 for my phone. The coverage starts at $300. Soooo, basically I am getting screwed because I paid $299 for the phone instead of a measly $1 more. If I would have paid $300 for the phone then I would be eligible. I told them that the phone is valued alot more than that and that I simply got an AT&T rebate on it. They said it does not matter. Sucks! If anyone has any luck with this, please let me know.

So the tax is not included in the total price of the phone?
Confused. :confused:
 

oursfan

macrumors member
Nov 28, 2007
93
0
oursfan, did you explain that a replacement phone would cost more than that? And don't they count taxes in the purchase price?? And did their policy sound like the one that was explained to me, with no deductible replacement for theft, damage, etc?

So the tax is not included in the total price of the phone?
Confused. :confused:

I guess that the tax is not counted. I told her it was $330 after taxes and all and she said it does not matter and even said that that was clever of them to price it right under $300. (as if that is the specific reason that they priced the phone at $299, so no one could get insurance on it. I just laughed at that rationale)

I did not get any specifics on the plan though. She did not go into any detail after she said that my phone was not covered.

If anyone is able to get this coverage or even some more clarity on it, please let me know. I still think it should be able to be done.

I am in Atlanta, GA if that matters to anyone that is looking into these plans. The GA policy may be different than other states.
 

thor79

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2008
448
0
Chicago, IL
Well after checking with my current agent, who is like an hour away from me (I moved a couple years ago but never switched agents), I decided to try to find another agent that is closer, but in the process, also find out about this supposed policy.

He said that this type of item might be covered under a Personal Items policy. And that it would cover it completely....theft, vandalism, damage...etc. with no deductable. He said he has to check on whether or not the iPhone would qualify...so he has to talk to his underwriter about it. He's got my phone number and will be giving me a call back about it.

The personal items policy covers expensive personal items like electronics, jewelry, furs, etc...so I would think an expensive phone like the iPhone would be covered, it's just a matter of certain minimum requirements they might have.

They might not cover it just because, unlike furs and jewelry, it has a higher likelihood of the item being damaged through normal use.
 

BrightestBear

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 2, 2008
65
0
I checked with my local office again, and she said they need a contract form or a business quote as if I were checking to see how much it would cost to buy for my business. (Why a business? I don't know!) So I'm calling Apple and AT&T to see if they can come up with something like that.
 

Sobe

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2007
1,791
0
Wash DC suburbs
My agent said the same thing.

Then called me back and said, "no."

I do remember a similar thread last year, and I think some people did get State Farm coverage.

So it's probably just how your local office runs their shop.
 

ubersalad

macrumors 6502a
Feb 26, 2008
649
0
Well after checking with my current agent, who is like an hour away from me (I moved a couple years ago but never switched agents), I decided to try to find another agent that is closer, but in the process, also find out about this supposed policy.

He said that this type of item might be covered under a Personal Items policy. And that it would cover it completely....theft, vandalism, damage...etc. with no deductable. He said he has to check on whether or not the iPhone would qualify...so he has to talk to his underwriter about it. He's got my phone number and will be giving me a call back about it.

The personal items policy covers expensive personal items like electronics, jewelry, furs, etc...so I would think an expensive phone like the iPhone would be covered, it's just a matter of certain minimum requirements they might have.
Read above, that's what liziefly said.
 

thor79

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2008
448
0
Chicago, IL
My agent said the same thing.

Then called me back and said, "no."

I do remember a similar thread last year, and I think some people did get State Farm coverage.

So it's probably just how your local office runs their shop.

Yeah I suspect it is entirely dependent on what level of risk the independent agent is willing to accept regarding the personal items.


Read above, that's what liziefly said.

yeah....I guess he said it...it just didn't register with me that was the name of that type of policy.

and wouldn't a phone costing $326 with tax end up costing $30 per year? 4x6.50 comes out to $26...so minimum would be $30 per year. If they chose to cover a phone costing that little.

For mine under that I would actually be looking at a yearly premium of $39 per year for $600 in coverage since mine cost $550 with tax.

no reply phone call yet though.
 

liziefly

macrumors newbie
Jul 14, 2008
6
0
The great thing about the Personal Article policy is that it covers for mysterious disappearances. So if you just lose it as in you can't find it anywhere, it will be fully covered!
 

Nicolecat

macrumors 6502a
Apr 2, 2008
968
7
I would say shop around.

I'm sure other insurance companies offer this as well, and if your state farm won't give you the perk...another company might to steal you away.

Dirty scoundrels. :D
 

thor79

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2008
448
0
Chicago, IL
I would say shop around.

I'm sure other insurance companies offer this as well, and if your state farm won't give you the perk...another company might to steal you away.

Dirty scoundrels. :D

Meh...I've been happy with the coverage on my truck...if State Farm can't do this for me I'll probably just go with no insurance on my phone and just be careful.

I wonder...would this type of policy qualify me for a multi-line discount? Right now all I have is my truck policy. I know previously I had a policy to cover all the stuff I had in my apartment that gave me a multi-line discount.
 

BrightestBear

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 2, 2008
65
0
I just called AT&T to ask for a replacement cost quote, and the guy said they don't have a replacement cost set yet because they don't have inventory to sell to anybody, so figuring out how to replace them is not a priority right now.

Also, he said the higher $399/$499 price is also discounted and that replacement phones will probably be around $599 for 8GB and $699 for 16 GB. Has anybody else heard that amount? I hadn't and was surprised to hear it.
 

Nicolecat

macrumors 6502a
Apr 2, 2008
968
7
I know...right?

By far, State Farm has given my husband and I the best rates we could find.
You would think, that by being a fantastic customer and paying on time...they would be willing to take a little more of a risk to keep you as a customer.
Just my thoughts.

I guess being a northerner, living in the south has skewed my perception. :D jk.
 

QuarterSwede

macrumors G3
Oct 1, 2005
9,778
2,026
Colorado Springs, CO
Insurance is meant to protect you from catastrophic loss. Insuring a cell phone is ridiculous.
Then what are riders for? Yeah, that's how people insure their jewelry. That certainly wouldn't be a catastrophic loss.

To the OP:
My experience with insurance riders is that they generally will only insure something if it's over a certain amount. So this actually sounds about right to me, sorry to say. I have Liberty Mutual (top notch service) and generally theirs is ~$400-500 I think ... it could also be $800 but I don't remember.
 

thor79

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2008
448
0
Chicago, IL
Insurance is meant to protect you from catastrophic loss. Insuring a cell phone is ridiculous.

Insurance is designed to replace items when loss of some kind occurs...whether it's through damage, theft, or something else. Doesn't matter what the item is. If it means something to you and it would be a significant loss of money to replace it, it's smart to insure. Sure a $100 cell phone is pretty silly to insure...but the iPhone at a minimum would cost you $399 to replace...and for those of us with 16GB iPhones...$499...for most people that's not small potatoes.
 
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