AppleCare vs. Bank Insurance

[RJCP]

Hi guys, after my recent iPhone 5 replacement saga, I started considering AppleCare.

I'm a Barclays Bank client and I have their TechPack activated with my bank account. It basically protects both my iPhone and my iPad against accidental and malicious damage, loss and theft with excess rates of 75£ for the phone and 50£ for the iPad (crazy, I know, but it's what's in the policy).

Now, how much does this differ from AppleCare? I'm aware of the one off price of Apple Care but I'm just wondering wether or not it is worth it given the extended warranty provided by UK Consumer Laws and my bank account's mobile insurance.

I won't take into consideration their telephone support. I've used a few times while under my complimentary 3 month period and they're absolutely useless. Plus, I live a 15mins walk away from an Apple Retail Store.

What are your experiences with AC? Would you recommend it in my personal circumstances?

thx!

 

[Irish Rose]

AC+ is $99 with a $50 deductible per incident. You are only covered for up to 2 incidents per 2 year period and AC+ does not cover lost/stolen. I have AC+ on my iPhone 5 and iPad Mini as I feel it is worth it to me. Ymmv....


Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk 2

 

[RJCP]

AC+ is $99 with a $50 deductible per incident. You are only covered for up to 2 incidents per 2 year period and AC+ does not cover lost/stolen. I have AC+ on my iPhone 5 and iPad Mini as I feel it is worth it to me. Ymmv....


Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk 2

Hmm, I think the policies in the UK are slightly different. From the researching I did on their website, there's no such thing as AC+. Here you can buy AC protection at any point within the original 1 year warranty. I think it also entitles you to 1 free replacement in case of accidental damage.
I may be wrong, though.

 

[abz1981]

The 2 products are completely different. apple care is an extended warranty it does not cover loss or theft or damage.

The product from barclays cover loss theft and damage. So what you need to be asking yourself is that do you need protection for loss and theft and damage if answer is yes then stick to barclays. If the answer is no then get apple care for extended warranty.

 

[RJCP]

The 2 products are completely different. apple care is an extended warranty it does not cover loss or theft or damage.

The product from barclays cover loss theft and damage. So what you need to be asking yourself is that do you need protection for loss and theft and damage if answer is yes then stick to barclays. If the answer is no then get apple care for extended warranty.

Thanks, abz. I really think I'd rather keep the Barclays tech pack and skip apple care. UK consumer laws already provide extended warranty anyway, so...

 

[daijholt]

I tell people this all the time: unless you're a business customer banks don't give a toss about insurance claims. They'd sooner tell you tough luck than replace the phone for you, and even if they do it usually takes weeks.

At glance the bank seems better, but there's a lot of grey area that they use to fob you off. Sure AppleCare is pricey, but at least you know Apple will actually honour their Policies.

Edit: my bad, I was referring to the USA AppleCare. Forgot the uk is stuck without the plus version.

 

[takeshi74]

Not familiar with either option since I'm in the US but you can compare the two by looking at:
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC265ZM/A/app-for-iphone
http://www.barclays.co.uk/Helpsupport/TechPack/P1242609326244

The Apple UK site provides this comparison chart to show the differences between what you get from EU Consumer Laws versus Apple's standard warranty versus AppleCare:
http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/

As I said, I'm not in the UK. I'm in the US. That said, don't overlook Google which I how I found all this.

 

[abz1981]

I tell people this all the time: unless you're a business customer banks don't give a toss about insurance claims. They'd sooner tell you tough luck than replace the phone for you, and even if they do it usually takes weeks.

At glance the bank seems better, but there's a lot of grey area that they use to fob you off. Sure AppleCare is pricey, but at least you know Apple will actually honour their Policies.

Edit: my bad, I was referring to the USA AppleCare. Forgot the uk is stuck without the plus version.

Am a bit confused here with your last statement it says your in Wales in the UK So why would you be referring to the USA apple care + version in the first place?

Also to the OP you mention UK consumer protection law for the iPhone. What you need to also remember if that if you ever makes claim for extended warranty under this the onus is on you to prove the iphone was faulty at point of delivery. As stated on apples website the below information: In most EU member states, consumers may only claim for defects that were present on delivery. There are some exceptions, including Czech Republic and Romania. The burden to prove that the defect (including latent defects) existed on delivery generally shifts to the consumer after the expiry of a period of 6 months from date of delivery.

 

[JennyC]

I used to use AC+ for my iPhone 4 and I ran into the problem of the 2 incidents per 2 year plan. After I upgraded to the iPhone 5 I switched insurance plans as well. I currently use the ProtectCELL Complete plan http://www.protectcell.com/Beyond-Cell-Phone-Insurance/iPhone.aspx. There are no deductibles and you are covered for an unlimited amount of incidents per year. That is really what sold me about their plans. I think you end up paying less for this plan then you would with AC+.