I'd agree with other's who have said that you should not buy an insurance plan.
One thing that hadn't been mentioned is that I don't buy these on principle simply because they are very manipulative. Generally they tell you about the plan at the cash register. They do this because it is an effective sales tactic. The moment when you are buying an expensive item is usually a moment when you're emotions are running high.
You've been weighing the back and forth over spending this much money, and this can be stressful. You're finally committing to purchasing the item and using up valuable resources and then out of the blue they give you a hard sell on this replacement plan. You're put into a position where socially you're discouraged to read over the fine print because others are in line behind you, and you were just about to hand over your money. People are waiting and you need to make a gut decision, should I avoid the risk?
The problem is that your brain is divided up into different functional roles. In the purchasing process the emotional parts of your brain are very active and its easy to drown out the more analytical and rational parts of the brain. The stress of the event even can trigger your brain to send out endorphins, the chemicals that make you feel good. Some people actually get a "purchasing high" during this whole process.
So you're put on the spot, socially you're pressured not to think, and your brain is already in a heavily emotional state. So in that spot you have to suddenly make a rational risk assessment. The salesperson is trying to sell the idea that "if it breaks for any reason" and your brain can process this well enough... there is of course always some possibility that your iPad could break. The problem is how likely is that? The sales person is actually invoking a fear response in you, and fear is one of the core emotions that is very effective at overriding the reasoning parts of your brain due to our innate fight or flight response to danger.
Putting you in this spot is all quite intentional. The stores know that they can catch a lot of people that otherwise are quite rational and prudent and reel them in just because for a brief moment their emotions override their rational analysis.
Knowing all of this, and know its coming in so many of my transactions, helps me to avoid them on principle. Further, I feel I'm being manipulated by these stores, which helps me remain resolved not to hand them more money simply because they are trying to scare me when I'm in a vulnerable position.
There is a point to insurance, as others have said, it's there to avoid financial catastrophe. Cars, houses, life insurance... those all make sense. Handing over more money on items that have only a remote chance of breaking or failing, and which already have return windows and manufacturer guarantees, and which won't lead to financial ruin doesn't make much sense unless you're oddly unlucky in life.
