Now that State Farm is out... Squaretrade, Safeware, or something else?

[cueballbil]

Squaretrade will send you a check for the non-subsidy replacement cost minus $50. They will keep the broken phone. The recommend to take your phone to Apple and have it replaced for $199, they will then refund you $149 of that cost. It is rare for them to get a phone that they cannot repair that they deem was damaged in "normal use."

The argument here is not that ST isn't reputable, they most certainly are. The position is that it makes no sense financially. If you have no insurance, your risk is $199 for damage and $599 for loss/theft. If you have ST, your risk (after cost) is $149 for damage and $599 for loss/theft. If you don't damage your phone, scenario 1, you lose nothing, scenario 2, you lose $100.

That is why I say you are spending $100 now to avoid paying $50 more in the event you break your phone. That's nonsensical.





ash =o)

Ok, so say I don't have any insurance with anyone. I drop my iphone either on the ground and it shatters or I drop it in the swimming pool and it gets water damaged. I can take my phone to apple and they will fix it or replace it for 199? Is that correct?

 

[KentuckyHouse]

I'll bite. I work for "the farm". I can confirm that I have heard the same thing in regards to the Personal Articles Policy(PAP) with Sept. 1 being that date. Included in this are iPad's & Kindles.

The PAP is an "all perils" policy created initially to cover furs, jewelry, golf equipment, fine art, etc. These policies are often sold with no deductible. When the cost of insurance is low and the ease of breaking or losing is high, it is a great product for the customer. It's what we call adverse selection.

My personal opinion: The policy just doesn't fit the product. These pieces of technology are essentially disposable(every 1-2 years) and the premium paid to support them under these policies is obviously, just too low. Hopefully, in the future there will be something new introduced to be able to offer State Farm customers future. I have not heard of anything in the works, but that's the insurance/tech guy coming out hoping that the service will be provided to better meet the demand.

Thanks, Cakester, for the reply from someone who actually knows for sure. This sucks, as I stated in my previous post. As a loyal customer to State Farm for many years, I've recommended these PAP policies many times over to other iPhone owners, as I have always felt it's been the best deal going.

I can totally understand SF's reasoning on this change. It's a losing proposition for them and when you've got so many d-bags out there that purposely destroy or "lose" their iPhone just so they can get a newer one, it just ensures that something great like this (for the vast majority of iPhone owners that AREN'T thieves) is going to get taken away.

Now I really don't know what I'm going to do. My 3GS is covered through the end of January, so I'll have to find something that's suitable. The great thing about the SF policies was that they covered literally EVERYTHING. I'm much more likely to have my phone stolen or lose it than I am to damage it badly from a drop or water, so having that theft/loss coverage that almost no other insurance offers was great.

Again, thank you for your reply. Back to the drawing board for me, it seems!

 

[cueballbil]

I just received this email from SquareTrade if anyone is interested.....


Thank you for contacting SquareTrade.


We provide a full coverage on iPhone 4 warranty, so if you purchased it on a discounted price with your contract that will not effect our coverage of iPhone that is for $599, provided you send us a copy of the receipt you got from At&T as proof of purchase.


So according to your question $599 will be the amount we reimburse you if it is the cost of replacing your iPhone.



Hope that answers your question! If not go here to view the contract summary. You can also reply to this email or call 1-877-WARRANTY (1-877-927-7268) US & Canada only, 24/7.


Thank you,


Ben

SquareTrade Care Specialist

 

[RetiredInFl]

I just received this email from SquareTrade if anyone is interested.....


Thank you for contacting SquareTrade.


We provide a full coverage on iPhone 4 warranty, so if you purchased it on a discounted price with your contract that will not effect our coverage of iPhone that is for $599, provided you send us a copy of the receipt you got from At&T as proof of purchase.


So according to your question $599 will be the amount we reimburse you if it is the cost of replacing your iPhone.



Hope that answers your question! If not go here to view the contract summary. You can also reply to this email or call 1-877-WARRANTY (1-877-927-7268) US & Canada only, 24/7.


Thank you,


Ben

SquareTrade Care Specialist

Still a rip. They don't refund the sales tax which you would have to pay again (add that $50-$60 to your out of pocket),

You still have to pay for NEW insurance ($100) for your replacement phone.

So now you've spent: $50 Ded, $100+ insurance, $50-$60 sales tax (approx $210) when you can waltz into an Apple store and AT WORST get a replacement for $199+$16 tax = $215 or you can use ST where the MIGHT give you $600:

$600
-$100 you paid for ins
-$50 ded

So you get NET $450 and you have to go into Apple an buy a new phone for $600 + tax = around $654.

$654
-$540 from ST
YOU STILL PAY THE SAME $200 out of pocket Apple would have charged you WITHOUT insurance THEN you have to pay ANOTHER $100+ for insurance on the replacement phone.


If you lose it or it gets stolen ST doesn't cover it anyway so it doesn't matter.

It's simply a waste of money.

 

[cueballbil]

Still a rip. They don't refund the sales tax which you would have to pay again (add that $50-$60 to your out of pocket),

You still have to pay for NEW insurance ($100) for your replacement phone.

So now you've spent: $50 Ded, $100+ insurance, $50-$60 sales tax (approx $210) when you can waltz into an Apple store and AT WORST get a replacement for $199+$16 tax = $215 or you can use ST where the MIGHT give you $600:

$600
-$100 you paid for ins
-$50 ded

So you get NET $450 and you have to go into Apple an buy a new phone for $600 + tax = around $654.

$654
-$540 from ST
YOU STILL PAY THE SAME $200 out of pocket Apple would have charged you WITHOUT insurance THEN you have to pay ANOTHER $100+ for insurance on the replacement phone.


If you lose it or it gets stolen ST doesn't cover it anyway so it doesn't matter.

It's simply a waste of money.

Thanks for the reply.

I just asked something like this a few posts up...

I can walk into any Apple store (can it also be an AT&T store?) within 1 year of buying an iPhone 4 (from either AT&T or an Apple store) if I dropped my iPhone and it shattered and the most I would have to pay is 199 + tax? Would they fix it or give me a new one?
What if I dropped it into a swimming pool?

 

[sixxmum]

This is an informative conversation, for sure. I guess at this point I'm leaning away from Squaretrade. I haven't looked at Worth Ave. yet. Or, maybe I'll just bite and go with the "have it fixed at Apple" plan.

FWIW for anyone who might be planning on Squaretrade, I think they have some sort of 35% off thing going on right now.

 

[RetiredInFl]

Thanks for the reply.

I just asked something like this a few posts up...

I can walk into any Apple store (can it also be an AT&T store?) within 1 year of buying an iPhone 4 (from either AT&T or an Apple store) if I dropped my iPhone and it shattered and the most I would have to pay is 199 + tax? Would they fix it or give me a new one?
What if I dropped it into a swimming pool?

Yes, 1 yr, 2 yrs, 3yrs, doesn't matter ..... $199, that's their policy. Apple store, not AT&T. If it's simply the glass they probably would replace the glass (they did for the 3GS but haven't experienced a 4 yet). It it were drowned they would give you a new (refurb, better than new) one.

 

[RetiredInFl]

This is an informative conversation, for sure. I guess at this point I'm leaning away from Squaretrade. I haven't looked at Worth Ave. yet. Or, maybe I'll just bite and go with the "have it fixed at Apple" plan.

FWIW for anyone who might be planning on Squaretrade, I think they have some sort of 35% off thing going on right now.

They ALWAYS, repeat, ALWAYS have some sort of coupon.

 

[cueballbil]

Yes, 1 yr, 2 yrs, 3yrs, doesn't matter ..... $199, that's their policy. Apple store, not AT&T. If it's simply the glass they probably would replace the glass (they did for the 3GS but haven't experienced a 4 yet). It it were drowned they would give you a new (refurb, better than new) one.

Cool. I'm going without insurance. Thanks for the info!

 

[NQK]

Pretty sure if its unfixable, square trade will just give you a check for $200, the subsidized price.

Thats why I have no phone insurance.

I got a square trade and talked the rep for a long time. What he told me was that you pay the $99.00 for 2 years of coverage. If you drop it, get it wet etc. you pay a $50 deductable and esnd it to them and they fix it and send it back. It it's the first claim, and the phone can not be fixed, they will send you a check for the UN-subsidized price of the phone you have. Because unless it's upgrade time, you aren't going to get a new iphone4 for $299.00.

 

[warfa]

Yesterday i went to a state farm office close to my house to get car insurance with them and did so. after the girl finished my paper work i asked her about the $30 iPhone insurance and she said no problem i can put that on for you too so i told her hell yes. now im reading that its ending on sept 1st so does that mean it only applies to new customers and that i get to keep mine? i hope it does

 

[KentuckyHouse]

Yesterday i went to a state farm office close to my house to get car insurance with them and did so. after the girl finished my paper work i asked her about the $30 iPhone insurance and she said no problem i can put that on for you too so i told her hell yes. now im reading that its ending on sept 1st so does that mean it only applies to new customers and that i get to keep mine? i hope it does

warfa, it sounds like you got in under the deadline. Others have said that their SF agents won't even write the policies now because of the cut off. But, since you applied your coverage BEFORE the September 1st cut off, you are covered for a full year (at least that's how mine works). I started mine in early February of this year and I'm covered until next February.

I know my agent personally, so I'm gonna talk to her and see what she says. I know most, if not all, SF agents are independent franchises (at least I think they are) and they have quite a bit of discretion when it comes to writing policies. I wouldn't be surprised if they can find some sort of alternative policy for their customers, especially for the ones that haven't ever actually filed a claim on their iPhone coverage (like me).

Of course, I could be totally wrong...so take what I say with a grain of salt...lol.

If it does turn out that I can no longer cover my iPhones with SF, then it sounds like SquareTrade is probably the way to go.

To the SquareTrade rep that posted above, without having done any research on your policies, can you tell us (me) what EXACTLY you cover? As I stated previously, I'm much more likely to lose my phone or have it stolen than dropping it in water or the like. Would your policy cover that (theft/loss)? And thanks for the post. It was very informative. I'd just like a bit more information.

 

[calvy]

warfa, it sounds like you got in under the deadline. Others have said that their SF agents won't even write the policies now because of the cut off. But, since you applied your coverage BEFORE the September 1st cut off, you are covered for a full year (at least that's how mine works). I started mine in early February of this year and I'm covered until next February.

I know my agent personally, so I'm gonna talk to her and see what she says. I know most, if not all, SF agents are independent franchises (at least I think they are) and they have quite a bit of discretion when it comes to writing policies. I wouldn't be surprised if they can find some sort of alternative policy for their customers, especially for the ones that haven't ever actually filed a claim on their iPhone coverage (like me).

Of course, I could be totally wrong...so take what I say with a grain of salt...lol.

If it does turn out that I can no longer cover my iPhones with SF, then it sounds like SquareTrade is probably the way to go.

To the SquareTrade rep that posted above, without having done any research on your policies, can you tell us (me) what EXACTLY you cover? As I stated previously, I'm much more likely to lose my phone or have it stolen than dropping it in water or the like. Would your policy cover that (theft/loss)? And thanks for the post. It was very informative. I'd just like a bit more information.

SquareTrade does not insure against loss or theft. Which is why it's simply not worth it for me.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

Thanks, calvy. I was pretty sure that was the case, but I figured I'd ask him directly and see what he said.

So, it looks like SquareTrade is out too. Guess I'll just take my chances with no insurance and the $199 replacement if something catastrophic happens.