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A phone insurance policy can protect your phone from spills, drops, falls, and other damage, as well as theft and loss. While most cell phone companies offer phone insurance, there are other routes you can go down.
There are three ways to purchase coverage for your phone: through your home or renters insurance company, your cell phone company, or a specialized gadget insurer.
If you have home or renters insurance, you likely already have limited coverage for your phone if it’s stolen or damaged in an event covered by your insurance, like a fire or storm. But it won’t cover your phone if you lose it, drop it or accidentally damage it. Plus you’ll likely have to pay a deductible to replace it.
But some insurance companies will let you add your phone on as a scheduled item. This means that it gets extra coverage for it if it’s dropped, gets water damage, is lost or is otherwise damaged — and many policies have a small deductible, or no deductible, for scheduled items.
Adding your phone as a scheduled item is often one of the cheapest ways to insure it, but not all home or renters policies will allow it. Talk with your insurance company to find out if you can add your phone to your policy.
Many major cell phone companies offer insurance plans when you buy a new phone.
Before you purchase a policy through your cell phone company, keep these things in mind:
A number of new insurers have recently hit the scene to take advantage of the fact that nearly everyone carries an expensive smartphone. They specialize in insuring expensive portable equipment like mobile phones, tablets, laptops and cameras.
Big insurers in the US include Trov, Squaretrade and Asurion. Purchasing a policy from one of these insurers is relatively easy. Just go to their website, answer a few basic questions about your device and its value, get your quote and pay.
While policies differ from one insurer to the next, you can get coverage for these events:
It depends on several things. Consider how likely you are to damage or lose your phone, whether you can depend on the manufacturer’s warranty, how able you are to pay the premiums and deductibles, how much your phone is worth and how important your phone is to you.
While the right plan can be a great idea for protecting an expensive new phone, it might not be worth it if you plan to upgrade in a few months anyway.
If you have an expensive new phone, your warranty and current renters or home insurance likely won’t cover repairs if you drop it or get it wet. But you can compare home insurance policies to find an insurer that will let you add your phone to your coverage. Alternatively, you can purchase a separate policy from a private insurer or your cell phone company.
Picture: Getty Images
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