How To Protect Yourself Against the Loss of an iPhone

Chris Page July 19, 2013 in iPhone - 3 Minutes

You have done it. You have bought the latest iPhone. You are so excited to use it you can hardly wait. So excited, in fact, that your hands are trembling a bit. Trembling just enough, that is, that when you go to turn the iPhone on, you drop it on the hot concrete parking lot and shatter it into a thousand pieces right outside the cell phone store.

You might think that in such a case, the broken iPhone could possibly be covered under your 1 year warranty. But Apple’s 1-year limited warranty specifically states that it does not cover “damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, liquid contact, fire, earthquake or other external cause.” So what are you to do now? iPads and iPhones are wonderful and useful pieces of technology, and yet even though they are for the most part fairly durable products, it is still quite common for them to wind up busted beyond repair. Nothing is more frustrating than a broken iPhone or iPad. There are some simple steps you can take to avoid losing hundreds of dollars if it does happen.

First, as stated above, Apple does provide a limited warranty for the first year after purchase, and 90 days of free technical support. Be sure to educate yourself on exactly what this warranty will cover. If your broken iPhone or iPad happens to be the result of a manufacturing defect instead of an accident, Apple will very likely repair or replace the product. You can also purchase Care Plans from Apple to extend these services for greater lengths of time, but this is not recommended since it is very unlikely a manufacturing defect will take effect after a year of use.

In reality, you are better off purchasing third-party insurance or product replacement plan for the iPhone or iPad. These will be your best protection in the event of a broken iPhone or iPad. If you bought the device from a retailer, such as Best Buy or Amazon, it is very possible they will have a replacement policy available. AT&T and other major carriers generally offer a third-party insurance for products purchased through them as well, though typically between the cost of the insurance itself and the deductible, these tend to not save you very much money. In fact, in some cases, using the phone carrier’s recommended insurance plan will lock you into a plan that will only replace your device with a “comparable device,” so you may have little flexibility if you need to file a claim. Shopping for an independent insurance plan, like that from Worth Ave. Group is most likely going to be your best bet. These plans can come with very low deductibles and are almost always much more affordable than any offered by the big retailers. A broken iPhone doesn’t have to cripple you if ti does occur, and it won’t if you take the proper steps to get it insured.