Insurance
Johannesburg
Newbie

What is the point in having insurance if you are careful with your phone?  I have had this phone for two years and no problems the other day it got rattled and the display connection came loose.  For the past 2 years I have been paying $10 a month and now I am supposed to pay a $99 deductible.  So in total I will have spent $339 for insurance on a phone that when I got it I payed $375 for?!  What the hell is happening?  Are you telling me that the cost of my phone has only gone down by $36 over the past two years?  I understand having a deductible that splits the cost of what I paid and the value of the phone but this is ridiculous.  There has been 2 newer generation that have come out...

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Re: Insurance
Snn5
Legend

That's the gamble.  Just like car and medical insurance.  Phones are no different.  Most people drop insurance completely or down to the $3 extended warranty after a year anyway.  It's up to the user to decide how much coverage, what they are willing to pay, and to know the costs associated with insurance.  Are these things you didn't know about when you signed up for insurance?

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Re: Insurance
Johannesburg
Newbie

That's your answer?! "It's a gamble"? What in the hell are you saying? There's no difference between the $3 insurance and the $10 insurance? So its my fault that I have paid so much so that if something happens to my phone that I will be okay and not have to deal with a lump sum payment.  I know you can buy a new phone for less than the total payed including the deductible.  I understand that it is the point of a business to make money but this is insane.  How is this an acceptable business practice?  This setup acts like the time value of money doesn't exist and that the phone has $0 value.  Profits have and will be made of this transaction even without the deductible.

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Re: Insurance
Snn5
Legend

Let's back it up just a second.  That phone you got on contract, if you did, costs way more over 2 years than the reduced price you got it for.  Technology decreases in value.  Quickly.  $3 is extended warranty.  $10 is accidental lost, damage, theft.  There's a big difference there.  In the end, if you never had an accident, then yes, money is spent.  If you had an accident, the deductible is cheaper than the full price to replace.  After 1 year, the cost of insurance plus deductible starts to outweigh the value of the phone.  In most cases anyway.  But hey, if you are always careful with your phone then you'll never need insurance right?  (Wish it worked that way for all the other times we are so careful, but...ooops.)

Re: Insurance
Johannesburg
Newbie

Does this also mean that the deal that Verizon has with Samsung doesn't have any wholesale retail relationship included in it?  It seems a little absurd that such a large service provider doesn't receive a discount on phones, are they receiving money off of payments alone?

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Re: Insurance
Weth
Legend

Exactly, the replacement cost without insurance is not $375, but more in the range $800!   You need to put the understanding in the light. 

Re: Insurance
Weth
Legend

Verizon does not get a discount, and makes up for the loss over 2 years. That is the reason for the contract.  You end up paying full price anyway, just in a different manner. 

Re: Insurance
Johannesburg
Newbie

You can buy a Galaxy S4 (unlocked) online for $239 which is still less than what I paid in insurance.  They may have been $800 unlocked 2 years ago when they first came out but the price of them has seriously dropped. 

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Re: Insurance
Weth
Legend

more proof that insurance on small items makes no sense.  Especially after 6 to 12 months.