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Asurion Warranty is a Scam

busdriver12

I signed up for Asurion's extended warranty for my new iPhone 4s. Phone got some water damage which caused it to fry the phone. I submitted my claim for a new phone and found out the deductible is $169. I only paid $199 for the phone brand new. Why would anyone pay $9.99 a month and still get charged nearly the same amount to replace the phone as to just go buy a new one? DON'T PURCHASE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY - it is a scam!

Comments

acraftylady2

But if your contract is not up for renewel you will not get that phone for $199, it would be way more than $169 out of pocket it would be full retail unless you had an upgrade discount coming so I don't see that as a rip off or am I wrong? Mary

Spiral

Replacement cost of an iPhone 4s (16GB) without insurance would be $649. You are complaining about having to pay maybe $230 (6 months@ $9.99 + $169). Sounds like you neglected to read the terms of the insurance before purchase.

Tidbits

a brand new iPhone 4S is $649 dollars for the 16Gb, $749 for the 32Gb, $849 for the 64gb.

The reason why when you first purchased the device at $199 is because you signed a 2 year agreement which will help the carrier make the money back they subsidize as well a gain profit over those 2 years. When you broke the phone you haven't honored your 2 year agreement yet so you can't get another device subsidized.

kdb1964

That is always a shock when you have to pay so much for replacement when you have been paying so much for insurance each month. The additional blow is when Asurion replaces your iPhone with one of their "rehab" phones. We have had to deal with Asurion in the past and the replacement phones that they send are awful. Then we are stuck trying to get replacements that actually work. And Verizon does the same thing when they replace phones because they are faulty. We bought 3 iPhone 4s in December and have regretted it. They are just a few weeks old and one already stopped working and Verizon is replacing this practically new phone with a used phone that has been repaired. And each time either Asurion or someone from Verizon tech support has given us the speech of how the repaired replacement phone is as good as new and went through the same quality checks as a new phone. But we end up with a faulty phone regardless. You would have the same luck skipping the costly insurance altogether and saving the money. Then you can buy a phone from EBay and stand just as good of a chance that it will work well.

demmo86rt

busdriver12 wrote:
I signed up for Asurion's extended warranty for my new iPhone 4s. Phone got some water damage which caused it to fry the phone. I submitted my claim for a new phone and found out the deductible is $169. I only paid $199 for the phone brand new. Why would anyone pay $9.99 a month and still get charged nearly the same amount to replace the phone as to just go buy a new one? DON'T PURCHASE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY - it is a scam!

I pay $6.99/mo. with a $99 deductible (and that is straight out of the letter from Asurion detailing their new rates), I think the issue is with your phone. Apple has a history of keeping the reigns super tight over their products and may have had some say about the insurance terms. In fact, when the iPhone first came out on AT&T, you couldn't even insure it.

P.S. After thinking about it, I ran back and re-checked the paperwork and yes, the iPhone is once again in a category all by itself. Apparently it is such a magical device that it requires a higher premium and, while that normally means you have a lower deductible, in this case, it is, in fact, higher.

kaebfly

demmo86rt wrote:
busdriver12 wrote:
I signed up for Asurion's extended warranty for my new iPhone 4s. Phone got some water damage which caused it to fry the phone. I submitted my claim for a new phone and found out the deductible is $169. I only paid $199 for the phone brand new. Why would anyone pay $9.99 a month and still get charged nearly the same amount to replace the phone as to just go buy a new one? DON'T PURCHASE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY - it is a scam!
I pay $6.99/mo. with a $99 deductible (and that is straight out of the letter from Asurion detailing their new rates), I think the issue is with your phone. Apple has a history of keeping the reigns super tight over their products and may have had some say about the insurance terms. In fact, when the iPhone first came out on AT&T, you couldn't even insure it.
P.S. After thinking about it, I ran back and re-checked the paperwork and yes, the iPhone is once again in a category all by itself. Apparently it is such a magical device that it requires a higher premium and, while that normally means you have a lower deductible, in this case, it is, in fact, higher.

Actually, if you look at the insurance rates available for AT&T devices you will see that several devices have higher insurance rates and deductibles...not just Apple devices. I used AT&T as an example solely because I was looking at this info with a friend recently while she tried to decide if insurance was worth it for the phone she was getting her teenage niece. This seems to be the case for most providers at this point and the newer smartphone devices. What you don't seem to understand is that if you didn't have insurance and something happened to your device before you were eligible for an upgrade you would NOT be able to pay that new price you see advertised (the 2 year contract price). You would have to pay several hundred dollars more for the full retail price...unless you opened another line to get it at the 2 year price...but then you would either be paying for an extra line for 2 years or you would wait it out and pay an ETF fee to stop paying that monthly fee....in the end you will still pay far more than the 2 year price or the deductible. You can play with a couple of scenarios to make your cost cheaper than full retail, but short of being eligible for upgrade or having someone let you use their upgrade (or like I mentioned, opening a new line to get another phone for the lower price) you will still pay far more then you would if eligible for upgrade. Oh...if you're lucky enough to find a good device for sale by someone then you can pay less than full retail also...but you have to be very careful when it comes to that.

demmo86rt

kaebfly wrote:
demmo86rt wrote:
busdriver12 wrote:
I signed up for Asurion's extended warranty for my new iPhone 4s. Phone got some water damage which caused it to fry the phone. I submitted my claim for a new phone and found out the deductible is $169. I only paid $199 for the phone brand new. Why would anyone pay $9.99 a month and still get charged nearly the same amount to replace the phone as to just go buy a new one? DON'T PURCHASE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY - it is a scam!
I pay $6.99/mo. with a $99 deductible (and that is straight out of the letter from Asurion detailing their new rates), I think the issue is with your phone. Apple has a history of keeping the reigns super tight over their products and may have had some say about the insurance terms. In fact, when the iPhone first came out on AT&T, you couldn't even insure it.
P.S. After thinking about it, I ran back and re-checked the paperwork and yes, the iPhone is once again in a category all by itself. Apparently it is such a magical device that it requires a higher premium and, while that normally means you have a lower deductible, in this case, it is, in fact, higher.
Actually, if you look at the insurance rates available for AT&T devices you will see that several devices have higher insurance rates and deductibles...not just Apple devices. I used AT&T as an example solely because I was looking at this info with a friend recently while she tried to decide if insurance was worth it for the phone she was getting her teenage niece. This seems to be the case for most providers at this point and the newer smartphone devices. What you don't seem to understand is that if you didn't have insurance and something happened to your device before you were eligible for an upgrade you would NOT be able to pay that new price you see advertised (the 2 year contract price). You would have to pay several hundred dollars more for the full retail price...unless you opened another line to get it at the 2 year price...but then you would either be paying for an extra line for 2 years or you would wait it out and pay an ETF fee to stop paying that monthly fee....in the end you will still pay far more than the 2 year price or the deductible. You can play with a couple of scenarios to make your cost cheaper than full retail, but short of being eligible for upgrade or having someone let you use their upgrade (or like I mentioned, opening a new line to get another phone for the lower price) you will still pay far more then you would if eligible for upgrade. Oh...if you're lucky enough to find a good device for sale by someone then you can pay less than full retail also...but you have to be very careful when it comes to that.

Um, I do understand that you would have to pay the full retail price, my original statement was based on an assumption that the OP was exaggerating. My point (admittedly very poorly made) was that one should know what they are getting into before signing up for something. If you sign up for any other insurance, would you not find out beforehand what the payment AND deductible are? I don't disagree with anything you have said in any of your other posts, I pay for insurance on my two main lines 1) for the extended warranty (which I used on both my and my wife's last two phones, and probably on other phones before that) 2) because I work in construction and the chances of harming a phone, no matter how careful you are are higher than normal circumstances and 3) because my wife is notoriously hard on phones (her last one got dropped in the bathtub, fortunately we were due for an upgrade, before that she dropped one in the deep end of the pool, one got lost in a parking lot and run over, one went through the wash and, no, I am not making this up).

As for my other statement, I saw an opportunity to take a dig at the iPhone and took it (I blame the new forum layout for this, normally I would never wander into the iPhone area, but this thread showed up on the main screen and, in a weak moment I clicked on it).

colleencarrigan

The EXACT same thing happened to me. Why does Verizon continue to do business with these grifters? They SUCK!

BDA

If you call Apple within 30 days or go into an Apple store you can buy Apple Care +. Its $99 upfront and they replace the phone for $49, and they cover broken glass now. Comes out to be a lot cheaper in the long run, plus you get Apple Tech support for 2 years so you won't have to call Verizon their non-tech help. I realize its past 30 days now for you but might be helpful for others who are looking to buy an iPhone.

ScottM59

Do u know if we can purchase Apple Care + online?

BDA

I don't think you can purchase it online unless you buy the iPhone directly from Apple. I think that as long as it is within 30 days of purchase you can call them. I did for my wife's phone and it was pretty simple. I think as long as you live 50 miles or more from an Apple store you can do it over the phone. But I'm not 100% about that distance. I live like 200+ miles form an Apple store so it was not an issue for me.

Markazoid

I agree, the insurance is a scam. I signed up with Verizon to get the Galaxy S3. I realize Asurion said that they reserved the right to replace it with a refurbished model, I was OK with that. What I didn't realize is that they would delay the replacement for weeks (It's on backorder...right!) while offering to send me a "comparable phone" if I needed one right away. It's like they're trying to outlast me until I give in and settle for a lesser (read "cheaper") phone. That's support?

demmo86rt

Do you realize how popular that phone is? Not to mention out hasn't been out long enough to build up a good CLNR stock?

Markazoid

I do realize how popular that phone is. I waited for it to come out before making my move to Verizon. I understood that language to read "we reserve the right to replace the phone with a refurbished model if one is available". I see now that I've gone back and perused the 14" x 19" backside of their brochure that is covered with fine type, all to do with Terms and Conditions, that they have given themselves a 30-day window in which to complete their end of the bargain. Once again, when you don't take the time to read the myriad of fine print, you end up paying the price. To that degree, it is my fault. I just find it unconscionable that no one bothered to tell me that Asurion had the option to make me settle for a lesser phone instead or to make me do without it for up to a month when this phone acts as my message center, my lifeline, in essence. As a note, my phone suffered water damage. I dried it out and it now has regained partial functionality. I do outside sales and this has put a serious hitch in my gitalong, but the Galaxy S3 is so superior to any other phone I've owned that I just can't bring myself settle for something else right now!

commonsense101

Be careful of car insurance too.. I have full coverage and when i was in a car accident they didn't fix my car for free either, i had to pay a deductible

Markazoid

The $100 fee was explained to me before I bought the insurance. The waiting period was not. P.S. They fixed my car right away!

notarep

Applecare does not cover lost or stolen, asurion does.

belto

@ScottM59 - I believe you can but the Apple Care online. just got to the website and I believe there is a option from their apple Store. Or you can go to a Apple Store and inquire about it. I just went to the site and found this. I think that the extended Apple Care will give you two years coverage.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/applecare

paarrowood

I do not like the policy that they offer either! I think that since i am paying 10 dollars every month that if I have never had to use my insurance before that the first time should be free not 200 dollars!! That is outrageous! I am very upset about this!

demmo86rt

There is a deductible for EVERY insurance, they are trying to make money too, and it cuts down on the scammers.

belto

My mother had a faulty phone and Verizon replaced it free of charge. I used the insurance and they did not have problem with replacing phone.

demmo86rt

A faulty phone is different from a broken phone. If you use the extended warranty, there is no deductible.

hawkmoon

i completely agree. I have been paying $10 a month for the last 2 years, adn now they are telling me that it is a $200 deductible...the price that I payed! when I bought it, i had an extended conversation with the verizon rep about how they would replace it for free...when I expressed skepticism, he said, well, most people wont game the system because it is such a pain to transfer everything over. Why in the world would I have paid $240 already just so I could pay another $200???

this is not insurance, it is a scam. anybody with half a brain knows that the "$600 retail cost" is complete BS. it's not what the phone is worth; it's an illusion they have created to coerce you into signing a contract. Their cost is, at the highest, the $200 that they charge you when you sign the contract...so assurion buys a crate of phones for $200 each, accepts your premium month after month, and then gets fully compensated if you ever collect. that's not insurance; that is a scam!

and no doubt they give verizon reps a kickback for selling the policy, so they are incentivized to lie...

verizonmoderator1

<This topic has been thoroughly discussed and will now be closed. >

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