Cell phone insurance is an insurance product which is designed to provide people with replacements for damaged, stolen, or lost cell phones. Many cell providers offer insurance with their plans, and people can also purchase insurance through a third party agency. Before purchasing cell phone insurance, people should carefully evaluate the plan and read through the fine print, because the insurance policy may carry some hidden surprises.
Like other insurance policies, cell phone insurance is supposed to provide protection for someone in the event that something bad happens. A cell phone can be very expensive, especially if it is a new model with a lot of desirable options, and people may not be able to afford a replacement for a lost, stolen, or damaged phone. With cell phone insurance, customers should be provided with a replacement phone or a cash payment they can use to replace a phone.
One of the problems with cell phone insurance is that the replacement phone will not necessarily be the same model. This may not always be an issue, but it could be a problem if the replacement lacks features which a cell phone user likes to have access to. It may also take some time for a replacement to arrive, despite claims that it will be delivered via next day mail, and sometimes customers have to pay a deductible, which can drive the cost of the replacement up considerably when people consider the monthly payments they made on the insurance plan.
In some cases, insurance for a cell phone can also be redundant. Some manufacturers provide comprehensive product warranties which will guarantee replacement, and third party providers sometimes push their products to consumers who do not realize that their cell phone plan already includes replacement of cell phones. The insurance may also not cover certain devices, and a company will happily sell insurance to someone with a phone which is exempt from the insurance coverage, which is something to watch out for.
When selecting cell phone insurance, consumers should read the fine print so that they understand which devices are covered, and under what circumstances. They should also consider the cost of the phone, and the cost of the insurance plan over time. A plan which costs $5 United States Dollars (USD) every month, a common price for an insurance plan, may not sound very expensive, but that adds up to $60 USD every year!
