Insurance is a Rip Off!

smartone · ‎06-01-2011

I am very upset with how much I have paid into the insurance and the deductible for a new phone and I plan to tell everyone I know to NOT pay for this ridiculous charge!

You pay the $4.99/mo for insurance...your manufacturer's warranty covers the first 12 months for a new phone...but you have to pay the insurance anyway (has to be activated within the first 30 days).

So for 12 months at 4.99 = $59.88. Then your phone breaks, usually just days after the one year mark. So you pay the $50 or more deductible to get a new phone...mine was a Samsung A777, which you can buy NEW for only $20! I could have even added a line to my account, got the phone for free, and still paid nearly the same!!

I will not ever pay for this insurance again and will tell everyone to consider whether it is worth it to them!

coolstorybro · ‎05-03-2011

Is that $20 the discounted price of the phone or full retail? If you added a line then you're under contract for that line for 2 years and you'd be paying 9.99/month for the line on a family plan. Why would you rather pay 9.99/month than 4.99/month for insurance? If your device gets stolen or breaks it's covered under the insurance, the warranty is just for device issues like if it's not charging or the battery is defective, etc. in my opinion i wouldnt have insurance for such a basic phone when i can go on ebay and get it cheaper with no contract or just use a prepaid device if you're just using it for phone calls.

smartone · ‎06-01-2011

I know what you mean, I totally could have got it on ebay for cheaper than what I paid into the insurance. ATT sells it new with a 2yr contract for $20.

The insurance was NOT worth it at all and I have cancelled it and hope everyone considers their own plan and if it is worth it to them.

CollateralDamage · ‎05-02-2011

The deductible is a ripoff. It should be a sliding scale that never charges you more than you paid for the phone. Why is my deductible $125,when I paid $50? They just raised the deductible on smatphones. I guess they werent making enough money already. $125 for a REFURB! Ripoff. When AT&T buys 500,000-1,000,000 phones,they cost them very little compared to what the charge. Profit is good from the phones. $500-600 for a new phone? Ripoff. We have zero choice. Its Asurion or nothing. Not fair..

Printerscape · ‎04-14-2011

Insurance, for electronic devices, are generally rip offs and scams (yes, even those extended warranty insurance Best Buy sells you when you buy a new TV).

Thought everyone in the world would know this by now...

Randall Stephen… · ‎06-09-2011

People who buy phone insurance, are they same ones that opt for undercoating on their new cars!

lpudas · ‎06-18-2009

That's not even the worst part. The replacement phone doesn't have to be new, it's a refurb. My bb 8900 went bonkers just a few weeks before the year's warrenty was up and I ended up with a refurb. Which didn't work right. It ticked me off so bad I left At&t. Bad choice that was. Ah well, life is life. I'm back. There are worse things out there than AT&T. I have my insurance through the dealer and he said even with the warrenty I would get a new phone as a replacement.

JFizDaWiz · ‎10-27-2010

I'd rather pay $5 a month and then $125 for a replacement rather than spending $400-$600 up front for a replacement.

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

Printerscape wrote:
Insurance, for electronic devices, are generally rip offs and scams (yes, even those extended warranty insurance Best Buy sells you when you buy a new TV).

Thought everyone in the world would know this by now...

actually I disagree with the black tie comment, have placed the plans on all major purchases that we have made from best buy. They have always been prompt and dependable for repair work.. After 3 repairs, the 4th repair can qualify for the no-lemon policy. They have stood behind that no-lemon policy 5 times for various major appliances and televisions over the years. Got a credit voucher for the full price that I paid for the original device - and after 3 - 4 years you can get a whole lot more for less, especially in electronics. 300.00 for 5 years coverage on a 3000.00 - 4000.00 dollar tv is a small price to pay for priority service on the device, especially when it is on almost costantly when the kids and the wife are at home

But then I have business associates that believe all forms of insurance are a rip off, including life, health, auto and home owners

JFizDaWiz · ‎10-27-2010

the a777 is actually 179.99. $20 is the discounted price

aristizzle · ‎10-22-2010

what everyone is failing to understand is that what you pay at the store/online/phone with a new 2 year commitment is the SUBSIDIZED price, not the actual price. cell phones do not cost 20.00, we do not live in that age of technology yet. the 20.00 subsidized price you pay is usually anywhere around 200.00-350.00 full price. insurance is replacing your phone either with new or refurbished, whichever is available in their warehouse but you are still getting a COMPLETE replacement of the phone. the 4.99 you pay monthly is to cover you with the insurance plan, but in order to file a claim you have to pay a non refundable deductible. Asurion has the same policy with the other carriers they support, I dont see how this is any different with us.

wilcre · ‎06-01-2004

the only way insurance is not a good choice to take is if you can buy the phone at full retaile for $200 or less after tax. $5 a month for insurance for 24 months plus the deductable and taxs (hence the $200).

AT&T's return policy has changed effective 10/07/12. You have 14 days to return the device & cxl without a ETF. Policy info HERE.

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kctom · ‎08-13-2011

They don't sell insurance because they loose money. Only buy insurance to protect yourself from something that could happen to you that you cannot afford. I hardly believe that the loss of a cell phone falls into that category.

bluedog74 · ‎08-28-2011

If you have a high-end phone, insurance is definitely worth it. Understand, if you lose it or drop it in the kitchen sink water or it's stolen, you get another one for a small deductible price. I have a $650 phone, lost it and had it replaced the next day for a total of $65 including the monthly insurance cost. If I didn't have insurance, it would of cost 10 times that to replace my phone. If you have a cheaper phone, then I wouldn't recommend insurance. Obviously, if you can afford to replace it, you don't need insurance. Me on the other hand, would rather pay $4.95 a month and get a new phone if mine is lost, stolen, broken, or whatever then spend $650 on a new one. This is a subject where you have to balance whether or not it is cost effective to have insurance on your device or not. For me, it is. The insurance program, as far as customer service, is A+. They next day air a new phone the day you talk to them, unless it is later in the evening.

lpudas · ‎06-18-2009

That depends on what your budget is. As has been pointed out, you generally keep a phone for at least 18 mo til you are due for an upgrade. If you have a phone disaster, new phone, much smaller outlay. Different strokes for different folks. If you don't want it, don't get it. What I'm basically saying is that whether I do or don't waste my money on insurance, it really isn't your concern.

kctom wrote:
They don't sell insurance because they loose money. Only buy insurance to protect yourself from something that could happen to you that you cannot afford. I hardly believe that the loss of a cell phone falls into that category.

Irish Rose · ‎11-30-2008

I'm more than happy to pay to insure my iPhone 4 every month. Considering Apple care doesn't cover lost/stolen iPhones, makes it more worth insuring through AT&T for me. I realize everyone's needs are different when it comes to added features such as this one and therefore what seems like a rip off to one person might not be to someone else.

robertallan · ‎08-17-2012

Asurian is a joke and I am surprised At&t would partner with such a program. It's scary that a large company such as AT&T would participate in an insurance claim nightmare. I had water damage on my Iphone which was one month old and I attempted to file a claim. Asurian made it as difficult as possible to file a claim by requiring a notarize affidavit,etc etc...I suspect the goal is that the insured will just blow off filing a claim. Anyway, after doing some checking it would have cost me 199.00 to have the phone replaced by assurian and a long wait. The Apple store charged me 199.00 for a replacement phone and added apple care protection for the same price....I also got a new phone in just 15 minutes which was extremely important it me. Thank you Apple Store.

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

robertallan wrote:

Asurian is a joke and I am surprised At&t would partner with such a program. It's scary that a large company such as AT&T. would participate in an insurance claim nightmare. I had water damage on my Iphone which was one month old and I attempted to file a claim. Asurian madeit as difficult as possible to file a claim by requiring a notorize affidavid,etc etc...I guess they get away with it with withthe goal insured just blows it off. After doing some checking it would have cost me 199.00 to have the phone replaced by assurian and a long wait. The Apple store charged me 199.00 for a replacement phone and added apple care protection for the same price and I got a new phone in 15 minutes. Don't buy the insurance from At&T-it cost more and takes longer to get a phone than just going to the apple store.

All other major providers utilze the same exact company. You are not buying the insurance form att, verizon or sprint, all they are doing is offering and giving you the ability to pay for it through your phone bill. Another thing to remember - Apple care does not cover a lost or stolen phone, you are out of luck on that point. They are two distinctly different plans, for covers warrenty work but not theft / loss, the other does not cover warrenty work replacements and does cover loss of the device

drumn_bass · ‎08-27-2008

1. The claim proccess is the way it is to prevent fraud (which is unfortunately an issue), not to mess with customers.

2. Apple store won't cover anything if the phone is lost or stolen. I agree that for demage and water demage, Apple Care is better and even without one Apple store has an out of warranty replacement program, but those are just iPhones. Assurion covers all phones.

rmartins11 · ‎05-16-2013

We just found out our selves its a huge ripoff. My daughter broke the screen her iphone . My wife and her took it back to the ATT store only to be hit with the deductible of 200.00 bucks. When we bought the phone there was no mention of the deductible and i would be willing to be they dont mention because most would deny it. i'd also would not be surprised they get a nice little kick back form the insurance company. Once we are done with our contract requirements att can kiss us goodbye.

kdfederer · ‎07-20-2008

If you get insurance from any other wireless provider, they have the same rules as they use the same insurance carrier, Assurion. Usually when you sign up for the insurance coverage, you get a pamphlet with your paperwork that spells out deductibles and rules. If you didn't read the paperwork, it is not AT&T's fault that you didn't know.

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

rmartins11 wrote:

We just found out our selves its a huge ripoff. My daughter broke the screen her iphone . My wife and her took it back to the ATT store only to be hit with the deductible of 200.00 bucks. When we bought the phone there was no mention of the deductible and i would be willing to be they dont mention because most would deny it. i'd also would not be surprised they get a nice little kick back form the insurance company. Once we are done with our contract requirements att can kiss us goodbye.

curious - do you have home insurance,or maybe auto insurance - you do realize that there is a deductable there also, why would you assume that this insurance that protects you from the same type of thing would not have a deductable? Did you ask what was the deducatable amount on home and auto?