Imagine a peaceful morning. You’re walking to the office, enjoying the fresh air and a light, refreshing drizzle foreshadowing a productive day. As calm as can be, you know nothing about the insidious cobblestone willing to knock you down.
You’re about to enter the office building, suddenly slipping on one of the last wet cobbles. Your iPhone hits the floor with a bang that marks your little electronic companion’s immediate, premature, and oh-so-painful death.
Could you have prevented it? That is out of the question. Could you have dodged the financial bullet, though? Absolutely. You would have gotten your iPhone replaced if you had insured it when it was still alive. The only way out now is to learn about iPhone insurance to avoid making the same mistake twice. But wait, do people even insure their phones?
Around 35% of iPhone owners have their devices insured, and the number keeps growing as new models hit the market. iPhone 13 starts at a whopping $999, so it’s no surprise lucky iPhone owners want to protect their iPhones against cracks, scratches, touchscreen issues, and more severe adversities like loss or theft.
Okay. Now that you know that things like iPhone replacement and insurance are real – and very practical, for that matter – it’s time to move to uncover the gist of it.
iPhone insurance covers replacement costs if your shiny one is broken, stolen, or lost. Besides physical damage, it usually encompasses malfunctions coverage, loss insurance, and theft insurance.
No phone is immune from manufacturing defects. Poor battery life, app crashes, overheating, slow download, unstable Wi-Fi connection, and malfunctions won’t cost you a dime as long as you’re covered.
Considering there’s a non-zero chance that your iPhone will be stolen, theft insurance may also come in handy – at least to grant you the peace of mind you deserve. However, you must remember that theft coverage excludes negligence, like if you left your phone unattended.
Loss insurance coverage reimburses your iPhone’s value if lost, but not without nuances. For example, AppleCare+ (we’ll review it later) requires you to have your smartphone’s ‘Find My iPhone’ feature enabled. Otherwise, the coverage will be forfeited.
There’s no such thing as ‘comprehensive coverage’ for iPhones, but – per the standard iPhone warranty issued by the manufacturer – every iPhone comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a year of hardware repair coverage.
The repair cost starts from a few dozen dollars and goes up to $500 (and sometimes beyond), depending on your iPhone’s model and the type of malfunction you’re experiencing.
The default official insurance for all Apple products is AppleCare, which lasts 90 days and – besides complimentary support – covers defects in materials and operation. However, if the device was jailbroken or unauthorized software was installed, AppleCare will be voided.
Likewise, water damage is not covered.
If you want to go the extra mile with your iPhone insurance, you can opt for the extended version of AppleCare – AppleCare+. It lasts two years and encompasses everything AppleCare provides, plus two accidents. AppleCare+ may be just what you need unless you are a tempered iPhone beaker.
Here’s what you can cover with AppleCare+ (on top of AppleCare):
AppleCare+ excludes damage from fire, earthquakes, and other natural calamities.
How much does AppleCare+ cost? It depends on the model of your iPhone.
| iPhone Model | AppleCare+ | AppleCare+, including theft and loss coverage |
| iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max | $9.99 per month or $199 for a 2-year plan | $13.49 per month or $269 for a 2-year plan |
| iPhone 14 Plus | $8.99 per month or $179 for a 2-year plan | $12.49 per month or $249 for a 2-year plan |
| iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 12 | $7.99 per month or $149 for a 2-year plan | $11.29 per month or $219 for a 2-year plan |
| iPhone SE (3rd generation) | $3.99 per month or $79 for a 2-year plan | $7.49 per month or $149 for a 2-year plan |
When choosing your coverage, pay attention to the model of your iPhone. Old iPhones (model 8 and back) are covered with glass and therefore are more vulnerable, whereas all new models are more crack and water-resistant (not necessarily waterproof, though).
Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and other carriers offer all existing types of mobile phone insurance, which you can choose based on the coverage type, price, and quality of customer service.
Important: With Apple, if your phone is ‘totaled,’ you’ll likely get a new iPhone immediately in the store. With your cell provider, however, you may have to wait until the new phone is delivered, but you may not get a phone of the same quality.
But then again, the matter of choice is subjective and mostly boils down to your personal experience with your carrier.
Whether you’re not satisfied with classic iPhone insurance or want to dig deeper than most customers, you can opt for a third-party company that specializes in iPhone insurance.
The most popular third-party companies that provide iPhone insurance are Asurion, GoCare, SquareTrade, Protect Your Bubble, and Safeware. None of them will offer you new types of coverage, but that doesn’t mean you can’t save money with a more affordable third-party iPhone insurance policy.
Besides, there’s a chance your traditional insurance company – the one you bought your auto or homeowners insurance from – will also offer you some mobile coverage policies.
With all that being said, there are a few nuances to take into account:
Most iPhone insurance policies have several significant exclusions: theft while unattended, carelessness, water damage, and untimely reporting. Now, let’s elaborate on each of the mentioned.
If you tend to leave your phone unattended, iPhone insurance won’t help. Theft, while unattended, is excluded from all policies.
The same goes for carelessness. If you climbed a mountain with your phone in the pocket and it got scratched or cracked, it will likely be your – not the insurer’s – problems.
Some policies include water damage insurance, which is mostly excluded from coverage. The lack of ‘reasonable care‘ may be why the insurer refuses to replace your loss.
Unless you want to gamble with your coverage, make sure to report the missing iPhone first thing. No reporting or a delay for more than 12 hours will put your coverage at risk.
Insurance policies are tricky, and iPhone policies are no exception. Before we wrap it up, we want to remind you of these surprising nuances:
Proceed from your risk tolerance, taking into account the price of your phone and whether you are prone to breaking phones. Even broken glass on your iPhone can cost a few hundred dollars, so try to conduct an accurate risk assessment.
The final piece of good news would be that unlike other types of insurance – auto insurance, for example – iPhone insurance doesn’t factor in your claims history. In other words, even the most avid phone droppers don’t have to overpay for their iPhone insurance.
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Oleksandr is an expert in deep research. He covers various insurance topics across verticals, adopting to every local law.
