Insurance For iPhones

I love looking at new apps for my iPhone and found a really cool one today.  It’s called ICE (In Case of Emergency) app.  Its sole purpose is to inform emergency personal who to call in case of an emergency.

I had heard of this idea before and even put ICE as a contact in my old cell phones (with my husband’s number) but the iPhone app I found is different.  Not only can you include emergency phone numbers (and email addresses) you can also include:

• Date of Birth
• Height
• Weight (Eek!)
• Medical Conditions
• Allergies
• Whether or not you’re an organ donor
• Medications
• Physicians name
• Insurance provider
• Blood type

I’m lucky enough (crossing my fingers and saying a little prayer) that I don’t have a medical condition, or even an allergy for that matter, but if I did, this app would be ideal.

I spoke with a friend who is a paramedic for a small town and was told they do in fact check phones for this sort of information.  Although I wouldn’t tell my friends to go ahead and throw out their medical bracelets, I believe this is a really great idea.

OK, well maybe not this very minute but it is most likely Apple will be introducing their new baby at the 12:00 pm Central Standard Time!  Can you imagine the line that has formed outside the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco to view what Apple is calling, the ‘Latest Creation’ event.

I’ve spent my morning trying to find a website that will be streaming the live event and believe this site may actually provide a live feed.  Woo hoo!

And last but not least…here are just a few of the specs I believe will be on the new tablet:

• Processor: 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• 64 GB Flash Drive
• 667 MHz DDR2 2 GB Memory
• 9.6” Multi-touch (widescreen) display
• Mac OS X 10.6 Software with touch-enabled interface

We all remember the day we opened that beautiful black box with the little silver apple on the top to reveal our new baby…our iPhone.  Whether it’s the original iPhone, a 3G iPhone or a 3GS…a 4, 8, 16, or 32 GB, we love our iPhones.

Some of us also remember the day we destroyed our baby.  You remember  – you left it in the bathroom while taking a long hot shower, your cat knocked it into the sink full of dishes, you left it alone in the same room as a two year old and there was some sort of liquid within a ten foot radius (WHY IS THIS?!), you decided to take a swim without checking your pockets or if you’re like my mother… you went to use the restroom and forgot to take your iPhone out of your back pocket and watched it kerplunk into the commode.

Since I’m probably the most accidental person known to man I called my homeowners when I got my iPhone back in October.  I was told that yes it would cover my iPhone but was reminded I had $1000.00 deductible.  So, I went online and found a slew of companies offering iPhone insurance.  3 of the companies really stuck to me.  Safeware would insure my iPhone against accidental damage (water damage), theft, fire, flood and all natural disasters for $59.00 dollars a year.   I spoke to someone at Safeware though and was told if I were to damage my iPhone I would have to ship it off to Safeware for them to then ship it off to someone else to fix or decide it needs to be replaced.  No thank you.  I also looked through the Ensquare website and realized the coverage wouldn’t start until 30 days after it was purchased.  Worth Avenue Group coverage starts almost the same days as purchase  and would insure me against accidental damage, theft, flood, fire, vandalism or power surge due to lighting and more  for $55.00 a year.   They also said they wouldn’t ask me to ship me damaged phone to them unless it wasn’t repairable and I was going to get a check to replace my iPhone.

So needless to say, I didn’t have to get rid of my cat or shun 2 years olds AND I can even let me mom borrow my phone…well maybe.

A friend of mine told me about a service plan they just took out when they purchased their iPhone from Best Buy.  They were so excited that I went online to check it out for myself.

At first glance it looked alright to me, but after reading through their terms and conditions I came across a few problems I would have with their claims process.

1) If you have a damaged iPhone, they will try to fix it up to 4 times before they will consider replacing it.  What in the world would I do without my phone while I’m shipping it off up to 4 times and waiting for them to figure out if it can fix or not?

2) When they do decide to replace your iPhone, they can do so by mailing you an iPhone of the same like, kind and quality (and from what I read it will probably be refurbished) or by sending you a gift card to Best Buy.  It bothered me that they wouldn’t just send me a check to buy a new one.  What if I didn’t want to buy another phone from Best Buy?

4) I also read they they would never pay out more than what you originally paid for your phone.  So if they don’t make my phone anymore I’ll have to come up with the difference to buy the newer model?

5) Once they’ve replaced your iPhone the service plan is over, no matter how many months you had left on your contract.

Reading thru their Terms and Conditions made me wonder about my own policy with Worth Ave. Group.  I called and spoke with one of their claims representatives and explained what I had read on Best Buy’s page.  I was reassured that would not be the case with them as I have a policy with Worth Ave Group and not a service plan.  So even if I had three claims in one year the policy would stay in effect.  She also said they my policy is a replacement cost policy.  So I would be paid what it would cost to buy a new iPhone not what I had originally paid or less.  Then she said I would only have to mail in my iPhone if it was being replaced (which is almost always the case with iPhones).  We went over of their coverages so I made a small table showing what Worth Ave Group covered that the service plan doesn’t.

10. It keeps you entertained while you’re having to wait for your oil change or sitting through in a business meeting (although I would NEVER dream of doing this).

9.  The Calendar with the pop up reminders.

8.  The texting is almost like IMing in that you can easily see your previous conversations.

7.  It has a built in GPS, which is great for someone who gets lost…a lot!

6.  You can navigate away from a phone call you’re having, to do something else on your phone.

5. The touch pad…it actually works.

4.  At a church picnic, 15 miles from town and out in Billy Bob’s field, I can tell something the capital of Wessex, England (It’s Winchester by the way).

3.  There’s always a new app to download

2.  It takes great pictures when you accidently leave your camera at home…like at your child’s 5th birthday party.  Oops.

1.  Its idiot proof.  Someone who knows nothing about smart phones can pick up an iPhone and learn how to navigate through it easily.  Even if they get lost somewhere throughout the phone…there’s this beautiful button at the bottom that will zip them right to the home screen.

Rumors are starting to FLY about the iPhone 4G.  From what I have read I’m expecting the 4^th generation (not to be confused with 4G network) to have some really cool features/upgrades like: better graphics, a dual-core processor, enhanced camera, removable battery, video chat and an OLED screen!

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m seriously excited about the OLED screen.

For those of you who don’t know what an OLED screen is, (I didn’t know until about 15 minutes ago), here is Wikipedia definition:

An organic light emitting diode (OLED), also light emitting polymer (LEP) and organic electro luminescence (OEL), is a light-emitting diode (LED) whose emissive electroluminescent layer is composed of a film of organic compounds. The layer usually contains a polymer substance that allows suitable organic compounds to be deposited. They are deposited in rows and columns onto a flat carrier by a simple “printing” process. The resulting matrix of pixels can emit light of different colors.

Such systems can be used in television screens, computer monitors, small, portable system screens such as cell phones and PDAs, watches, advertising, information and indication. OLEDs can also be used in light sources for general space illumination, and large-area light-emitting elements. OLEDs typically emit less light per area than inorganic solid-state based LEDs which are usually designed for use as point-light sources.

In the context of displays, OLEDs have a significant advantage over traditional liquid crystal displays (LCDs). OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. Thus, they can display deep black levels, draw far less power, and can be much thinner and lighter than an LCD panel. OLED displays also naturally achieve much higher contrast ratio than LCD screens using cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlights.

As much as I KNOW I will want this new toy, I’m a little apprehensive as to what the price tag will read.

iPhone  insurance is a special type of insurance that is meant to protect your iphone should it get damaged or stolen.  The majority of insurance companies have very strict policies about what is and is not covered under their insurance plan.   There used to be some homeowner’s policies that would cover an iphone like State Farm but it became cost prohibitive for them to do so and they no longer provide this type of coverage.

If you are an iphone user, you must first understand that when you purchase an iphone….all that comes with it is a warranty against product failures due to normal wear and tear.  80% of iphone product failures are from accidental damage (drops and spills.)

My research has uncovered three companies that provide broader coverage for my iphone.  They are Worth Avenue Group, Safeware and Square Trade.  Please research these policies.  They each are all a little different.  I have found the company that provides the broadest coverage is Worth Avenue Group.  Here are a few of the specifics that induced me to buy the policy:

$50 deductible/incident

Covers theft, fire, flood, natural disasters, vandalism, lightning strikes and accidental damage

Worldwide coverage

No time limit to apply for this policy after my iphone purchase date

Does not limit the number of claims per year

Check out this really cool case for the iPhone!  It actually charges the battery.

The ONLY (and I mean ONLY) thing that frustrates me about my iPhone is the battery life.  It sometimes feels as if my phone is constantly out of juice…especially when I’m listening to a lot of music or reading a book with the Kindle for iPhone app.  So, needless to say, I was really excited about this case.

Here are some of the basics I found:

• Promises the case will double your battery life.
• You can replace your current iPhone case or just slap the Juice Pack on when your battery is low.
• The case is No-Slip Grip and Soft-Touch Rubberized Finish (for people like me).
• Using the included USB cable you can consecutively charge your iPhone and Juice Pack.  It works the same way to allow you to sync to your iPhone to iTunes.
• The Juice Pack is smart enough to tell the iPhone to drain the juice pack of battery BEFORE it drains the iPhone itself.
• The Juice Pack battery is made of lithium polymer which makes it light weight.
• Also protects against shorting out and over charging.
• And last but not least….The Juice Pack has an indicator button.  When pressed it will show the amount of battery life is left on your iPhone.

Many consumers buy extended warranties on high dollar products, like an iPhone, thinking they are protected for any losses they might experience. There are several companies that offer some type of coverage for the iPhone. So, the questions most consumers should ask themselves, what are you looking to cover?

The Apple Store offers the AppleCare Protection Plan. This plan covers defects of the phone and will repair these defects with new or refurbished parts. It also provides technical support coverage for the iPhone and iTunes. However, all iPhones have this coverage included for the first year. And, most manufactured defects would surface during the first year of owning the phone. There is no coverage for Accidental Damage or Theft. This might not be what most consumers are looking for.

You can purchase an iPhone warranty through a company called Square Trade. This company offers an extended warranty. This policy covers the same as the Apple Care but also includes coverage for Drops and Spills. The downside to this policy is the 30 day waiting period after you purchase the policy. If you were to drop your iPhone 10 days after purchasing the policy, you will have no coverage and will have to pay out of pocket for a new phone. The other downside to this policy is that this only provides coverage for one phone. If you file a claim on your damaged or defective phone, you must then purchase another plan to cover the new or replaced phone. This adds additional costs that most consumers would not like.

Another company that offers coverage for iPhones is Worth Ave. Group. This is by far the best option with the best benefits. It not only covers Accidental Damage such as drops and spills but also provides coverage for theft, fire, flood, all natural disasters, lightning strikes and vandalism. It also provides coverage for one full calendar year regardless how many claims you may file. With a low deductible of only $50 and premiums as low as $55 a year! When consumers buy extended warranties this is the type of coverage they are wanting. With a little common sense and some research you can find what type of policy best suits your needs too.

All it took was once!  That is all it took for me to go shopping for iphone insurance after I recently dropped my iphone while getting out of my car.  My screen was shattered!  I’ve heard people say that their phone were still operational at this point but I was not blessed with this luck.

I have always considered myself a careful person but I am clumsy and these types of accidents seem to be typical for me.   My initial assumption was that the apple store could just replace my screen for a nominal charge.  NOT!    I had to replace the ENTIRE phone for $500….but I guess they ARE in the business of selling phones!  What a racket!

So for all you folks out there like me who do drop your iphone every now and then, there is insurance out in cyberspace to cover your negligence.  I just hope you’re pro-active and shop for it before an accident happens to you.  I found an excellent policy from Worth Avenue Group that gives me a sense of security at a very affordable price.