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Insurance On Cell Phone? F *K that! |
martin.l
Joined: Oct 17, 2004
Posts: 30
From: england
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I can't say I like paying for the insurance but It can be damn handy. Even if you don't let it out of your sight or are careful about dropping it, it dosnt stop things like what happened to the girlfriend a month ago where the phone was in her handbag which was snatched from her shoulder in a supermarket carpark by somebody leaning out of a car window as they drove past her, or in my own case when two of us where attacked when we come out of a pub by a gang who took anything they could grab. | |
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fatreg
Joined: Jul 26, 2003
Posts: > 500
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id never have a phone without insurance!
ok so say i dont loose it, break it, its gets stolen?
but say on its own accord it decides it doesnt want to work anymore. i know id have warranty, but id have to send my phone away to the respective manufacturer, and it could be away for weeks! or i could alternatively pay an extra £5 a month and get a new phone delivered to my house the next day!
now i know i shouldnt be paying for manufacturers problems, but its one thing this is covered under the big umbrella of insurance!
fatreg
God bless Orange Care!!
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dave_uk
Joined: Mar 06, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: London, UK
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My comments and opinions, as requested by bikeme:
I think you're well over the top mate! In London, for example, mobile phones are THE item most commonly lost/stolen on public transport. It's not for everyone and there is certainly the argument that if you can afford to pay the insurance, you could probably run the risk and afford to buy yourself a new one, but to say that it's "the biggest scam on the planet" and "ALWAYS a bad thing" is stretching a point a bit. The mobile company I work for receives thousands of claims a month and pays out on something like 96% of them. That means the chances of needing a replcement are clearly not "very, very slim".
Yes, you certainly have to weigh up the cost of the cover on offer against the value of your phone and the risk, not forgetting peace of mind as a very important factor to many people (who may or may not lose their phone but probably won't have a spare £100-£500 available at the time to replace it) Either way, as with everything else, it's a subjective thing and dependent on a number of variables, but to be honest, it sounds like you've had a bad experience and you're talking out of your backside in an effort to discredit insurers 
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exilis
Joined: Sep 30, 2002
Posts: 48
From: Dundee, Scotland
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I'm gonna go with the insurance is a good thing in certian circumstances pack too.
I work for a mobile retailer in the UK so it is my job to push insurance to people who buy phones. At first I'll be honest, i was sceptical of insurance, what value can it possibly have etc. But once you see day in day out people coming in with water damaged phones (which our insurance does pay out on), damaged screens (colour lcds ain't cheap to fix), stolen phones the list is endless. Hell I even had a customer who dropped their phone outside the shop, it got run over by a bus so she came straight in and within 15min was walking back out with a working handset.
For some people insurance is well worth it, for others it's not. Besides myself and most of my colleagues recommend customers cancel any insurance after 6 months since anything that is likely to happen, happens in the 1st 6 months |
Lembo
Joined: Mar 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: East London
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I don't know about you but I only pay £50 a year for protection and I find it rather good.
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Phychlone
Joined: Mar 06, 2004
Posts: 29
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Have to defend insurance on this point! O.K so insurance on a mobile phone IMHO is a luxury as a phone can genarally be replaced for a reasonable price. HOWEVER.....when you buy you brand new £250,000 house and don't insure it and some stray firework (fitting for the time of year) lands on your garden shed or roof and sets fire to your beloved house then the fire brigade come and flood your house from the roof down (causing damage to anything not touched by fire) I bet you would be glad that you paid a premium of £300-£500 per year and would be able to pay off your mortgage or replace your home.
BTW if your motor insurance is going up loads and they are telling you it's because you've had a non-fault accident......CHANGE YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY!
Whinge over! Goodnight |
bikeme74
Joined: Jul 11, 2004
Posts: 45
PM |
I understand about the whole home/car/health insurance thing....even though in the end, you will ALWAYS get screwed by the insurance company.
A home I can understand, it's a big investment (recommended!). Health insurance as well (even though the insurance company will make you pay first the high deductible before the claim...this is where they screw you).
Car insurance, perhaps. What's f*k-up is that the insurance company will raise your rate regardless of whose fault it is. If it's not your fault, they will consider you a "magnet" for accidents...because you were involved in the crash, etc. Virtually all Car Insurance Co. does this. They are not stupid and have tons of statisticists working for them on probabilities. Of course they have to screw you first by making you pay the deductible, like health insurance, before your claim....which then have to be verify for honesty (just in case you're trying to screw them).
Insurance on a cell phone? It's a SMALL item which doesn't need insurance. Just my opinion, that's all. I'll get a new cell phone (or my taste for a new model phone will come first) before I even have a chance to use the Lost/Broken Phone Insurance Policy. My advice: Just be careful and don't be in the 1%-5% category of people who tends to lose thing, fall, get into accidents, paranoid, etc.
I guess some people always need a safety net, which is O.K. too....I guess. |
dave_uk
Joined: Mar 06, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: London, UK
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On 2004-11-01 01:11:00, bikeme74 wrote:
I understand about the whole home/car/health insurance thing....even though in the end, you will ALWAYS get screwed by the insurance company. |
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Where is the justification for this? So, the point is clearly, that you DON'T understand. Not everyone gets screwed by their insurance company. Unless you have evidence to the contrary, of course??
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A home I can understand, it's a big investment (recommended!). |
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...contradiction of your previous sentence??
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Car insurance, perhaps. What's f*k-up is that the insurance company will raise your rate regardless of whose fault it is. If it's not your fault, they will consider you a "magnet" for accidents...because you were involved in the crash, etc. Virtually all Car Insurance Co. does this. |
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Precisely, all companies do this. An unfortunate fact of life that you should perhaps get used to, though relevance to a  mobile phone forum is wearing a little thin at this point, so best move on, eh?!
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They are not stupid and have tons of statisticists working for them on probabilities. Of course they have to screw you first by making you pay the deductible, like health insurance, before your claim....which then have to be verify for honesty (just in case you're trying to screw them). |
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statisticians?? oh, never mind! What is the probability, just out of curiosity, that you are making this up as you go along?
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Insurance on a cell phone? It's a SMALL item which doesn't need insurance. Just my opinion, that's all.
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Size is irrelevant (in this context) and they are generally disproportionately valuable for "small items", and yes, it is just your opinion, repeated for the second time for the lazy users among us, no doubt!
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I'll get a new cell phone (or my taste for a new model phone will come first) before I even have a chance to use the Lost/Broken Phone Insurance Policy.
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Good for you - not everyone is that rich (or that fickle) and, just as importantly, some people might actually lose or break their phone...it is just possible...! 
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My advice: Just be careful and don't be in the 1%-5% category of people who tends to lose thing, fall, get into accidents, paranoid, etc.
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More made up statistics - I think that's just about enough of your advice!
If this seems a little harsh, it is just my way of expressing my annoyance with people posting threads that are based on unsubstantiated opinion and yet claiming to be statements of fact. Since this is a forum for like-minded users to help each other by providing the right (or at least not wholly wrong and purporting to be gospel) information, I don't think it's right to use a personal agenda to influence other people in this way.
Just my opinion
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[ This Message was edited by: dave_uk on 2004-11-01 00:41 ] |
bikeme74
Joined: Jul 11, 2004
Posts: 45
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Whoa! Take it easy dave_uk. Did you eat you Cheerios this morning??? How old are you?
That's why I posted this topic in General Discussion>General>”for threads that don't fit into the other categories.” Read at your own risk.
1) I stated my opinion. I don't like insurance on cell phone. It doesn't make sense to me, especially on a small item that I can replace if I ever lose it. Actually, it gives me an excuse to get a recent model. I am a careful person. I like to believe that the world is made up of careful mined people, more than the careless. If you’re a careless person, then you don’t deserve a nice phone. I believe people on ESATO treat their phone like a baby, better than their girlfriends.
2) I tried to pull in examples – something big such as home/car insurance (which by law, one must have) versus something small like a cell phone or electronics/TV (which I don’t think is really necessary). How does one get screwed by the insurance company? Well, it’s call deductibles. Example: health insurance – you pay a certain amount each month. If you get hurt, the insurance company should take care of the bill, right? Well, if it cost $1200 and you have a $1000 deductible, the insurance company pays the $200; you still have to pay the $1000 out of your own pocket. What’s the purpose of insurance again??? If the cost is $5000, then that’s a different story. That’s where people who are good with statistics/probabilities come to work for insurance company in order to figure out the amount you must pay each month. In the end, the insurance must come out on top in order for it to exist. I DON’T NEED TO PROVIDE the evidence. If you are educated, this should be common sense to you.
3) I invited people to give their opinion on this issue. I knew that this topic would invite people in. Opinions are welcome on ESATO, opinions create discussion, and therefore the FORUM exists. If you follow someone’s advice on this forum (someone you don’t even know) without doing your own extra research, then you’re an absolute moron. Most comments on this forum are opinionated anyways.
4) I know that cell phone insurance is different than insurance for your health (no deductible). My reasoning: if you are a careful person, you don’t need insurance on a cell phone. If you have insurance and are making a claim, the amount of money you paid on insurance is equivalent or close to the price of a new phone. Another con to this is that you have to prove that you lost the phone or broke it. For me, it’s not worth the hassle. If I lost my phone, I want a recent newer model. I don’t want my old phone back because it’s probably outdated.
I guess it depends on how you judge yourself. Are you a careful person? Do you treat you baby right or do you like to be rough with her?  Do you always forget about her at public tables, drop her, etc.
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martin.l
Joined: Oct 17, 2004
Posts: 30
From: england
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My reasoning: if you are a careful person, you don’t need insurance on a cell phone. If you have insurance and are making a claim, the amount of money you paid on insurance is equivalent or close to the price of a new phone. Another con to this is that you have to prove that you lost the phone or broke it. For me, it’s not worth the hassle. If I lost my phone, I want a recent newer model. I don’t want my old phone back because it’s probably outdated.
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As I said earlier, how does being carefull stop a handbag being snatched, what was she meant to do? Hang on to the bag and get dragged along by the moron in the car?
As for the cost, I pay £5 a month or £60 for the year. Since when can you get a P910i for that price? I'd be lucky to get a second hand P800 for that!
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kimcheeboi
Joined: Dec 19, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Abducted by hot blondes to Les
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On 2004-11-01 04:58:22, bikeme74 wrote:
Whoa! Take it easy dave_uk. Did you eat you Cheerios this morning??? How old are you?
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Making fun of him because he proved you wrong atm doesnt make you seem any smarter. In fact, it makes you look extremely childish and like a complete fool (i would know, too  ).
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That's why I posted this topic in General Discussion>General>”for threads that don't fit into the other categories.” Read at your own risk.
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Read at your own risk would be the garbage threads, and the fact that you posted in the General Forums doesn't make any difference--it neither strengthens or weakens your claims.
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1) I stated my opinion. I don't like insurance on cell phone. It doesn't make sense to me, especially on a small item that I can replace if I ever lose it. Actually, it gives me an excuse to get a recent model. I am a careful person. I like to believe that the world is made up of careful mined people, more than the careless. If you’re a careless person, then you don’t deserve a nice phone. I believe people on ESATO treat their phone like a baby, better than their girlfriends.
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What does the manner in which we treat our phones have to do with insurance being a scam to take our money? And if we really cared for our phone, isn't it just as likely that we would buy insurance, just in case?
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2) I tried to pull in examples – something big such as home/car insurance (which by law, one must have) versus something small like a cell phone or electronics/TV (which I don’t think is really necessary). How does one get screwed by the insurance company? Well, it’s call deductibles. Example: health insurance – you pay a certain amount each month. If you get hurt, the insurance company should take care of the bill, right? Well, if it cost $1200 and you have a $1000 deductible, the insurance company pays the $200; you still have to pay the $1000 out of your own pocket. What’s the purpose of insurance again??? If the cost is $5000, then that’s a different story. That’s where people who are good with statistics/probabilities come to work for insurance company in order to figure out the amount you must pay each month. In the end, the insurance must come out on top in order for it to exist. I DON’T NEED TO PROVIDE the evidence. If you are educated, this should be common sense to you.
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First of all, any good argument is supported with good evidence. You can't prove anything without evidence cand call it 'common sense.'
So what do these deductibles have to do with cell phones, anyways? You just said that cell phone insurance is a scam, then explained that the scam is a deductible, but isn't that a bit more relevant to home and health insurance than cell phone insurance? T-mobile, AT&T, and Cingular all have insurance plans, and you don't pay a deductible if you lost/break/damage your phone. You're quite all over the road on this one.
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3) I invited people to give their opinion on this issue. I knew that this topic would invite people in. Opinions are welcome on ESATO, opinions create discussion, and therefore the FORUM exists. If you follow someone’s advice on this forum (someone you don’t even know) without doing your own extra research, then you’re an absolute moron. Most comments on this forum are opinionated anyways.
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Opininated as in the way you are being opinionated? Not having done research, just like you? You don't even have evidence, you claim you don't need evidence, and then you claim you need evidence. So we're supposed to give our opinions, but we're too opinionated?
And speaking of getting help, what does the fact that we do or do not know someone have to do with taking the advice they give us? Maybe we shouldn't listen to the  service center because we don't know them?
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4) I know that cell phone insurance is different than insurance for your health (no deductible). My reasoning: if you are a careful person, you don’t need insurance on a cell phone. If you have insurance and are making a claim, the amount of money you paid on insurance is equivalent or close to the price of a new phone. Another con to this is that you have to prove that you lost the phone or broke it. For me, it’s not worth the hassle. If I lost my phone, I want a recent newer model. I don’t want my old phone back because it’s probably outdated.
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So you contradict yourself again. If there's no deductible, where's the scam?
And for 100 USD or 60 pounds a year, we can buy insurance. How can we replace a p910 for that little money? Wouldn't proving that you lost a phone be a bit easier than earning all that money back, just so you can buy another phone?
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I guess it depends on how you judge yourself. Are you a careful person? Do you treat you baby right or do you like to be rough with her? Do you always forget about her at public tables, drop her, etc.
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so if you can take care of your phone, then you don't get insurance. If you do get insurance, then its because you feel that you need it, not because you're ignorant (as you've repeatedly implied).
so allow me to end with a dave_uk quote:
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If this seems a little harsh, it is just my way of expressing my annoyance with people posting threads that are based on unsubstantiated opinion and yet claiming to be statements of fact. Since this is a forum for like-minded users to help each other by providing the right (or at least not wholly wrong and purporting to be gospel) information, I don't think it's right to use a personal agenda to influence other people in this way.
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[addsig] |
saqibq
Joined: Nov 20, 2003
Posts: 184
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wts all the debate about.. i have free insurance on my fone.. in my country any product u buy from this store ccalled Jumbo electronics above 250dhs.. :: 67 Dollars is insured.. i dont have to worry even its a low end cheap model... eveythings insured.. I am happy.. And i got my p900 replaced which i damged my self without Insurance.. just used my rite of warranty.. hehe.. BTW Insurance is good.. i vote for it.. a little extra.. But better safe then sorry |
Sammy_boy
Joined: Mar 31, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Staffordshire, United Kingdom
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@saq - I remember Orange UK also insured phones free for a year a while back - it's a shame they still don't! I wish phone companies still did what they do in your neck of the woods with regards to insuring products.
I guess they realised they could make more money by selling the insurance rather than including it 'bundled' with a new phone and contract 
"All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke
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bikeme74
Joined: Jul 11, 2004
Posts: 45
PM |
I don't know.....is bag snatching common in England/Europe??? I've never heard of so many compaints about bag snatching. I live in Los Angeles (I thought L.A. was worst in crimes) and I've never seen a bag snatcher in action once. Then again, I don't carry a bag. I keep my phone in my front pant pocket. Anyone who reach their hand in that area of my pants....and I'm going to break their fingers off.
My assumption NOW I guess, is that a lot of people depend on/ride the train in Europe, thus the high bag snatching/phone theft crimes. Nobody walks in L.A.! Most people DON"T ride the stupid train either (is there one here?)....or use public transportation/bus (disgusting!!!) I only see poor people and immigrants use public transportation/bus here...and no, I'm not making fun of them. That's just how it is. Everybody has their own car here.
In that sense, then maybe in Europe it's better for people to get insurance. I don't think insurance is for me...and I don't know of anyone (my friends) with insurance. I've never met another American who loves to pay his insurance company or one who thinks insurance companies are good people.
@kim chee boi
Are you bored and trying to start a flame war? If I state my opinion, I have to back it up???? I'm just tell people what I think of insurance. You don't have to agree with me. Everything on this forum must be factual right? If someone tells you something like "go buy this," are you going to go out and buy it without doing the research yourself? I hope not. That was my line of thought. You need to re-read my post carefully.
[ This Message was edited by: bikeme74 on 2004-11-01 11:41 ] |
jcwhite_uk
Joined: Feb 18, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Dorset, UK Phone:Xperia Z1
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I have insurance on my S700i. If anything happens to it then I dont want to have to pay £500 to get another one.
About a year ago I had my p800 in my hand (I am very protective of my phones) while getting out of my car but dropped it by accident. It cost me my £15 excess charge to get the screen repaired as it was smashed but would have cost me £150 to get it done properly so the warrenty wasnt void. Over the year I think the insurance cost me £30 so I saved £105 on the repair.
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Posted: 2004-10-31 20:59
