[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] KT:
My 2 cents from my prev experience

Having dealt with the insurance company for a water damaged phone, I found out the following which was neither a blinding flash of the obvious nor well articulated (basically was in fine print.. big surprise) and so I thought I'll share this experience -

It's not as seamless as they make it sound. Especially getting the process initiated.

* When I called Tmob asking what my options were they said I could get a new device or pay the difference and upgrade to a newer model that may interest me.

* When I went to the store to do the needful, not only did they deny either of those as an option but also said their job is to only SELL the insurance and that I have to file a claim with the insurance company. This is where they tried putting the monkey on the other guy's back and tried their level best to escape the situation. :eek:

* I requested if I could call the insurance company using the store phone. The guy tells me with a smile on his face "I'm sorry you'll have to use your own phone." And this is while I'm holding a soaked phone. :(

*Anyhoo, I did some brain damage trying to get the insurance company on a line and this is what I find out -

"I am eligible for an exchange phone. does not mean they will replace my phone with a new phone; could be just as easily a "refurbished" phone. Moreover, tmob's claim that i could pay the diff and upgrade - yeah!, not so much... Insurance company told me that's not an option if filing a claim with this company (php or whatever their name is)."

Now as a financial analyst, I'd put my money on they would much rather inventory the return/refurbished devices in the initial few months of launch to service genuine victims 14 months down the lane; as against provide free upgrades to a Note 3. Especially given how desperately they try to create new revenue streams outta thin air; case in point, their "unlimited" data..

Anyhoo, my bias aside, only coz my experience was bad doesn't mean yours would be too... Just wanted to share my experience sicne rubber did meet the road here and let's just say there was a lotta screeching and burning smell :D

In my case what finally paid off is me following up with Tmob, yelling at them, making them realize that Ive been a customer for 5 yrs and have had enough of this crap and will right that minute cancel my business and go elsewhere (wasn't bluffing so was okay if they called me on it).. Instead they sweetened the deal quite a bit, did not take me through the crappy insurance route and gave me a good price on the upgrade.

Bottomline - would it have worked? Probably! Is it worth giving my $7 to a company that makes me feel ****ty when I need their service? Probably not!!

My takeaway from this experience was simple - Unlike some of the other forms of insurance (auto, home, renters, etc) phone insurance has not evolved enough for it to be a valuable product. I'd much rather hedge my options in other ways coz even $7 a month isn't a small amt. It's almost $100 just by itself over the aforementioned 14 months. Then a $130ish deductible and you end up with a refurbished version of a phone you first bought a year back?!?! There's gotta be a better math to adopt... :)

Cheers! :cowboy: