Apple Care: Insurance Protection for New iPhone

Published August 30, 2021

When I bought the iPhone 12, I was coerced into purchasing the insurance. I say coerced because as a general rule, I don’t buy warranties or insurance for devices. I never purchased it when I bought computers, tvs or projectors. Keeping true to myself, I opted not to purchase the AppleCare for the iPhone.

iPhone Insurance Coercion

As the salesman was totaling up the bill, he suggested the insurance. Immediately, I said, “Oh no. No insurance for me.” To which he replied, “Are you sure? This is an expensive device. If you crack the screen and have to replace it, we’re talking almost $400.”

My husband looked at me and said, “You should get the insurance.” With the two men looking at me, I pondered for a moment and then decided to get the insurance. After all, I was putting it on the Apple Pay card and would get 3% back, so I bought the insurance.

Phone Protection: Case and Screen

Along with the phone, I purchased the Belkin glass screen protector. It offered certain warranties so I figured it was strong enough to handle the job.

As far as the case goes, rather than the bulky Otterbox Defender case like I had on my iPhone 6, I opted for something sleeker and more attractive. I purchased a red leather phone case from Apple. The case was not only attractive, it had the magnetic backing to work with the MagSafe charger.

I had my sleek new phone, protected screen and a sleek new case. Life was good.

Taking Photos/Videos of the Kids

Fast forward a couple of weeks as I go for a walk around the lake with my grandkids. We were having a great time and as is my habit, I pulled out my phone to take videos of my little ones as they ran, played and talked. Once I finished taking the videos, I returned the phone to the back pocket of my jeans…or so I thought.

When I heard an odd sound, I realized I hadn’t returned the phone to my back pocket. What I had done was let go of the phone thinking it was in my back pocket when in actuality, it was just outside of the pocket. Yep, it went straight down to the ground.

I bent down, picked up the phone, took a look at the screen and was surprised to see three long cracks across the screen. The Belkin glass screen protector had also cracked. The phone was usable as the cracks didn’t interfere with the functionality, but I was taken aback at how delicate the screen and protector were.

I’ve had similar drops with my iPhone 6 and the screen never cracked. I guess the Otterbox Defender case saved the phone and screen from such a fate.

Insurance I Told You So

The grandkids and I completed our walk and the closer I got to walking in the front door, the larger the dread. I didn’t want to hear the “I told you so” regarding the Apple insurance. Although he didn’t say it…I felt it. I lived with the crack screen for about a week before I went to the Apple site to schedule a repair.

Fortunately, the repair was local and painless. I took it to the nearest Best Buy (an authorized Apple repair shop) and with insurance, the repair cost $29.99 plus tax. Without insurance, it would have cost $329 plus the associated tax.

iPhone Protection Part II

While in Best Buy, I decided to buy another Otterbox phone case. Not wanting the bulky Defender style, I opted to purchase the leather wallet style case . This case is thicker than the red leather case I had, but not nearly as thick as the Defender.

I like the way it looks and the fact that it has a cover means it will protect the screen while in my purse. The wallet case is not compatible with the MagSafe charger, but I’d rather keep the phone intact. I can always charge my phone the old-fashioned way, with the lightning charger.

To complete the protection process, I also picked up another screen protector. This time it wasn’t Belkin. Although Belkin had a warranty, I didn’t want to go through the hoops of filing a claim. I cut my losses and purchased a new screen protector. This new protector has blue light filtering and came with a limited lifetime warranty.

Old Dog, New Tricks

I guess it’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. While I still won’t purchase warranties and insurance for devices like TVs, computers and other somewhat stationary tech devices; a phone, well, that’s a horse of a different color. The likelihood of a covered incident occurring with a phone is much higher than with devices that stay in one place.

If I ever purchase another new phone, I’ll have to open the coffers just wide enough to afford the associated insurance.

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Last Modified: 2 December 2022