Did you get insurance with your Galaxy S8?
There's nothing enjoyable about getting a broken phone replaced. Whether it's from a fall to the ground or a dip in the ocean, non-working phones potentially mean days without a device, an expensive trip to the repair store, and plenty of impatient waiting with no Instagram. 😪
That's why, for some, the prospect of buying insurance with a phone plan is quite attractive. Not only does such a plan cover accidental damage, but in some cases, it protects against stolen or lost devices.
With the Galaxy S8 and S8+, the most expensive phones Samsung has ever made and potentially the least repairable, we began to wonder if insurance rates were taken out more often for the company's newest devices than its older ones or other phones in general.
Phone insurance is tricky, too, because the carriers offer their own "value-added" versions, usually tacked on to the end of a monthly plan. Every carrier offers its own insurance solution now that T-Mobile is in the game, while companies like SquareTrade offer industry-wide protection for all devices.
Finally, there's Samsung Premium Care itself, which at $11.99 per month is expensive, but it extends the Galaxy S8's warranty by a year and offers in-person support and quick replacements.
SquareTrade seems to be a popular option for the S8 because the coverage is good and it's relatively inexpensive — though it keeps prices down by not offering loss and theft protection — but it's limited in the number of claims you can submit per year and has a maximum loss amount.
Asurion, which is used by Verizon, AT&T and Sprint for their white-label insurance products, also seems to be generous with its replacement policy and relatively reliable, if not affordable.
Be an expert in 5 minutes
Get the latest news from Android Central, your trusted companion in the world of Android
Others don't bother with traditional insurance, either; instead, they "self-insure," whereby they set aside a few dollars a month — $10 or so, which is similar to the cost of regular phone insurance — to cover any accidental damage or replacements.
What's your take on phone insurance?
Daniel Bader was a former Android Central Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor for iMore and Windows Central.