Story by
Matthew Panzarino
Matthew Panzarino was Managing Editor at TNW. He's no longer with the company, but you can follow him on Twitter. Matthew Panzarino was Managing Editor at TNW. He's no longer with the company, but you can follow him on Twitter.
The iPhone has long been treated as its own class of device when being insured on the AT&T network. Because of the phone’s marquee status, it was given its own insurance coverage plan that was offered through an independent company.
Now, AT&T is including the iPhone in its standard Mobile Insurance program alongside other phones, reports Macrumors. The new plan will run you $4.99 with a $50 or $125 deductible to be paid on each claim.
Previously the iPhone coverage on AT&T ran $11.99 per month with a $199 deductible. This was pretty much 100% not worth it because Apple’s practice is normally to replace accidentally damaged iPhones for a flat $199 fee. Normally you would get a refurbished model, but those are normally as good as new.
The advantage to the new plan over just having Apple replace the phone, in addition to saving you between $75-$100 on a claim, is that it would also cover theft and loss. This coverage was offered on the previous $11.99 plan as well. By comparison, an extended warranty from a company like Squaretrade would run you about $50 a year and also offers drops, spills and normal-use failures, but not theft or loss.
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