I have been doing reading and researching this issue. and came to a happy conclusion. State Farm insruance will insure any item with value of 500 dollars or more. they happily insured my iphone for 30 dollars a year zero deductable!!!! thats right. complete coverage for loss, theft ,accidental damage as well as manufacturer problems... 2.50 a month isnt bad for peace of mind. i didnt have any policys with state farm, i just called my local office out of the blue and they insured it.
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You guys want 100% complete coverage insurance????
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nice, just called my local state farm and they gave are going to cover my phone for $600 with no deductable for $15/year!!!
niiiiiice. $1.25/month insurance! woot
niiiiiice. $1.25/month insurance! woot
my state farm guy is getting back to me...he says generally they don't do personal property under $1000, but he's looking into it.
Just call the company that you use for car or home insurance and ask them if they can put something together for you.
I have State Farm life insurance and car insurance. I have been with them for close to 20 years - they will not cover my iPhone (without a $500 co-pay).
Liberty Mutual offered us a very similar deal. 100% coverage, no deductible for under $50 a year...and that's for two iPhones. Covers damage, loss, theft, dropping it in a lake, etc. I have about $3500 in camera equipment on a similar plan.
This idea is kind of crazy to me. Even if you get your insurance company to write a rider for a 600.00 device- do you have any idea what this might do to your insurance (like your homeower's policy) if you ever turned in a claim?
You might get a check for 600.00 for your iPhone and then see your homeowners go up a 100.00 a month for turning in a claim. Not to mention the next time your shopping for a insurace policy and they ask "have you ever turned in a claim in the last 3/5 years?"... you would have to answer yes and explain... and get a higher quote.
An iPhone is not a requirement for people to own and they should be able to absorb the loss of it and replace it if its lost or stolen- of they should not have it in the first place...
You might get a check for 600.00 for your iPhone and then see your homeowners go up a 100.00 a month for turning in a claim. Not to mention the next time your shopping for a insurace policy and they ask "have you ever turned in a claim in the last 3/5 years?"... you would have to answer yes and explain... and get a higher quote.
An iPhone is not a requirement for people to own and they should be able to absorb the loss of it and replace it if its lost or stolen- of they should not have it in the first place...
Shady insurance carriers may vary, but as long as you don't abuse the system with 2-3 claims over a few years, you won't have a problem with rates going up. That's especially true if they're also insuring your house and car. I know this from first hand experience with camera equipment. Didn't have my rates go up at all. Just don't abuse the system. They'll know if you do.
Personal property riders have been around for a looong time for jewelry and electronics.
Good points. I always thought this would be the case if I ever collected on a claim.
I am just going to eat it if I lose my iphone for now.
There is no such thing as a free lunch and while in theory iphone ins. should cover you, it may be penny wise pound foolish....
The CLUE database will get you, and a single claim can be something you will have to disclose on the sales form (since it becomes a mark against the property which can cause serious issues with the next sale/purchase.)
If it ups my rates how is this the result of a shady ins. agent?
Interesting Sun Baked, I just googled it and I am reading more about CLUE.
I've made one claim with State Farm in about 17 years. I had a load shift in my jeep and it bent the hinges on my tailgate.
Had to get the whole thing redone because the bolts wouldn't come out.
I got the work done, faxed them the documents, and less than a week later I had my check.
My rates haven't gone up a penny and that was 4 years ago.
http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/seller-careplus-overview
Just got off the phone with this company and the offer a plan with accidental damage coverage for $125 for 3 years for the $500 4 gb iphone. I asked and that covers all accidental damage including water damage. Seem worth it?
Just got off the phone with this company and the offer a plan with accidental damage coverage for $125 for 3 years for the $500 4 gb iphone. I asked and that covers all accidental damage including water damage. Seem worth it?
i do this with all my high value electronics... Best part is that the rate dosen't go up all that much for adding even more things...
Along with the standard stuff and expensive personal items, my personal articles policy has my laptops, iphone, DSLR and lenses, and a few other misc. things... We pay about $120/year with $0 deductable through State Farm.
Along with the standard stuff and expensive personal items, my personal articles policy has my laptops, iphone, DSLR and lenses, and a few other misc. things... We pay about $120/year with $0 deductable through State Farm.
I've had similar experience with my insurance company. I really don't understand why people think that their rates are going to go up if they make a single claim on a $600 iPhone. That's simply not how insurance works unless you have a bad history. $600 is really chump change to these insurance companies. The key is to not abuse the system. I almost think it's dumb for someone to NOT get something like the iPhone insured if they have the option with their renters or homeowners insurance. I wouldn't leave home with my DSLR cameras and lenses if I didn't have insurance coverage. I consider it a no-brainer. To each their own I guess.
I don't think there is 1 STATE FARM. Each office can probably decide to insure it or not as they see fit.
Call another agent.
I have a couple coworkers who do photography. I do it just for fun but do own some DSLR equipment. They told me all their equipment is insured. They told me they wouldn't dream about going to a shoot without it being insured.
I had the same first reaction as some here. Wouldn't dream about making a claim as the fear of my rates being raised but they have had to replace a few pieces of equipment and never had a problem.
I still haven't done it but guess there are some success stories out there with insurance
I am an Insurance agent and while you are probably right the company your with would not raise your rates for one claim. However you would not be able to switch companies for a least three years. Insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, American Family and many others will not insure you as new business if you have a cliam no matter how big it is. And lets say you put in a cliam for your iphone for $600 and six months later need to put in a cliam for $10,000 now you have 2 cliams within six months and you could be in trouble. If your insurance carrier drops you at renewal, and with 2 claims in six month's the very well might, now you will need to go into the high risk market and pay alot more for not as much coverage until the first claim drops off after 3 years. Maybe its because I am an insurance agent but I dont think it's worth the risk. You could get insurance on the iphone a square trade for $125 for 3 years and not have to worry about. Thats only $42 a year and you would'nt have to worry about it. Why would'nt you do that?
The best advice, get an insurance agent you trust (though some people would say that's an impossible request) and have them review your individual situation to determine the best way to get all your needs covered. If you don't like what they have to offer you, don't buy it.
It took me several tries, but I finally found an agent I like. My homeowners, business, and personal articles policies were rewritten to all be with different companies.
In my agents words "Necessary, no. For the extra little bit a year is it a good idea? Yes." Unless you're terribly unlucky, a legitimate claim on your personal articles policy shouldn't cause severe adverse reaction.
But as she explained, worst case with a large claim on one of my personal articles polices -- I get cut a check and they refuse to rewrite the policy. Unfortunate, but hardly comparable to getting a notice of non-renewal on my homeowners and then finding no other company with cover me.
Just look at the rates -- $3/year posted here for each $100 personal articles, my homeowners is roughly $0.20/yr per $100. Since rates are based on risk, it seems clear personal articles policies have a higher risk (deductibles, size of average claim relative to full policy value, etc. do come into play -- but still a big difference) and thus are more likely to have claims filed. So adding that rider to your homeowners means you're increasing the likelyhood of having to claim against your homeowners.
Keeping the personal articles seperate (in my state and with the insurers I checked with) makes claims on those not count against current or future homeowners -- and they needn't be disclosed on homeowners applications. Obviously claim history is requested on new personal articles policies.
By using one agent that writes with multiple companies, I end up with a rate that's about halfway between everything individual and everything with one company.
Generally no insurer has a policy against writing small personal articles -- it's the agent that refuses. They make their living by writing policies, and it's not cost effective to spend the time to write John Doe-New-Customer a $15 a year policy. If you don't have homeowners or some other policy to start off and an agent tells you it's not possible, just try another. Eventually you'll get one that's willing to do it. Or try larger shops where the agents are more likely to be salaried and don't really care what the policy is.
You'll save money if you do the legwork to buy your policy from an insurance company or agent directly rather than through a firm that specializies in covering cell phones and the like. All they're doing is packaging the many smaller policies and then shopping themselves around on the reinsurance market -- and making their profit in the middle.
And in my experience, the claims process is easier and quicker. When I claimed through a cell phone specialist, I had to jump through falming hoops and still got screwed in the end. My "normal" insurance claims were either done quickly just over the phone, or I only had to fax a police report and/or affidavit and had my check within days.
It took me several tries, but I finally found an agent I like. My homeowners, business, and personal articles policies were rewritten to all be with different companies.
In my agents words "Necessary, no. For the extra little bit a year is it a good idea? Yes." Unless you're terribly unlucky, a legitimate claim on your personal articles policy shouldn't cause severe adverse reaction.
But as she explained, worst case with a large claim on one of my personal articles polices -- I get cut a check and they refuse to rewrite the policy. Unfortunate, but hardly comparable to getting a notice of non-renewal on my homeowners and then finding no other company with cover me.
Just look at the rates -- $3/year posted here for each $100 personal articles, my homeowners is roughly $0.20/yr per $100. Since rates are based on risk, it seems clear personal articles policies have a higher risk (deductibles, size of average claim relative to full policy value, etc. do come into play -- but still a big difference) and thus are more likely to have claims filed. So adding that rider to your homeowners means you're increasing the likelyhood of having to claim against your homeowners.
Keeping the personal articles seperate (in my state and with the insurers I checked with) makes claims on those not count against current or future homeowners -- and they needn't be disclosed on homeowners applications. Obviously claim history is requested on new personal articles policies.
By using one agent that writes with multiple companies, I end up with a rate that's about halfway between everything individual and everything with one company.
Generally no insurer has a policy against writing small personal articles -- it's the agent that refuses. They make their living by writing policies, and it's not cost effective to spend the time to write John Doe-New-Customer a $15 a year policy. If you don't have homeowners or some other policy to start off and an agent tells you it's not possible, just try another. Eventually you'll get one that's willing to do it. Or try larger shops where the agents are more likely to be salaried and don't really care what the policy is.
You'll save money if you do the legwork to buy your policy from an insurance company or agent directly rather than through a firm that specializies in covering cell phones and the like. All they're doing is packaging the many smaller policies and then shopping themselves around on the reinsurance market -- and making their profit in the middle.
And in my experience, the claims process is easier and quicker. When I claimed through a cell phone specialist, I had to jump through falming hoops and still got screwed in the end. My "normal" insurance claims were either done quickly just over the phone, or I only had to fax a police report and/or affidavit and had my check within days.