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Insurance and warranties seem like an inescapable part of modern life. Finding the right insurance for your phone, laptop, tablet, or smartwatch is crucial to protecting it against unhappy accidents, theft, or loss. Apple insurance comes in three types of plans, each offering a different scope of coverage at different prices and terms. The basic Apple warranty comes free of charge with every new phone purchase and covers only manufactural defects. Then, there are the paid plans. AppleCare+ protects against accidental damages, and then there’s Apple theft and loss coverage, which expands to guarantee phone replacement if a user either loses or has their phone stolen.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Apple offers in-house warranties and insurance coverage, including AppleCare AirPod replacement protection. Regardless of your device, AppleCare guarantees coverage under many circumstances.
Insider Tip
Apple users can check their policy coverage through an online service where they to type in the product’s serial number.
There are three main types of Apple insurance:
It’s important to know that, upon buying a device, there is a 60-day window that users can sign into insurance.
However, iPhones don’t need to be covered by the manufacturer. Instead, users can buy insurance through their phone service providers if desired. For more on this, we have articles explaining AT&T’s Protection Advantage offering and additional resources with tips on filing an AT&T insurance claim.
AppleCare is a basic limited warranty. However, it offers two major benefits: 90 days of free product service and a 1-year warranty for any manufacturing defects. This protection guarantees that Apple will fix or replace the device if a flaw is found due to a product’s manufacturing. However, it does not cover accidental damages of any kind; that’s where the extended warranties come in.
Upon purchasing any device, Apple will recommend signing on with AppleCare+. There are both fixed and periodic plans, and the price varies depending on your type of device and the scope of coverage.
AppleCare+ goes beyond the limited warranty, acting as an ongoing insurance plan. So the first thing it does is extend the one-year limited warranty. For some devices, like Macbooks, the warranty stretches from one year to three; for devices like iPads, it increases to two years.
Moreover, AppleCare+ adds protection against any accidental damage to any device. This coverage reduces the repair cost for screen replacement, battery repair, or internal damage. However, users will still need to pay deductibles for many common repairs; for example, a screen replacement for an iPhone costs $29.99, as opposed to the non-insured price of around $250. But other repairs are free with AppleCare+. For example, battery replacements cost $0 with AppleCare+ but $69 without.
In addition to reduced repair rates, AppleCare+ offers express phone replacement and additional expert servicing and tech support.
Finally, there’s AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss coverage, which is only available for iPhones. This guarantees that your phone will be replaced if lost or stolen. Here, policyholders must file their claim within 60 days of the incident; Apple will review it to ensure that the Find My device function is on. Then they’ll issue a replacement.
The first thing most people want to know when signing up for insurance is the cost. With Apple, there are a couple of factors at play. First, it depends on the device, whether it be an iPhone, Macbook, AirPods, Apple TV, or iPad. It also depends on the type of warranty and whether you want a fixed or monthly plan.
Below we’ll go through the basic costs of Apple’s most popular devices.
Insuring an iPhone has a cost variance depending on the phone model.
Additionally, Apple outlines the various deductibles for common repairs.
Apple computers offer two types of insurance, annual and three-year plans. However, it’s important to note that Mac insurance does not include an option to cover theft/loss.
The coverage for MacBooks allows policyholders to file two claims every 12 months. There is a $99 deductible for filing a claim for any screen or external damage, while other issues require a $249 deductible. Insurance for Apple computers can be signed up for directly after purchasing at the Apple Store or within 60 days.
Similar to iPhone policies, iPad insurance is available in a monthly and 2-year fixed-rate plan.
With the insurance, iPad owners get unlimited claims for accidental damages, each with a $49 deductible. And for any incidents involving accessories, like the Apple Pencil or Apple keyboard, there will be a deductible of $29. Similar to computer insurance, Apple does not offer theft/loss coverage for iPads.
Warning
Although Apple offers same-day service in many of their insurance contracts, there might be caveats that state this guarantee varies by region, country, or state.
Apple offers AppleCare+ services for watches in monthly, 2-year, and 3-year plans but does not offer theft and loss coverage.
The coverage includes unlimited claims for accidental damages and battery service repair; each comes with a service fee ranging from $69-$79, depending on the model.
STAT: In the United States, around 1 million phones are stolen annually. (source)
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