Bottom line: It's surprisingly affordable to purchase insurance for your electronics and other household goods.

Hi everyone,

It seems like a lot of 2013 folks have been buying new phones or iPads or other electronics in preparation for 3rd year, so I thought I'd mention that 3rd party insurance is available for these device.  These insurance companies offer flexible plans that in some ways may be superior to what is offered by your device manufacturer / distributor / credit card company.  Squaretrade may be the most popular option.  Usually, 3rd party insurance WON'T cover things that the manufacturer should cover, like if it "just stops working."  However, they often cover accidents and sometimes theft, which manufacturers almost certainly won't.

For my iPhone, I went with Worth Ave Group.  I got a 2-year policy for ~$170 (which will last me until my contract expires).  I chose them for a few reasons:
Unlimited replacements (albeit with a $50 deductible each time)
They cover pretty much any type of accident (dropped / thrown / liquid damage)
They cover theft (as long as a police report is filled out)

Since I'm thinking about getting an iPad, I went ahead and priced a policy: $100 for 3 years for a 16G WiFi iPad 2.  Not bad IMO.

Many companies have a variety of policies for most of your electronics, and even policies for other valuable belongings.  On a related note, I encourage renters to look into getting renter's insurance, which is often surprisingly affordable and can save your bacon in case of fire, flood, the etc.  My policy, for instance, covers up to $10k of my stuff, includes an additional $3k for computer accidents (spill a coke on it or something), has a ~$250 deductible, and runs me <$150 / yr.  To me, it's well worth the peace of mind alone. so I encourage you to consider it as well.

Hope to see you all soon,
Nate/SMRT

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Students in Medicine for Resources in Technology

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