Have you previously lost, dunked, or dropped a smartphone? If that's possible but not likely, can you afford to buy a new one if that happens?, Would you rather pay the insurance (probably $10 or more a month) to not think about it or to avoid the cost? (Keep in mind cracked screens, if that's the only damage from a drop, can be replaced for ~$100 with no insurance and often a replacement claim has a deductible of $100-$200).

Me, I've done it both ways and have probably come out even. I've experienced each of the four combinations - have replaced and not replaced, both with insurance and with no insurance. Over the long term, I'm not sure it matters which way you go unless you're clearly someone who consistently totals every phone you've ever had or the opposite, never have had an accident. .

Do you have a crystal ball? If so, please consult it. Just kidding, of course.

Here's our experience and just a few thoughts:

DH got the insurance on both our iphones. The speaker went out on his after a few years, so he got a new one through the insurance. The replacement didn't work well, so they replaced IT for him. That one is working fine. Through the insurance we had, sometimes you get a refurbished phone, not a brand new one. I don't think you can tell the difference. It's packaged like a brand new phone with new cords, earbuds, etc.

I overflowed the coffee pot on the counter where my phone was sitting (after a couple years' use), and it got wet inside. I got a new one as well. My replacement phone is working fine. It sure is a hassle to get all your settings back, apps, etc. Takes a while.

Our carrier helped with the claims, transferring pictures, contacts, etc. to the new phones. I don't think I could have done it.

Think about what it will cost you a month. Think about how much you use your phone, are you out and about where you might leave it or drop it? Do you use it around water?

EDITED: Elmer just reminded me, yes we did have to pay some sort of fee, around $100 for each phone I think. He makes good points.

Thanks for the input Elmer and Socks. You make good points.

Just bought a 7 today. I declined the insurance. I take good care of my things and have never needed insurance so I didn't feel like adding another $11 per month to an already pretty big cell phone bill. (Over $200 a month for 2 smart phones, an iPad and a jet pack, now with unlimited data.) plus the cost of the new phone, gasp. LOL. I'll just be careful. And it's waterproof for 30 minutes at 3 feet.

If it costs $10/month or whatever for insurance, just put that money aside every month so you can pay for repairs/replacement if necessary. I'm astounded at those who mention keeping a phone for several years... I get a new one every two years, just to keep up with my personal technology needs.

I don't buy insurance on things like that. I am an adult and take pretty good care of my things. If for some reason it was damaged I would be financially able to purchase another. I just don't like to waste the money on the monthly premium.

My smart phone is 4-1/2 years old now and still working perfectly. The problem is the battery is starting to not hold a charge as long as it should. A new battery is $80 which I'm avoiding as long as possible. A new phone will be in the vicinity of $700 and that's just outrageous to me. I use covers so that, in the event my phone is dropped, it's protected. I've had smart phones as long as they've been available due to work (altho retired now) and have never broken one. With my habits and usage, I have not, and will not, buy insurance.

A girlfriend, however, has broken every phone she's ever had. Dropped, mainly, altho one was driven over by her car. She gets the insurance faithfully and there's a $100 charge for each time she's used it.

If your main concern is cracking the screen, forgo the insurance and just buy a really good screen protector. Zagg makes really good ones. They're pricey ($25 to $50 depending on which one you get), but they're worth it.

I had a battery installed at a store called Battery Plus, I think. It was around $50. If you booked the appt on line, there was a nice discount coupon saving me $10, I think. It took about 30 minutes.

Rose, I think we're all adults. If you're a female senior citizen, I think you can understand that your "world" differs from younger females (especially those with young children) and males. Kids can break Mommy's phone inadvertently. Many males, like me, keep their phones in a front pants pocket. I find our phones are most at risk when I'm travelling and staying in unfamiliar hotels and spending more time getting in and out of shuttles, in and out of rental cars and taxis, etc. Do you travel much?

Like chloecat, I too update my phone at the earliest opportunity, normally just shy of 2 years. Not so much a question of "keeping up with technology" (as the Android phones I prefer differ only incrementally from one to the next) but rather the pleasure of starting again with a newer, faster phone with a renewed longer battery life.

A screen protector doesn't prevent screen cracking when a phone is dropped. I can say that from experience, believe me.

Personally, the best investment I made for my phone was an Otter box.

While they're not waterproof, they're pretty durable.

They come in different styles now-- used to they were bulky as all get out.

Here are a few examples.

Otter Box

I am on the pro-insurance side. I barely notice the difference in my bill since I don't have the latest-greatest phone so I pay $5 a month X 2 for both of our phones. My experience the only time I needed it was that my phone was replaced in less than 24 hours. It sure seems worth it to me.

Are you talking about AppleCare? It's well worth the money as it also included free phone support for 3 years. One does not pay a monthly fee - it's paid upfront at the time the phone is purchased.

Applecare is extended warranty, tech support, and a few other vague things that's sold by and provided by Apple. Mobile carriers offer free tech support on all devices anyway, on Apple products and all others, and the insurance coverage I was talking about is also through the mobile carriers. Sometimes an outside insurer is involved. In the case of Verizon, it's Asurion.

Whether it's $100-$129 per year up front, or $9-10 per month, the cost isn't that different and the coverage is pretty similar.

My wife insisted we get Apple Care for her iPad. It only leaves home when we travel. It was a waste of money (and a profitable sale for Apple), we didn't use it or need it and so really got no value from the expenditure.

Anglophilia, if your question was directed at me, then no. I am an Android user. Just never understood all of the Apple enthusiasm.

In the workplace, IOS devices are easier to support, but I prefer a more versatile phone.

Well, I'm an Apple "fanboy" and have been now for 27 years! Perhaps one needs to actually USE Apple products to understand the "enthusiasm".

I NEVER buy "extended warranties" on anything other than my Apple products. But over the past 27 years, I have used AppleCare for many things and always been very glad I had it. And for iPads and iPhones owned by children (that includes teenagers), it is essential. Both my grandsons opted not to buy it when they purchased their first devices; after several bitter experiences with breakage - some their fault and some the fault of friends - they now always buy it.

Elmer, your wife has been lucky to have never needed it. The free tech support for 3 years is worth the money alone. Just this week, I was uploading new system software and due to a poor internet connection, my iPad froze and even a hard re-start didn't help. I plugged it into my desktop and called AppleCare...at 2AM. They very kindly walked me through a process to get it back up and running and not lose any data.

With children and broken screens, it's a god send.

Sometimes CCs provide double warranties on items. Not the same as the 'insurance' you're talking about? Do you have to take the insurance when you buy the phone, or can you add that later?

My phone is whatever DS or DIL hand down to me when one of them gets a new phone; we share a 'family plan' rate for data. I've never broken a phone, but my use is very limited.

anglo, I'm the family tech support department. My kids are grown and out of the house now, but over the years, I've "supported" Macs, iphones, ipods and the ipad. Supporting involves using them when necessary to resolve problems. I was the one who needed to set up network (not just wifi) connections to a Windows system when a kid wanted to transfer school files to the family backup system. It was nearly impossible and much too hard. I debugged update problems, user problems, other hardware and software issues. I'm also in Silicon Valley and have a closer exposure to Apple and things and people in the Apple world than people elsewhere might have.

Apple makes excellent hardware and software but I would call it on a par with its competitors on other platforms, not superior to. What they do excel at is creating marketing excitement and buzz, and passing out Kool-Aid to users to make them think they are in a special place when they use Apple products and convince them their products are worth premium prices. I have nothing against Apple products and I admire the company for what it's done to get to where it is. Personally, I think their products are overrated. I really dislike the inflexibility of their stuff compared to what can be done in the PC and Android worlds and I'm happy to not have to use any of it on a regular basis.

Apple customers are maybe the happiest customers I can think of (considering other consumer products) and for that, both they and the company get what they want. I'm completely understanding of that. But it's not for me.

PS - I have two grand-kids under 5, both of whom use iPads from time to time. The units are in padded, bunker-like protective cases. Both were told - you have to be gentle with these. If you break it by dropping or throwing it, it will be gone and never fixed. There have been no problems.

If you can hold on just a little longer, the iPhone 8 is on its way (September, I think.) I was eligible for a new iPhone in May but I'm waiting for that 8, skipping the 7 altogether.

IMO, insurance is never a "waste of money". It's peace of mind. You have car insurance. If you never get into an accident and never need to make use of the insurance, would you consider it a waste of money? I wouldn't. I would just have been glad that it would have been available if I needed to use it. Insurance companies are in the business of making money. They make money if you don't use the insurance, not so much when you do. It's a gamble for them. If you don't have insurance, then you're the gambler.

I've never purchased insurance for any of my devices and I've never needed it either.

I've had my phone quit working once but it was less than a year old and was replaced for free under warranty. Every other time I've had a device break it was old enough that I wanted to get a new one anyways.

I'm not a fan of Apple products so I have no experience with them but I would hope that they would also replace a defective device under a year old.

I only needed to use my insurance once when the phone literally jumped out of my hand and smashed on the floor. Replacement sent via overnight delivery in my hands in less than 24 hours. That's what I liked about it.

Elmer, thanks for explaining what support means.

*** edited to add: It's good to be understood, I don't think that others realize what I do for work :-) I am the friendly voice that you get when you call for technical support, folks :-) Underpaid, unappreciated and generally invisible until you need me.

Anglophilia, I do have to use iPhone, iPads and Mac Books at work, but still, have my personal preference for mobile devices of the Android variety.

PK, I spelled it out for anglo and others to understand. I know that's your job, the description wasn't for you, if your comment is akin to saying "Duh".

What sucks now is that none of the carries offer a discounted phone for signing a contract. It's either pay in full for the phone, make monthly payments to either lease or buy the phone. So not only are you paying for service, add the lease or purchase payment and then another $11 or $12 for insurance!!

As for a cracked screen and using the Zagg screen protector which is glass, it cracks. We went through 2 or 3 and just decided to go back to the plastic type. But it could be due to DD putting phone in her pocket etc. The glass protector does look nice though. I've used the thin film type which have been fine but I make sure to get phone covers that have a little lip so there is something else to hit besides the phone itself if it falls.

Elmer, you misunderstood me and I see why. I edited my comment. Thanks for having my back.

Anytime. You've returned the favor more than a few times.

Insurance, or warranty? I buy the extended warranty only because it's a phone and people drop them. Just one year ago last week (it came up on my FB timeline) my less than 1 year old iPhones screen got black and blue pin stripes that ran across my screen then within a few second the screen turned bright red. A few seconds later it went black. I was able to hook my phone up to iTunes and backed it up to my computer and I'm glad I use iCloud so I didn't lose my pictures. I called Apple and they set me up with an appointment and two days later I was handed a new phone at the Apple Store. I would not have gotten my VERY expensive phone replaced had I not paid that extra money.