[ALERT] Gadget Insurance and Extended Warranties - Comments Page 2

A caveat to the advice to " talk to your insurance agent about adding a rider to homeowner’s or renter’s insurance that covers all such devices."

Too many small claims on homeowners insurance could result in being dropped by the insurance company, for the current and future homes.

Changing companies may not work either, they all have access to our claim data.

I bought a big screen Samsung tv at Best Buy with the extended warranty and two years later the set went dark. I brought it back to Best Buy and the back light was replaced. The set is perfect and it didn't cost me a penny.

Few times for the peace of mind I had extended warranty, however my gedgets did not fail during the warranty perios.

It was waste of money I thought.

Hi Bob! I'm totally with you on this. Extended warranties are a scam. I once purchased one for a 3000$ projection TV (years ago, before the LCD ones started showing up) and the seller insisted I buy the extended warranty for 369$. His argument was that there were three lamps (red green and blue) inside and if even one was to fail, the plan would pay for itself as one bulb was more than the cost of the plan. Lo and behold, one did fail, and the seller refused to honour the warranty on the basis that the projector lamp wasn't covered. Bye-bye TV! Been using a front projector since then. They do eat bulbs too, but at least I get a 9-foot screen. Never going back to a TV...

Jonathan, you are correct about too many small claims. But I have had none. I just feel that it was a really good deal to have the insurance rider should I lose or drop my phone, or if my computers get stolen. Of course, as Bob often says, you need to have backups of your data.

IMHO you have both good intentions and information. My personal experience with using The Verizon Extended Warranty was positive. The LG G3 was stolen, went to a non factory Verizon outlet, the replace with a new phone out of the box and did the downloads and set up. All I had to do was call the Insurer while they were setting phone up. Cost to me 120.00$
I think the moral of the story is that service varies greatly between Manufacturer and the outlet you deal with.

Applecare does NOT cover lost or stolen phones. You must be able to return the broken or damaged product. Otherwise, they will not replace it.

In some rare instances, extended warranties/insurance can be worthwhile. For example, I can think of at least one company that completely refunds the premium at the end of the term should no claim be made. But, you're right: other than in these rare cases, they're not worthwhile.

I must give high praise to Best Buy for their extended warranties because:
1. Some years back I had a TV costing $400. On the last day of the warranty I returned the set because the DVD would not work. Best Buy said they could not repair the set and they gave me credit of $400 to buy a new TV, which I did.
2. Two years ago I bought a 4 cu ft refrigerator. They delivered it to my boat onboard. It wouldn't cool down enough. Best Buy delivered a new fridge ABOARD MY BOAT.
Even during the first year of an extended warranty it is nice to have the personal attention and help of a retailer like Best Buy.