Last month, Apple released their latest set of flag-ship smartphones, the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro. The improvement on last year’s hugely successful iPhone XS range, the 11 and 11 Pro are packed with loads of new features. This has not only excited the millions of iPhone users across the world, but also driven the price of the device up, with a brand-new iPhone 11 Pro costing over £1000!
As you can imagine, this expensive price point has made new users question whether they need to invest in some extra protection for their phone. But can they simply depend on their warranty? Can they pay for repairs if they need to? Do they need more robust protection from a third-party insurer? In this article, we’ll look at the options available for protecting your smartphone, and whether or not you need insurance for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.
You may not already know it, but your iPhone 11 is afforded some level of protection from the moment you buy it. AppleCare is essentially a basic warranty agreement, which protects your device against manufacturer faults and software issues that are beyond your control. If you buy one of the iPhone 11 models and it’s faulty, you can activate your AppleCare and it will be repaired or replaced by Apple.
AppleCare + is a more advanced, paid-for, version of this protection. It offers 2-years’ worth of protection and covers you against, accidental damage, screen damage, and software issues. The main advantage of AppleCare + is that it is all kept in-house – if you have a problem with your smartphone, or it’s damaged in some way, Apple will help directly with certified services and support. However, while it does have some advantages, it doesn’t protect users against theft or loss – two key concerns facing smartphone owners. So with AppleCare + you can be expected to pay as much as you would for a comprehensive insurance policy, but you won’t receive many of the core benefits, which makes it difficult to recommend on its own. Furthermore, even for cases of accidental damage, you can only make two claims during your policy, which isn’t helpful for the more accident-prone smartphone users.
One of the most common damages you are likely to experience with a new iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro is a crack in your screen or a complete smash. Not only does this make your brand-new device look very unattractive, a bad crack can actually hinder functionality, so it’s important to get it repaired as soon as possible. It may be that you opt to pay for this out-of-pocket; it won’t be covered in your warranty as it’s accidental damage, and if you don’t have AppleCare + or another insurance policy, you won’t be able to claim on that. This can prove to be very expensive for new models.
Whilst accurate cost estimates are hard to come by for the new devices, you could expect to be paying in excess of £200 for a full-screen replacement – if the price of iPhone XS is anything to go by. For one case of accidental damage, this is incredibly expensive and comes with no guarantee of future protection. Whilst this may be a good option for careful users, it’s not something you want to rely on if you have a history of dropping your smartphone.
It’s not hard to come to the conclusion that the best option for comprehensive protection for your iPhone is to invest in insurance from a third-party. Not only does it cover you against accidental damage and manufacturer fault, in the majority of cases you’ll also benefit from loss and theft protection. This can be hugely important if you’re buying the device brand-new, as you’ll get a replacement or repaired model should the worst happen.
Insurance from a pure-play provider also has a range of other advantages, such as worldwide cover, accessory cover, liquid damage cover, and airtime abuse. Furthermore, insurance premiums can be paid monthly, and are far less expensive than the payments for AppleCare + or the one-off cost of replacing a damaged phone screen. There’s also the benefit of unlimited claims (depending on the insurer) which means that you’re not limited on the number of times you can ask for a repair or replacement. This can be very convenient for people that work or live in high-risk environments.
The only real downside of independent iPhone 11 insurance is that you may never need to use it! For a lot of people, it can seem like an unnecessary expense if they feel they may not ever need it – but they’ll wish they had it if the worst does happen.
Whilst insurance form a third-party provider guarantees a number of protections for your new iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro, there are some viable alternatives you could explore. For instance, you could choose to rely on phone insurance through your home and contents insurance. While this would only cover your device if it is damaged or stolen when inside your home, it does offer a number of protections that come with phone insurance. If you’re most worried about damaging your device at home, this is certainly something to bear in mind.
Alternatively, you may be eligible for phone insurance through other means. A popular method is to get phone insurance through a paid bank account. While these don’t always offer comprehensive cover, they are usually a bit cheaper than dedicated insurance policies and have enough basic protections to give you some peace of mind.
Hopefully, this goes some way to answering the question of whether you need insurance for your iPhone 11. What’s important is that you find the right kind of protection for you; if you feel that you can self-insure, and aren’t prone to accidents, maybe you won’t need insurance. But if you want to protect your investment and ensure a good repair or replacement in the event of damage, theft, or loss, iPhone 11 insurance is pretty essential.