I just bought a new iPhone to replace the one I lost, and the guy who sold it to me offered me an insurance plan. I said no, but now I'm wondering: Should I insure my phone?

ANSWER:

Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it. It may be only about $8 a month, but that becomes $192 over a typical two-year contract. So suppose you’re a shnook (because you bought the insurance) and you’re also a shlub (because you dropped the phone in the toilet), and now you want to collect on your insurance. Now you find out you also have to pay a $50 to $100 deductible, which makes you feel like an even bigger shnook.

Even when they do replace your lost, stolen or damaged phone… it will be with a refurbished one that isn’t even as good as the one you screwed up. So now you’re a schlemiel!

The truth is, the odds are very slim that your new phone is going to break within the first or second month after you buy it. Only 17 percent of buyers get a new phone because the old one broke, and only three percent purchase a new one because the phone was lost or stolen.

A better idea? When you upgrade to a new phone, keep your old one as a backup until the new phone's contract ends -- at which point you'll typically qualify for a new “free” or discount-priced phone with a new contract. -- As told to Mike Hammer

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