Between now and March 8, customers who purchased a new phone but declined any type of insurance on said phone have a chance to opt-in thanks to open enrollment. You qualify if you upgraded to a new device or activated a new phone within the last two years but did not enroll in an equipment protection program in the first 30 days. 

Since the Samsung Galaxy S3 is so new, as in less than a week, it would make sense that there aren’t many replacements available for warranty claims. Carriers themselves are having trouble with initial stock, so you can imagine what it must be like for insurance companies. According to two of readers who had to file claims on their new devices already, that is indeed the case through Asurion. From what we were told, they are without replacement devices and weren’t all that clear as to when they may have them in.

So grab a case and guard your new Galaxy S3 with your life.

We have reached out to Asurion to see if we can get a better understanding of the GS3 situation. Once we hear back, we’ll let you know.

Cheers Neil and Roxy!

They couldn’t, could they? Does Motorola or Verizon have the cojones to release a follow-up to one of the biggest smartphone disasters in history? According to Asurion’s open enrollment forms, a DROID Bionic 2 either exists now, or will exist at some point in the future. Actually, before you get too excited, there is a good chance that this is simply the placeholder for the new version of the Bionic that is sold without a 16GB microSD card. As you can see in the list, they break out each version of the RAZR depending on color and storage and is likely what we have going on here with the “DROIDBIO2.” Could they return one of the most hypebeasted phones of all time for a second turn? They could, but probably won’t.

I’m not sure that any of us could power through another 9 months of delays and design changes. OK, part of me wants to.

Cheers Alex!

Each year, Asurion – the provider of phone insurance coverage through Verizon – runs an open enrollment period to give those that declined coverage of their phone at the point of sale, the opportunity to add it on.  You qualify if you have coverage through Verizon and a working phone that has been activated within the last 2 years. The enrollment period runs from March 1 through April 30. 

Insurance for smartphones is pretty cut and dry. You have customers that can’t live without it in fear of running into one of life’s accidents and accept it no matter what or those that are willing to risk it all by declining it.  With phone prices rising, it would not be a shocker if people were more easily persuaded to pick up the extra charge to their monthly bill.  But as some of us may know, insurance isn’t as easy as just sending in a broken phone and receiving a new one.  Most times, we are sent refurbished phones that could just as easily have as many problems as our last.

Verizon offers a few different options for purchasers.  There is the popular TEC (Asurion) route which is $6.99 with a $99 deductible, Wireless Phone Protection for $5.18, and then the basic extended warranty for $1.99.  Let us know how you take on the task of deciding whether or not to add insurance and then whether you have ever had to use it, down below.

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We’ve seen Asurion run out of replacement phones in the past and pick others to take their place, but going from a single-core to a dual-core phone is quite the impressive jump, I’d say.  And according to multiple readers of ours, that’s exactly what is happening to owners of the DROIDX who are making an insurance claim.  With Asurion running out of select devices (as seen in the screenshot above), the DROIDX2 (our review) is the current replacement phone until they receive another batch.  So while we would never tell you to go out of your way to cause damage to your device, now would be the time to look into replacing it should there actually be something wrong with it.

*Note - Yes, I see that the picture is of the DROID2, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one.

Cheers Andrew, app tipster, and everyone else!

Might want to be extra careful over the next few weeks with that DROID Incredible of yours, Asurion appears to be all out of replacements.  That’s right, a number of readers who have filed claims over broken devices, have been told that the current option for replacement is the DROIDX.  Now, both devices are favorites of ours, but the experience from one to the other is night and day.  Sense vs. Blur?  They are even comparable, so I’d suggest taking care of that sweet little DI or you may be in for a Hummer with a locked bootloader.

Cheers Robert and everyone else!

We had this information back in January, but it looks like the rollout has started and customers are being notified of changes to their Asurion equipment coverage on Verizon.  Monthly rates for Total Equipment Coverage and Wireless Phone Protection are dropping by about $1 per month, but deductibles appear to be going up to $99 from $89.  If you are currently enrolled, the changes will go into effect June 1.  They are also holding an open enrollment right now, that will run through April 28 if you are out of your initial 30 day new device period and want coverage.  More info on that here.