If you're smart, you'll consider insuring your brand-new smartphone. Yes, we bristle at the thought of insuring any consumer electronics—the result of too many sales clerks pitching us on extended warranties for TVs, DVD players, and audio systems. But those devices aren't nearly as vulnerable to damage or theft as our delicate smartphones.
Consider: You probably dropped $200 to $300 on a Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, or iPhone 5 after inking a two-year contract. The phones are worth more than that, but carriers subsidize the retail prices to lure new customers.
If you're klutzy, wild, or just plain unlucky, however, you could tank your cool new phone with one unfortunate encounter with a toilet. Yes, this happens, and when it does, a replacement phone of the same model or caliber could cost you up to $600 to $700. That's some serious dough.
Check out these numbers: Asurion, which partners with nearly all the major wireless carriers to provide smartphone insurance, estimates that 80 million phones will be lost, stolen, or damaged in 2013.
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