[pinhead]

Since T-Mobile doesn't sell the Curve will their insurance still cover the device?

[jeremyckitching]

Check with them and see, then post your findings here.

[John Clark]

If you didn't buy it from them, how could you have insurance on it? They won't cover it. Even if they did, they wouldn't replace it with a Curve since they don't have them.

[flash24]

They wouldn't cover a device that is not with them sorry.

[mr1581]

How about any kind of warranty. If something happens with the phone, would I still have a warranty through RIM?

[flash24]

Originally Posted by mr1581

How about any kind of warranty. If something happens with the phone, would I still have a warranty through RIM?

I believe RIM offer a one year warranty, but not sure tho.

[pinhead]

According to the person I spoke to, it would be replaced with a comparable phone that they carry.

[vinmontRD]

I bewildered. How does this make any sense? A warranty is generally offered by a manufacturer or a vendor who sells you a product. Since T-Mobile didn't sell you the curve, how could they possibly cover it? Some other entity (person or company) received the money for the original purchase - not T-Mobile. They should have no incentive or reason whatsoever to provide warranty coverage for a device that they didn't sell.

Help me understand this...

[rambo47]

I've heard of some folks putting their expensive mobile phones like the Nokia E90 on their homeowner's insurance policy. Not all providers offer coverage of mobiles but you can always ask.

[30PSI]

Originally Posted by vinmontRD

I bewildered. How does this make any sense? A warranty is generally offered by a manufacturer or a vendor who sells you a product. Since T-Mobile didn't sell you the curve, how could they possibly cover it? Some other entity (person or company) received the money for the original purchase - not T-Mobile. They should have no incentive or reason whatsoever to provide warranty coverage for a device that they didn't sell.

Help me understand this...

Totally agreed. On a side note INSURANCE and WARRANTY are two completely different things people often get these two confused. I hope the OP is aware of this.

[stefandrew]

Originally Posted by vinmontRD

I bewildered. How does this make any sense? A warranty is generally offered by a manufacturer or a vendor who sells you a product. Since T-Mobile didn't sell you the curve, how could they possibly cover it? Some other entity (person or company) received the money for the original purchase - not T-Mobile. They should have no incentive or reason whatsoever to provide warranty coverage for a device that they didn't sell.

Help me understand this...

Does Geico sell the cars? You pay a premium on the basis that if you get into an accident, the insurance covers the cost. It works the same way for cell phones. You pay somewhere between $4 to $6 a month, and when the phone breaks, and isn't covered by warranty, they pay to replace the phone, usually with a $50 deductible.

Warranties on the other hand, come from the manufacturer, in this case RIM. Even if you didn't buy directly from RIM, someone had to, so the product is covered by Warranty for 1 years time by RIM, no matter who you bought it from. I'm sure there may be some exceptions that could void the warranty, but not for normal purchases.

In response to the OP, the problem with BB's and most PDA phones in general, they cost too much for cell phone carriers to be able to insure them, the $6 a month doesn't cover the cost of replacing one. That's what AT&T told me up front when my wife and I got our BB's. So I don't expect that many cell phone carriers will cover PDA style phones with insurance.

Anyway, just some clarifications...

[vinmontRD]

[QUOTE=stefandrew;629471]Does Geico sell the cars? You pay a premium on the basis that if you get into an accident, the insurance covers the cost. It works the same way for cell phones. You pay somewhere between $4 to $6 a month, and when the phone breaks, and isn't covered by warranty, they pay to replace the phone, usually with a $50 deductible.
QUOTE]

The analogy is clear, but I'm questioning whether mobile carriers would have any incentive to provide insurance coverage for devices they don't stock or cell. The financial model is more complex than simply paying $6 a month for cell phone insurance.

When you buy a new cell phone from a carrier, you also enter into a multi-year commitment to use their services. The biggest part of this is, most likely, to cover the phone purchase subsidy that they provide. But my guess is that ongoing revenue via a long term commitment is also part of the rationale behind offering insurance on phones that are part of the contract.

Another consideration to keep in mind:

A carrier typically only performs a small part of any insurance-covered remediation. When you send in a phone, their technicians may perform "first level triage", including items like:
- checking the water damage sticker to see if you dunked the phone
- checking for excessive wear & tear, cracks, etc
- replacing the battery
- reflashing the firmware

Beyond that, it's most likely that they send the phone back to the manufacturer, with whom they have current working arrangements. This would only work, however, in the case of phones for which the carrier actually has a business relationship with the manufacturer. Any transaction outside such a relationship becomes a one-off repair, which would be unreasonably costly for the carrier to cover.

Also: this would force the carrier to maintain a list of phones that, while not part of their consumer offering, they could actually handle on an insured basis, since you're potentially opening this up to any *number* of unlocked phones from virtually any manufacturer. Where do you draw the line?

This becomes especially problematic if the public were to get creative -- let's say you sign up with T-Mobile, and after a year, you're on month-to-month service. You then go to eBay or Craigslist, and purchase a bunch of cheap non-functional unlocked GSM phones. If insurance were allowed for any phone you decide to register with T-Mobile, you could conceivably start pumping these dead $5 phones through the "insurance" program, looking for working replacements in exchange. Aside from this being insurance fraud, the cost to T-Mobile would far outstrip any profit they would make off the customer for services provided, when they are only collecting $4 to $6 per month for the insurance allocation that you describe.

I can't imagine that the carriers will leave themselves open to this kind of cost or risk. There's simply no financial incentive for them to do this.

[pinhead]

Ok, the discussion got a little too in-depth. I got the answer already and it is this:

Yes, T-Mobile's insurance carrier does cover the phone, according to the representative I spoke to. However, they will not replace it with that exact model since T-Mobile does not carry it, rather it would be replaced with one of like kind and quality (the 8800).

Yes, I do understand the difference between a warranty and insurance.

[joginder]

well i just got my bb 8800 (cing) got bad trackball and t-mo insurace covered it. because all of these providers are contracted with Assurion and i doubt they care about it that much as long as you have insurance.

[secrecyguy]

Originally Posted by pinhead

Since T-Mobile doesn't sell the Curve will their insurance still cover the device?

That's an excellent question.

[secrecyguy]

Originally Posted by pinhead

Ok, the discussion got a little too in-depth. I got the answer already and it is this:

Yes, T-Mobile's insurance carrier does cover the phone, according to the representative I spoke to. However, they will not replace it with that exact model since T-Mobile does not carry it, rather it would be replaced with one of like kind and quality (the 8800).

Yes, I do understand the difference between a warranty and insurance.

Thanks!