AT&T addressed one of the most commonly made requests for the iPhone on Monday by extending its Mobile Insurance to include Apple. As of July 17, all iPhones signed up within 30 days of and activation or upgrade can be covered against out-of-warranty fixes and replacements. The coverage includes not just usual fixes but replacements for accidents as well as lost or stolen hardware.
The service costs $5 per month per line and has a deductible of $50 or $125 depending on the device. Phone owners can make no more than two claims in the space of 12 back-to-back months but can cover as much as $1,500 in each instance.
Until now, the iPhone has always been virtually the only exception to AT&T’s insurance rules and a source of frustration for owners. The reason why has never been publicly explained but may have stemmed from a desire by Apple to handle the support experience itself. If so, it’s not clear what would have prompted the change four years into the iPhone’s history.
