Mark Arnold was hanging out by his local river when he pulled out his Apple iPhone to make a call. It flew right out of his hand, smashed hard against a rock and then fell into the drink.
"So I'm thinking impact and water damage," says Arnold, "nice double whammy, there." Luckily, he'd taken precautions.
When Arnold bought an extended warranty for his iPhone, he took the option to add Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH) coverage. SquareTrade, his warranty provider, now reports that 50% of all iPhone owners who buy a SquareTrade warranty also buy ADH - almost double the rate for all other cell phones - and while the ADH rider is offered on everything from laptops to GPS devices, the numbers show it's the iPhone that needs it the most.
"There's something delicate about the iPhone that makes people think something has to go wrong," says SquareTrade CEO Steve Abernethy. "It's going to slip right out of their hand and break on the kitchen floor."
A lot of them do. Nearly all iPhone claims - 85% - made on SquareTrade policies are accidental damage claims, more than all other cell phones combined.
The iPhone's smooth glass and metal surfaces often make for a slick, tough-to-grip gadget. Cracked screens from drops on hard tile floors are by far the most common problem, and the $400-500 phone is known to slip out of pockets as people get in or out of cars. One SquareTrade customer described watching a TSA screener accidentally bang their iPhone against the metal exam table while passing it through airport security.
The table won that encounter.
Silicon grips and carry-cases are now almost as standard as iPhones themselves, but none are fool-proof. SquareTrade received one claim where the iPhone was in a protective case - and in the owner's pocket - when the man slipped and fell down. He later found his phone's face completely ruined.
iPhones also have a tendency to go swimming. In addition to Mark Arnold's river mishap, SquareTrade claimants have spilled various liquids on their iPhones and one slightly embarrassed individual sent theirs right down the toilet bowl.
Despite - or because - of all this, SquareTrade is currently the only warranty provider offering accidental damage coverage on the iPhone.
Interestingly, most of SquareTrade's clients spend their cash reimbursements on another iPhone. Arnold admits he went out and bought a new one the same day. "I use it for business purposes. I felt I kinda needed one."
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