Apple Offers Oh-Sh*t Insurance for the iPhone; You Can Get the Same No Matter What Your Gadget [Warranties]

Apple's updated its extended AppleCare warranty to include accidental damage insurance, which is fantastic for those prone to dropping, slamming, or otherwise breaking their phones due to unkind physics. You can get that same protection for any gadget you have, even if it isn't made by Apple. Here's how.

Apple's new plan is a bit more expensive than the old AppleCare, now costing $100 instead of $69. The aptly-named AppleCare+ still covers your device for two years, but covers up to two incidents of accidental damage. If you break your phone, you just pay Apple $50 and they'll fix it up for you. $50 may not be free, but it's certainly better than buying a new device.

However, if you have a non-Apple gadget and you want the same coverage, we recommend checking out SquareTrade. SquareTrade aims to replace your manufacturer's extended warranty with a better, cheaper option: for $125, they'll cover normal use issues, drops, spills, and even full immersion in water for two years. Like AppleCare+, you'll need to pay $50 for any necessary repairs, but again—it's a heck of a lot better than buying a new phone out-of-contract. The only downside to SquareTrade, it seems, is that it doesn't cover loss or theft, which some manufacturer warranties do.

Both AppleCare+ And SquareTrade are great options for those that are a bit more accident prone. If you rarely break your gadgets, you might consider creating your own "extended warranty" fund yourself. Whenever you have a chance to buy an extended warranty, take that money and put it in your home warranty fund instead—then, if and when the time comes that you have to replace a gadget, you'll have money set aside in your fund from all your other gadgets, and you don't have to give all that money away.

Have you got a better service or homegrown trick for dealing with "oh-sh*t" damage? Let us know about it in the comments.

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
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