Insurance company denies phone claim over strict policy until customer reminds them it will only cost them more: 'So how likely is it that a cracked screen could lead to water damage?'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Dec 29, 2024 12:00 PM EST

If there's one thing you expect insurance companies to be good at, it's denying claims… But if there are two things you expect insurance companies to be good at, it's denying claims and making solid cost/benefit analysis—that's kind of like their whole thing. So, nothing will put more weight on the scale of action and decision than reminding them that failing to deal with an issue or repair now might cost them more money a little ways down the line. This concept, of course, serves as trueany time there's money involved, and someone needs a little push to get something done—except for building contractors, who will be impossible to get to show up no matter what you tell them.

Back in the earlier days of cell phone plans and replacement policies, it was pretty common to have your plan and your phone tied together (is this still a thing?) there were terms of replacement from accidental damage and mishaps similar to something like Apple care that were either handled by the provider themselves or a licensed insurance company. Somewhat strict and silly enforcement of policies resulted in frequent situations like in this story and the ones shared in the comments where people would literally go out into the parking lot to drive over their phone after being told the damage wasn't substantial enough.

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    Cheezburger Image 10447590656
    via Jonathan Castañeda For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    Insurance Rep Insists on Following the Rules-Until She Realizes the Cost S Back in the mid 2010s, I had my phone insured through a premium bank account. The deal was simple: pay a fixed excess, and they'd either repair or replace your phone. The excess was the same whether it was a cracked screen or a full replacement, so it seemed like a solid arrangement.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 03
    One day, I cracked my phone screen. It still worked fine, and I had a holiday coming up, so I decided to wait until I got back to file a claim. When I finally called the insurance company, the representative asked when the damage had happened, so I told her honestly. That's where the trouble started.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 04
    She explained that I'd waited too long to report the damage. There was a time limit for claims- around 10 days—and I'd missed it. I explained that the phone was still usable, and I'd needed it for my trip, but she wouldn't budge. Rules were rules, she said, and my claim was invalid. Her tone was borderline smug.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 05
    Fine, I thought. Let's try some pre-emptive MC. Me: "What should I do if the phone gets damaged further?" Rep: "You'd need to call us back and file a new claim. But make sure it's within the time frame." Me: "Got it. And I can't include the existing screen damage, right?" Rep: "Correct. The new claim would have to be for unrelated damage."
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 06
    She seemed oblivious to where this was going, so I pressed on. Me: "So how likely is it that a cracked screen could lead to water damage? If water got in and fried the motherboard, you'd most likely have to replace the whole phone, right?" There was a long pause. Then she said she needed to speak to her supervisor.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 07
    When she came back, her tone had changed. Suddenly, they were willing to overlook the missed time frame and process my original claim for the cracked screen...
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 08
    membraneguy Smart move...
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 09
    Prof1959 I really thought this was going to end with "OK, so I just ran over my phone accidentally with my car. *smashing sound*" $1300 please.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 10
    Parking-Fix-81... They are not trained to deal in subtleties and nuance, merely to follow a very simple flowchart. Often, using a few more braincells results in negative consequences from management. It s ks.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 11
    Estefunny The pedantic me would say that water damage is related to a screen crack but good for you that they ignored that
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 12
    DriftlessHang At least they caught on before the bigger bill came due
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 13
    Imguran Good thing you poked her imagination to the right conclusion.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 14
    theartofwastin... For me, the malicious compliance would be thanking her for the info then submit a water damage claim the next day. Voila, new phone. When they get. upset over the crack, you point out their refusal to fix it.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 15
    Representativ... I think we're speaking the same language here. You give me my dough or Susie iPhone sleeps with the fishes.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 16
    PositiveAtmos... I tried to file an auto insurance claim for a cracked windshield. They said because the crack was not in my line of sight it was not covered. So I took the car home and hit the windshield with a hammer. Took it back and said some vandal broke it. Got a new windshield. Do they think we're stupid?
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 17
    Temanaras My mom had a similar problem back in the days of Cingular. Phone was cracked, but operable. There had been a "billing error" and we no longer had coverage on the line. We could not file a claim for damage that occurred while the coverage was lapsed. My mother calmly reinstated the coverage, walked outside, and ran over the phone. Came inside and said it just happened, they needed to replace the phone.
    via No_Exchange2440
  • 18
    Lanky-Awaren... Lucky they weren't a health insurance company. Otherwise it would be due to preexisting conditions and not covered!
    via No_Exchange2440

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customer support customer service insurance workplace-stories job malicious compliance retail work customers customer workplace
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