Craig Lloyd
Believe it or not, AppleCare+ has never covered lost or stolen iPhones—until today. Apple has quietly expanded its AppleCare+ protection plans to not only cover accidental damage but lost or stolen devices as well.
Most mobile carrier-provided insurance plans usually cover lost or stolen smartphones. Lose your phone, you can pay a deductible to your carrier and they give you a replacement device. We really don’t recommend getting carrier-provided insurance over AppleCare, but it’s at least there as an option.
Apple, however, has never had a program like this before now. The new plan (only available for iPhones currently and not other AppleCare+ covered products) covers lost or stolen devices. Theft and loss coverage adds an extra $100 on top of the normal AppleCare+ price.
This puts the price point for iPhone XS and XS Max owners at $299 (instead of $199). iPhone XR, 8 Plus, and 7 Plus owners pay $249 (instead of $149). Only the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 owners get a break, paying only $70 extra ($199 vs the standard $129 coverage).
For that increased fee you get: two years of warranty coverage, two years of complimentary phone support, accidental damage coverage, and loss or theft coverage. Unfortunately, the deductibles are as steep as you’d imagine:
Lose your phone and you’re looking at :
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$199 for iPhone 8, iPhone 7, iPhone 6S, and iPhone 6
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$229 for iPhone XR, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6S Plus, and iPhone 6 Plus
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$269 for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone X
These prices are certainly way better than having to buy an all-new iPhone in the event of a lost or stolen phone, but your wallet will be hurting for it. Still, if you have serious concerns that your phone might grow legs (or that you’ll leave it behind in your travels), a $100 premium over your regular AppleCare+ and $269 out of pocket to get the replacement sure is a lot nicer than dropping 3-5 times that on a new phone.
