Zagg, a company known for its cases and screen protectors, is now offering its own phone protection plan to compete with the likes of AppleCare, SquareTrade, and Asurion. The company is pitching its Zagg Protect service as a lower-cost and more flexible alternative to other plans — it’s $100 a year, the deductible for incidents is only $49, and you don’t have to decide if you want it while you’re buying a new phone. Zagg says any phone running iOS 11 or newer or that runs Android and has access to Chrome browser version 68 or newer is eligible, as long as it’s in working condition when you sign up.
The plan seems focused on repairing, instead of replacing your device — according to Zagg’s website, the plan will pay up to $500 per accidental damage or device failure incident. (You get two accidental damage claims in a rolling 12 month period, “unlimited” mechanical and electrical failure claims, and one battery replacement.) Zagg says things like cracked screens, liquid damage, and various things like cameras, charging ports, and speakers breaking are covered.
Zagg will send you to authorized repair shops
During the claims process, Zagg will point you to an “authorized repair location” and will reimburse you after you submit a receipt showing how much the repair ended up costing. The plan also doesn’t cover loss or theft, as some other options do, and Zagg says that you’ll get a settlement up to $500 if your phone is deemed “beyond repair.”
The terms and conditions for Zagg’s protection plan say that you have to use a Zagg case or screen protector to get coverage, but the company’s public relations director Jeff DuBois told The Verge in an email that’s not the case. The requirement was “erroneously included in the terms and conditions as a holdover from preliminary conversations about the plan,” and Zagg is working to remove that requirement.
With that said, anyone who signs up for Zagg Protect by the end of February will get a $75 credit to Zagg’s online store. So while you’re not required to use a phone case, if any of them speak to you, you’ll be able to get one.
