In a previous post I talked about insurance offered by SquareTrade.  Squaretrade has better options when it comes terms, pricing, and the deductible.  Squaretrade is cheaper because of its term, and it also offers free battery repair if the iPhone battery life drops below 50% of the original.

Safeware does provide some additional coverage that Squaretrade does not, such as coverage against theft, fire, flood, and vandalism.  One other key difference for Safeware is that you don’t have a 30 day window for the coverage.  So even if you bought your 3G iPhone a year ago, you can still get coverage, where with Squaretrade you can’t.

It will be interesting to see if people report back on how good the service is.  I would still bet that its a better option than AppleCare, which is just a really bad option for protecting your iPhone.

[via Macworld]

AppleCare Details
AppleCare FAQ

Would I buy AppleCare?  Not a chance.  I really don’t see much value in AppleCare.  Since AppleCare does not cover against accidential damage, I find the coverage pretty limiting.  The only selling point for me is the battery replacement, but I figured I would take my chances and see how well my battery holds up.

Your alternatives are pretty limiting though.  The only other way that I found that you can insure your iPhone is through a company called SquareTrade.  The coverage looks pretty decent as it extends the normal warranty and covers you against manufacturing defects, but it also covers you for accidental damage.  When making a claim for accidental damage, you will be charge a $50 deductiable, but this is pretty standard even with insurance provided by AT&T.  The pricing for SquareTrade is very reasonable, 8GB $76, 16GB $96, and 32GB $115.

Has anyone ever used SquareTrade?  Let me know by leaving a comment.