Festival, Beach, and Adventure Travel: Do You Need Extra Phone Protection?

From your phone’s perspective, beaches are the bane of its existence. Bringing your phone is crucial for safety and Internet connection, but adventure travel is prime time for phone accidents.

Phones face higher risks in unfamiliar, chaotic environments. Is phone insurance worth it if you’re traveling for adventure? Let’s go over what phone protection is best for different types of adventure travel, such as festivals and beaches.

Why These Trips Put Your Phone at Higher Risk

Festivals

Festivals are known for having big crowds, filled with energy and enthusiasm. However, crowds are risky spaces that make it easy for theft, accidental drops, and liquid spills to happen. Your phone might be the last thing on your mind during a music or other festival.

Beaches

Sand, saltwater, and heat exposure can damage skin. They can also damage phones. Saltwater is even worse for phones than regular water because saltwater is very corrosive, essentially destroying your phone the moment you drop the device in it.

So-called waterproof phones are resistant to fresh water, NOT saltwater. Taking your phone to the beach means a slip of the hand can result in a complete phone loss.

Adventure Travel

Hiking, climbing, and kayaking come with a high risk of falls, water, or phone loss. This is particularly true if you’re going to a remote area where GPS signal is worse and you are unfamiliar with the environment.

What Standard Phone Insurance Covers (and What It Doesn’t)

Typical coverage

Phone insurance policies typically cover:

Accidental damage: Dropping your phone and other accidents are covered by phone insurance.

Loss and theft: If you lose your phone, phone insurance can help you replace it.

Water damage: While expensive to fix, water damage can be covered by phone insurance.

Common exclusions

Phone insurance policies should list what is excluded from coverage. Here are some common exclusions you may see:

Wear and tear: Phones naturally have wear and tear over time. This isn’t protected by insurance.

Negligence: If the insurance company can prove you were negligent, your claim might get denied. This depends on the insurance company’s claims process.

Intentional/criminal damage or tampering: Damaging your phone deliberately will not be covered by insurance. If your phone is involved in a criminal act and gets broken (like during a robbery), you can also expect the insurance claim to get denied. Modifications to your phone will also not be covered.

Extreme activities: If you take your phone with you for an extreme, high-risk activity like skydiving, it will likely not be covered by phone insurance. The risk is so high that you might require a special phone insurance add-on for high-risk activities.

Cosmetic flaws: If an issue is solely with the appearance of the phone, it may not be covered by insurance.

Differences between carrier, manufacturer, and third-party policies

It’s important to know the difference between the various categories of phone protection plans.

Phone insurance covers the cost of eligible repairs and replacements, filling in the gaps of warranties.

Warranties are typically offered by the phone manufacturer. They cover manufacturing defects and malfunctions. This means if shortly after buying your phone you realize the screen constantly flickers and malfunctions, warranty can cover the repair/replacement.

Extended warranties are exactly what they sound like: a longer or more comprehensive version of a warranty. It functions similarly to phone insurance depending on the warranty details.

When Extra Protection Makes Sense

Travelers with expensive flagship devices

Flagship phones are the most important, impressive models offered by a brand. Many brands, like iPhone and Samsung, offer affordable alternatives that use plastic or other cheaper materials to help budget-conscious buyers. I myself had an iPhone 5c, a colorful counterpart to the higher end iPhones.

Flagship phones can cost over $1000. Buying the newest phone of the year can cost a lot, making the cost of insurance pale in comparison.

Adventure enthusiasts engaging in high-risk activities

If you’re going white water rafting, skydiving, scuba diving, or any other high-risk activity, you might want extra insurance for the trip. Regular travel insurance doesn’t cover high-risk activities unless you purchase an adventure sports add-on for your chosen activities. Adding on a phone insurance plan for high-risk activities ensures that your phone

People traveling abroad

If you’re taking your phone abroad (which most travelers do), extra phone insurance makes good financial sense. Whether you’re a student joining a study abroad program or someone going on vacation, losing your phone can be a great headache. Repair and replacement costs can also be sky-high when traveling internationally.

Festivalgoers in theft-prone environments

Festivals like Coachella, Burning Man, and Tomorrowland have chaotic moments where it’s easy to lose your phone. Pickpockets are hard to notice, especially if you’re busy having fun or figuring out what show is next.

Extra Protection Options

Specialized Phone Insurance Add-Ons

Add-ons, endorsements, and riders are used to customize your phone insurance policy. Some increase your premium by a few dollars, others increase it significantly. Here are some popular add-ons and optional features to consider.

Extended liquid damage: Adds water damage coverage to your policy if it doesn’t already have it. Important if you’re going to the beach or pool.

Data recovery: Recovering a phone’s data after it’s been damaged requires professional services, which can cost many hundreds of dollars. Extra phone insurance options can help cover the costs of data recovery services.

Zero deductible: If you don’t want a deductible, some phone insurers allow you to purchase a zero deductible rider. This allows insurance to cover all sorts of small claims. However, we don’t generally recommend this expense since it can greatly increase your premium without providing meaningful value.

Same-day replacement: Some phone insurance companies offer same-day or next-day repair/replacement benefits. The faster claims process can reduce a lot of frustration.

International insurance: You might need phone insurance to cover damages while roaming. Even short international trips can benefit from travel phone insurance.

Travel Insurance With Gadget Coverage

Travel insurance serves to protect you from trip cancellations, delays, and accidents. Travel insurance can also protect devices while abroad in the form of travel gadget insurance. Check out our guide on how to insure gadgets abroad.

Phone Cases, Screen Protectors, and Waterproof Gear

Physical protection can help reduce the severity and frequency of claims. Screen protectors are a one-time purchase that can prevent phone screen scratches and cracks. Different qualities of screen protectors exist, but most range between $10 and $60. Screen protectors are useful for preventing cosmetic flaws, which may not be covered by standard phone insurance.

Self-Insurance Fund

Self-insurance has always been a thing: it’s just commonly known as emergency savings. Essentially, you set aside savings for phone repairs and replacements instead of buying phone insurance.

The advantage of self-insurance is that you are in control of how much you put towards your savings account every month. If you ever need to deal with a non-phone-related emergency, you can easily take money out of the self-insurance fund. It’s versatile and convenient.

The downside is that you’re spending your own money. The money you’re saving on insurance will need to be all used in case your phone breaks. Financial discipline is required. Not everyone can save up a big enough fund to replace their phone and absorb the losses.

Tips to Keep Your Phone Safe on Trips

1. Use waterproof pouches and protective cases

A waterproof pouch, screen protector, and case can go a long way in preventing expensive damage to your phone. If you’re going to the pool or beach, definitely invest in a waterproof bag for your phone.

You can even get waterproof pouches that float, which can be helpful if you plan on swimming or going on a boat. Dropping a phone? Yikes. Dropping a waterproof pouch? The chances of recovery are much higher. Just be sure to know that if you’re on a cruise and your phone plummets, don’t go after it–it could be deadly.

2. Backup your data

The family photo, your thesis paper, funny videos you saved over the years… Documents and photos are often irreplaceable. It’s best to back up your data using iCloud, Dropbox, and other options periodically, and especially before traveling.

3. Enable tracking apps

Tracking apps like Find My iPhone and Google Find My Device are great for keeping your phone safe or knowing where it is located.

If your phone gets stolen, tracking apps can help prove to your insurer that it is genuinely lost.

4. Carry a backup/budget phone

If you’re traveling to or spending time in a risky environment, you might want to use a backup phone instead. This is of course considering you have a budget or old phone. It may not be necessary to go out of your way to buy a backup.

5. Avoid leaving phones unattended

When in public areas, leaving your phone unattended for even a moment could lead to it getting stolen. Be sure to keep your phone on you or in view at all times, especially in unfamiliar environments. Don’t place it on a table and leave to grab a drink.

Cost vs. Value: Is It Worth It?

Is phone insurance worth it for you? It depends on three main factors: your budget, your phone value, and risk tolerance.

Premiums vs out-of-pocket expenses

Let’s say you buy a phone insurance plan for $10 a month. In two years, it will cost a total of $240. There is a deductible of $200.

If something happens to your $1,000 phone and the repair cost exceeds $200, then insurance will cover that excess amount. Smaller repairs will not be covered.

If your $1,000 phone gets stolen, insurance can help you replace the whole phone (after you pay the deductible). You save a lump sum of $800 on the replacement phone. When you consider the recurring monthly premiums, you would have saved $800 - $240 = $560.

Essentially, phone insurance works like all insurance policies. If it’s useful, it’s very useful. If no phone incident happens, then it feels like you paid $240 over two years for nothing. If you only have a $200 budget phone, phone insurance probably isn’t necessary.

Small monthly payments vs large upfront cost

Most people find it much easier to make small monthly payments than to have to conjure up a large lump sum in case of emergencies. Monthly premiums are predictable and easy to budget for. Replacing an entire expensive phone, that requires substantial savings, which you may not have. Consider this when deciding whether you need phone insurance.

Risk factors

How much risk you can tolerate is a subjective question. But risk factors are generally the same.

Travel frequency: If you travel a lot, your phone is more likely to be stolen or broken. This is particularly true if you’re going near water, since pools and beaches are big problems for phones.

Device value: The more expensive your phone, the worse it would be to lose it. If you purchased a high end or flagship phone that is difficult to replace, phone insurance becomes more valuable.

Conclusion

Extra phone protection in the form of insurance is most valuable for travelers entering high-risk environments. Beaches, festivals, and crowded places are highly risky for phones.

Evaluate your trip, phone value, and personal preferences to see if additional phone insurance makes sense. Check out our ranked list of the best phone insurance, which includes top insurers like AKKO.