[007Mi6]

What you are asking about here is the distinction between "insurance" and "warranty". Insurance protects you against a covered "peril". Warranty is a promise by the manufacturer to make good on an express or implied assurance that the device you purchased was fit for a particular purpose. Warranty can also be in the form of a service warranty or "guarantee". In reverse: A service guarantee (usually offered by the wireless provider) will typically terminate after the first 30 days from the date of purchase. A manufacturer warranty extends form the company who made your phone to you. This typically a year and also subject to detailed limitations on what the manufacturer will cover and under what circumstances. (e.g. "we will cover losses from normal wear and use, but not abuse or alterations you make to a device.") (Or) ("We will cover damage to your screen if it is a manufacturing flaw or defect that causes your screen not to turn on (your LCD has burnt out because the design allows too much heat behind the LCD causing a "burn" or discoloring of the LCD, BUT we will not cover the glass or digitizer where you have dropped the device and cracked the LCD underneath.") Finally, insurance is typically offered to you from your carrier as an add-on fee attached to your monthly bill (typically $4-$6). The actual coverage and administration of your insurance plan is most often done by a third party provider (underwriter), even if the charge for the premium appears on your carrier's billing invoice to you. This insurance, is "supposed to be" much more liberal in terms of the scope and extent of perils that would be covered and the types of exclusions that might apply. For guidance on what is or is not covered in your situation, you should consult the actual insurance agreement. The language there is the most relavant definition you could seek in terms of what would be covered or not covered.

A final word: I often recommend that people (and this is highly dependent on the consumer's typical useage and life-style) NOT purchase insurance for their devices. Why? Because you wind up OVER-INSURING three times over, in some cases even more. EXAMPLE: If you purchase the insurance upon purchaing the phone, you are paying for coverage of a risk of peril that if occurs during the first 30 days of ownership of the device is properly assumed by the carrier. After the first 30 days it is properly assumed by the manufacturer. And after the first year, normally assumed by you. Given that the carrier and insurance company will not insure your phone AFTER the first year simply because it is no longer covered under the manufacturer's warranty (meaning that's not a good reason for them to provide you coverage), after the first year, you are largely on your own. Not to mention, if you look at statistics regarding timing and frequency of upgrades, it 'round about this time that you as the typical consumer start pondering getting a new phone, upgrading your phone, or changing the terms of your minutes anyway.
What is the point of the insurance then? It arguably covers perils such as a scratched LCD if you pay more for that coverage. But again, if you consider the following, you will see that you can usually replace your own LCD and other minor out of warranty "tune-ups" yourself and get more milage form your device pending your upgrade.

If you paid $6/month for a term of two years to cover your phone = $144 (more if you correct for taxes). Now, weigh that $144 against getting online, ordering a $40 LCD, replacing the screen yourself. Then, weigh that against simply doing the phone upgrade you would eventually do as a typical consumer which will yield you a brand new phone, anyway. Even correcting for the difference between a one year upgrade allowance of $75 and a two year upgrade allowance of $150, your exposure is STILL only the $75 loss having upgraded before FULL eligibility. I will not debate the point that you still stand to suffer additional loss from the "actual" cost of your new phone, since that discussion is subject to not only the depreciated value of your previous phone (the broken one--had it not broke) and the value of the new phone (whatever that might be), a figure that is not identifiable until you've chosen a new phone and know that cost. Never mind the fact that the upgrade process is something we all eventually do ANYWAY, notwithstanding.

So, depending on the type of coverage you are refering to, the above note should give you a sense of how to proceed. Good luck--007Mi6