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December 5th, 2018

Back to School Survey Finds That Parents Replace More Than One Mobile Phone Per Child Each Year

With Retail Costs of Smart Phones Climbing to $650, Replacing Your Child’s Phone Can be an Expensive Lesson

Asurion, the global leader in technology protection services, today released consumer data proving that mobile phone insurance is an A+ back-to-school “must have,” as parents surveyed replace more than one mobile phone per child each year.According to Asurion’ s back-to-school data, forty-eight percent of high school and college-age students required a replacement device in the last 24 months. The majority of broken or misplaced mobile phones occurred at school (27%), while incidents at home (24%), outside (15%) and at fiend’s houses (14%) proved similarly dangerous for a student’s favorite mobile life-line.

Students lead active lifestyles, as shown in the laundry list of ways their mobile phones crossed over to the dark side, including running/playing (35%), near water (18%), cleaning (18%), sports (17%), watching sports (10%) and yard work (2%).

“Parents purchase mobile phones as a way to maintain direct contact while their kids are away from home,” said Taylor Gibbs, a recent college graduate, guest blogger at Gotta Have My Mobile, and public relations representative at Asurion. “As kid’s lifestyles become more active, the risk of losing or damaging their phone increases dramatically. Since asking kids to leave their phone at home is not an option, parents should consider insurance through their wireless carrier as a way to ultimately protect their pocketbooks.”

Fifty-percent of students and forty-three percent of parents surveyed believe a replacement device costs less than $200; however, in reality, replacement devices such as the Apple iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S III cost more than two and three times that, totaling $650 and $550 respectively.

In addition to protecting your active student’s device with insurance, Asurion offers these, and other, helpful tips to keep mobile phones safe as well as being technologically prepared for the school year:

  • Invest in a good cover or case
  • Add a transparent film screen protector
  • Purchase mobile phone insurance when you buy or upgrade
  • Plug the phone charger into a surge protector
  • Go to GottaHaveMyMobile.com for more tips and tricks

About Asurion

As the world’s leading tech care company, Asurion eliminates the fears and frustrations associated with technology, to ensure our 300 million customers get the most out of their devices, appliances and connections. We provide insurance, repair, replacement, installation and 24/7 support for everything from cellphones to laptops and household appliances. Our experts are available online, on the phone, at one of our more than 700 stores, or can even come to you.

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