Chromebook Insurance

We've seen several insurance plans for Chromebooks. Some school districts think that this is the way to go because it's kind of hands-off. In fact, I know of one of the largest school districts in the country (located in Wisconsin) that snickers at trying to protect Chromebooks because of the insurance plan it has. Frankly, that's sad. Does having car insurance mean you can drive like a maniac? Does having life insurance mean that you tempt death? Just like any other insurance, Chromebook coverage is a way for a company to make money off your schools, which means insurance will cost you more than just fixing the Chromebooks yourself.

Let's just say you have the standard $50 a year insurance on all devices. Many of these policies come with a $10-$25 deductible, too, but we can forget about that for now. $25 per year on each $200 device slated to last five years means that you'll be paying $125 EXTRA to have the Chromebooks, making each one cost $325 over five years.

Let's say you get a soft case for $10 or a Cranium Hard Case for $15. Either one of those (or both) will create a situation where your breakage rate is negligible. Over five years, your $200 Chromebook will cost you $225. That's $100 savings per device. If you have 10,000 Chromebooks, you'd pay $2.25 million rather than $3.25 million.

Keep in mind that this is not a huge school district at 10,000 units, but you'll save $1 million over five years. Or $200,000 per year. Or several teachers' jobs.

If you want to save even more, just get EITHER the soft or hard case. Your breakage rates will go way down with any effective Chromebook case. If you must purchase a few new Chromebooks along the way, that's not a huge hit.

What if we go ahead and assume a 10% breakage rate (like the insurance companies do) and then add a $25 deductible? That's $25,000 in deductibles. Just add that right into the $3.25 million. And who pays for the accidents, anyhow? Parents? The school?

Feel free to test out insurance policies. Pay the high fees and then decide if it was worth it. I can say without a doubt that it's not worth it, since the goal of all insurance is to make money for the insurer. Economics 101. The goal of any school board, however, is to save money for the taxpayers, so after you pony-up for that insurance for one year, you should be ready to invest in some cases that work.