Dish is "Oh so sensitive"

[SimpleSimon]

I don't see why Dish doesn't just offer an "equipment insurance" for a small fee (i.e. $1.99 per mo).

Have this optional insurance protect againts Acts of God, and theft reported and doccumented with the police.

I really think in the long run Dish would come out ahead and make a profit.

Just my $0.02

Excellent idea. Let's run the numbers, assuming everybody signed up. 8M subscribers*$2/month=$16M/month revenue

Pure WAG 100 receivers lost per month @ avg. $300 each = $30k/month. BIG PROFIT. Wow.

Let's say 10K receivers plus dishes lost per month (no way it's that high!) @ avg. $1000 each system (no way it's that high either). That's still $16M-10M=$6M/month profit!

They wouldn't have to wait for the long run - it's instant green!

 

[snathanb]

I don't see why Dish doesn't just offer an "equipment insurance" for a small fee (i.e. $1.99 per mo).

Have this optional insurance protect againts Acts of God, and theft reported and doccumented with the police.

I really think in the long run Dish would come out ahead and make a profit.


Just my $0.02

It works for the cell phone folks. They wouldn't offer it if it wasn't profitable.

 

[John Kotches]

snathanb,

Different model though. Cell phones are cheaper to produce, and are highly portable.

In addition, in the case of a natural disaster, you can lose a ton (literally) of product concentrated in a geographic region very rapidly.

Overall, it might just be profitable, but I do wonder what the "hit rate" vs. payout would be with something like this for Dish.

What about lightning prone regions like Florida, where lightning strikes can easily take out equipment?

Cheers,

 

[snathanb]

snathanb,

Different model though. Cell phones are cheaper to produce, and are highly portable.

Maybe some are.. but there are plenty still that cost the same to produce. Think video phones, etc.

The fact that they are highly portable makes them much higher prone to needing replacement. They get stolen, lost, dropped, etc. A whole category of problems that stationary dbs receivers are not subject to.

Pure speculation... but I bet in any given month far more broken or stolen cell phones are replaced than DBS receivers. More importantly, I bet the production costs of replaced cell phones far outweigh the production costs of DBS receivers that fail over any given unit of time. Even factoring in natural disasters...

Add in a clause that it is secondary or gap insurance to cover any loss not first covered by homeowners insurance, and it becomes a no brainer.

 

[SimpleSimon]

... In addition, in the case of a natural disaster, you can lose a ton (literally) of product concentrated in a geographic region very rapidly.

Overall, it might just be profitable, but I do wonder what the "hit rate" vs. payout would be with something like this for Dish

What about lightning prone regions like Florida, where lightning strikes can easily take out equipment?

Look again at my beyond worst case numbers in Post #80.

Add in a clause that it is secondary or gap insurance to cover any loss not first covered by homeowners insurance, and it becomes a no brainer.

And when you throw this in, exactly, it's a no brainer.

 

[Stargazer]

Dish could charge different rates in different states based on the risk involved but I would see Dish charging an average rate to make it simple. If more people take the insurance in the higher risk areas than in the lower risk areas then the amount is not offset enough therefore there would have to be more charged.

If Dish Network did offer consumers this option then perhaps they would no longer need to purchase insurance on their leased receivers (if they even purchase any insurance on them). Dish would not only make a profit per month but not have to pay that insurance (if they do) therefore it would be even more profitable in that way.

I think a lot of people would abuse the system in which would increase the cost of the insurance. Also proof would have to be provided on the theft and so forth which could be hard to do in some situations but proof of the distaster wouldnt be with some type of police report or documentation of the bad weather or something.

 

[SimpleSimon]

...I think a lot of people would abuse the system in which would increase the cost of the insurance. Also proof would have to be provided on the theft and so forth which could be hard to do in some situations but proof of the distaster wouldnt be with some type of police report or documentation of the bad weather or something.

I think you answered your own doubt there. Individual claims would require a copy of the renters/homeowners insurance claim, police or fire report, etc. Disaster claims are easily verified by nothing more complex than newspaper reports - although, if this is only secondary insurance as someone suggested, than simply always require a copy of the primary renters/homeowners insurance claim.

 

[Stargazer]

I bet there would be a number of angry Dish customers when they find out that the homeowners insurance would have covered it (and must cover it if they do have it) when they had the Dish insurance all along (although a lot of them do have a deductible and homeowner's may not cover theft).