Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Bliss Landon, Longtime Insurance Specialist and the Founder & CEO of School Device Coverage:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to School Device Coverage?
A: School Device Coverage (SDC) offers the premier educational technology device insurance program, available to K-12 school districts across the United States. A division of U-PIC Insurance Services, SDC has been insuring devices since 2014. For more information, visit our vebsite.
Q: You’ve recently announced the launch of a brand new podcast series Risky Business with the Coverage Queens; can you tell us something more?
A: That’s right! I teamed up with my long-time friend Kathy Kaehler, a 30-year nutrition and fitness expert, to start the podcast. The goal is to have an ongoing conversation around educational technology, how it affects the lives of students, it’s advantages and disadvantages, best practices for school districts running these programs, the business side of EdTech, ways that children and families that are distance learning can remain engaged, and so much more. We interview teachers, technology directors, parents, students, EdTech business leaders, device repair companies, and more.
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Q: Can you give us more insights into your services?
A: We insure the devices that K-12 school districts deploy to students for 1:1 / distance learning. This includes Apple products like the iPad and MacBook, Chromebook devices, laptops, tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, etc. Generally speaking, we converse with a district to understand how their program runs currently, what types of devices they use, their past experience with those devices, and get an idea of their coverage goals. Once we have all of the information needed, we submit the most competitive program proposal that we can.
Coverage is quite broad, especially when you compare it with OEM warranties that come with devices, or even the additional ADP offerings (accidental damage program/plan)…and usually for a similar or lower cost. The word is certainly spreading among school districts that insurance is the way to protect devices, but there are still tons of districts that purchase warranty coverage, only to find out that the most common problems their devices run into are not covered by a warranty, and if they are, it’s quite limited and comes at an additional cost. Our programs are engineered to ‘cover all of the bases’ in one fell swoop.
With a School Device Coverage program in place, our districts may file claims as often as needed with no limits or caps, have access to a client portal that keeps them updated on devices being repaired, and are not charged any deductibles or hidden fees. Each device has one associated premium that covers the school year, or the calendar year depending on whether or not students keep devices over summer. We cover loss (including mysterious loss), theft, and all forms of accidental damage. You would not believe the types of damage that we’ve seen or how the devices are damaged.
Device repair is of massive importance to districts. Although we do automatically transfer insurance coverage from a damaged device to a loaner, districts still expect the damaged device to be repaired and returned as quickly as possible. To achieve this, we’ve built the industry’s most flexible and broad repair network. There are three categories; in-house, local, and mail-in. Some districts have the capacity to repair their devices with their in-house tech team. Others prefer to work with a local computer repair company, with whom we partner to make that work. Some districts, especially more rural districts, prefer to mail devices into one of our many depots for repair. Through our discovery process with our district partners, we work together to identify the best solution, and put it into place so that their expectations are met and exceeded.
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Q: What can we expect from School Device Coverage in next 6 months? What are your plans?
A: Quite a lot. Without getting into too much detail, to maintain a growth posture, we need to continue to innovate. To that end, we’re working to expand coverages, offer new products, partner with other companies that also service K-12 EdTech needs, and build an unbeatable suite of services. In the next 6 – 12 months, the industry will see some incredible and impressive new offers on the market from SDC. Our tech team is also working 24/7 to improve the experience of our users in the claims and management portal. We’ll have some updates and new releases coming out soon!
Q: What it the best thing about School Device Coverage that people might not know about?
A: We are a private, woman-owned small business, with over 31 years of experience. Quite a few of our employees have been here for over ten years which is a rarity these days. Especially for a small business! But I think the best thing is our staff’s dedication to our clients. At the heart of it is the knowledge and respect for the fact that our clients put food on our tables. As such, we’re going to do everything we can to provide the best solutions and service possible, in order to continue earning their trust year-over-year.
Would you believe that School Device Coverage still maintains a wonderful working relationship with our FIRST client? It’s true!
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