Tile, the company that makes Bluetooth-powered tracking devices to help people find lost stuff, announced a new premium subscription plan that covers the cost of stuff you lose.
Called Premium Protect, Tile’s new subscription plan will come to the U.S. first. It will cost $99.99 USD (about $131.63 CAD) per year and offers up to $1,000 USD in reimbursement for items you lose and can’t find. The subscription also comes with all the features available in Tile’s regular ‘Premium’ plan.
That means subscribers also get free battery replacements and access to the company’s 30-day location history feature. Tile still offers the Premium plan alongside Protect and at the same price: $34.99 CAD per year or $3.49 per month.
Tile confirmed to MobileSyrup that Premium Project would be available for U.S. customers in the fall and that the company hopes to bring it to Canada in the future.
The Verge reports that Tile allows members to register most items for reimbursement through Premium Protect. Another company called Cover Genius works with Tile to follow through on and approve lost item requests. However, there are some exemptions, including antiques, commercial paper, drones, pets, prescription and non-prescription drugs, firearms and more.
Premium Protect members must take a photo of and name the item to register it. If Tile can’t find the item within seven days, members can start to make a claim. Tile also verifies if a member has subscribed to the service for at least 30 days and also that the lost item had a working battery in the tracker. The Verge reports it can take between three and five days for Tile to approve the request and reimburse customers.
It’s worth noting that Tile is trying to accomplish a few things here. For one, the company is signalling how reliable it believes its network to be when it comes to finding missing stuff. The Tile network leverages both physical Tile trackers users attach to items as well as devices with built-in Tile support. The company has partnered with Bose, Anker and Sennheiser to integrate its tech into products.
Tile is also likely trying to head off Apple before the company launches its long-rumoured ‘AirTag’ trackers. An insurance-like plan and other features like this could help Tile stand out from Apple and other entrants into the Bluetooth tracker market.
Update 09/09/2020 at 1:45: Added details about Premium Project in Canada and corrected the headline, which incorrectly labelled the subscription an insurance plan.
Source: The Verge
