IPad – Difference between Express and Standard Replacement Service for iPad battery

Generally an extended warranty (and insurance in general) is not worthwhile if you can afford the loss. By definition, insurers calculate the odds that they'll need to pay out a claim, and charge more than that (odds * payout) to make a profit.

The only reason to pay that surcharge is to protect against losses that would cause massive financial hardship. If you can replace the item on short notice without going hungry or losing your home, you're probably better off self-insuring in the long run.

That being said, there are exceptions: most notably when you have better information than the insurer about your risks. In other words, if you know you're much more likely to damage an item than the average user (and the insurance company considers you an "average user"), it might be a win to insure for accidental damage.

For this reason, I did actually go ahead and insure my iPad -- although I did so through SquareTrade, not Apple, as they offer a better product IMHO.

ifixit.com sells a battery replacement (and almost any other part for your laptop), you might want to check it out. Here's the link http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts/MacBook-Pro-13-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2009-Battery/IF163-003

The part is out of stock, so you might want to be notified when it is available, it's all in the link.