While an undoubtedly overloaded Marianna volunteered to get Assurance pricing for those who emailed a price request to her, I've been unable to get such info either by email, or calling the corporate sales number or the LA office number.  (With all the 3.0 posts here, I wonder if all the Avid personnell have headed for the bunkers - at any rate, no one answers the phone after you wend your way through the magical mystery menu...)

At any rate, from the email I got it states a 15% decrease in Assurance cost if purchased with product.  An earlier press release said Assurance prices were being reduced as well, but never said from what to what. And in January Avid announced that if your contract lapsed or you did not purchase one at the time you bought your product, you would have to pay a 25% late renewal fee on the Assurance price.

Since there is no option to purchase Assurance for non-DigiDesign products in the online store, your only choice is to order direct from Avid by phone to be able to get product and Assurance at the same time as required by the terms of the discount offer.  So, before deciding if the deal is worth it I would like to get answers to these questions:

1.  What would Assurance be for someone upgrading from MC Soft 2.8.3 with no
Assurance to MC Soft 3.0 via "hardcopy" DVD with 3rd party apps?

2.  Does the quoted price include the 25% penalty for currently having MC
Soft without an Assurance contract?

3.  Would this purchase be eligible for the 15% base price discount
advertised for limited time on new Assurance contracts?  If so, since the
terms of the discount require the Assurance contract to be purchased at the
same time as the covered product, would one's only purchase option be to
order via the inside sales telephone number (since there appears to be no
way to add Assurance contract to the shopping basket on the Avid Store)?

NOTE: I also have an original Mojo - don't know if this affects the cost since, I seem to recall, the product was end-of-lifed some time ago.

Bill, please email this question directly to Marianna and she will answer you. Because of all the variables involved you won't get that answer here.

Would be usefull if Avid did post their New Thinking assurance pricing somewhere!! 

I let mine lapse a couple of months back as no one would give an answer or even inkling on pricing. Seemed stupid to cough up $2.5K for assurance for yet another year when its value had reduced to a single paid $995 upgrade a year. (valuation based on assurance outside of the States and residing 1000km from the nearest dealer)