Options after new phone stolen (had for two weeks), and refurb doesn't work?

Question

Back in November, I ran into some bad luck with Best Buy phone insurance, and wasn't due for an upgrade with Verizon until March.  Long story short, I went into a Verizon store on Black Friday weekend to see what my options were, and walked away with a brand new Droid Maxx for only $40.  It counted as my new upgrade, and I was thrilled.
Not two weeks after purchasing the new phone, it was stolen from me.  I contacted the Asurion insurance company and shelled out $150 to have another phone overnighted to me.  Much to my surprise, they sent me a refurbished Maxx with a small crack in one corner - clearly a great deal older than my two week old stolen phone.  I decided to give the phone a chance, since I didn't have enough money for other options.
Now, nearly three months later, this refurb is not working out at all.  The crack has grown, I can't do any hands free or voice activating calling/navigation, the speakers cut out periodically, and most of the time I can't hear out of them to the point where I have to use speaker phone, and then the people I'm speaking with can't hear me.  To top it off, the usually fantastic and long battery life I enjoyed on the original phone are NOT present on the refurb.  It lasts half as long, when it does bother at all to charge.
I work for a hospital and need to be on call nearly every day, and the needless quirks on this phone are making it very difficult to do so.
I am at my wits end, and would like to know what my options are.  I did not pay almost $200 to insurance to have a subpar refurb for the next two years, and I cannot afford to pay $150 to Asurion for another refurb.  If my money goes anywhere, I would like it to go to something that will last me the next two years. I realize that I am very lucky to even have a nice phone, but it is not meeting my needs and is risking my day job when the hospital can't get ahold of me readily.
What are my options?  I am on  family plan.  Should I pull my number off the plan for my own?  Try to qualify for Verizon Edge?  Or take my number to another provider that will give me a new contract and a new phone?  Thank you for your help in advance!

Answer 1

You should have arranged return of the damaged replacement to begin with right then.  Too late for that though. At this point, you can buy a used phone on Swappa.com or elsewhere that is compatible to Verizon or buy full retail.  I don't they will let you Early Edge right now being so close to having just upgraded.