Warranty Week
Light and Dark Theme
Click to toggle the mode to your preference
In our 22nd year of providing the latest & greatest Warranty Information.
-
Service Contract Pricing: Video Game Consoles: The average video game console protection plan costs 16% of the unit price, but there are a wide range of offerings online. One administrator wanted $54 to protect a $700 PlayStation 5 Pro, while another wanted $100 to protect a Nintendo Switch Lite that cost just $200.
Dec 26, 2024
-
Service Contract Pricing: Televisions: The average TV service contract costs 15% of the TV's price, but there are a wide range of offerings online. One administrator wants just $50 to cover a $1,500 high-end OLED TV, while another wants one-third of the purchase price to cover a cheap LCD TV. We also found that big-box warehouse clubs are now bundling in free extended warranties as membership bonuses.
Dec 19, 2024
-
Nine-Month U.S. Truck Industry Warranty Metrics: The four major U.S.-based truck manufacturers have seen product warranty claims costs increase, but have decreased their warranty accruals. At the same time, Paccar has seen amortized revenue from extended warranties increase, and Trane has seen new service contract sales increase.
Dec 5, 2024
-
Right to Repair Rule Change: A new exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act allows third party repairs to restaurant and medical equipment that use copyrighted software, including McDonald's ice cream machines. What does this mean for the growing right to repair movement in the United States, and how will this change with the next presidential administration?
Nov 28, 2024
-
Extended Warranty Revenue Trends: Because so many extended warranty programs are run by small private companies or by huge companies that don't break out their service contract revenue, it's almost impossible to size the business accurately. This week, we're looking at data from three industry leaders, Assurant, Frontdoor, and Lowe's, to get a sense of the state of the American service contract industry.
Nov 21, 2024
-
Worldwide Jet Engine Warranty Expenses: In 2023, the top global jet engine OEMs paid $1.58 billion in warranty claims, set aside $1.88 billion in warranty accruals, and held a collective $4.88 billion in warranty reserves. The industry average claims rate was 1.29%, and the average accrual rate was 1.53%.
Nov 14, 2024
-
Evolution Warranties reports sales revenue of £2.96m and a net loss.
Motor Trader (UK), Jan 15, 2025
-
Volvo Penta lengthens product warranties to three years globally.
Marine Log, Jan 14, 2025
-
Prosidium Warranty & Capital appoints Brady Jones as executive VP of dealer success.
Press Release, Jan 13, 2025
-
Warranty Solutions to use Bumper's PayLater platform for warranty renewals.
AM Online (UK), Jan 13, 2025
-
Yamaha motorcycles & scooters now backed by 3-yr. factory warranty.
SuperBike News (UK), Jan 11, 2025
-
Ford struggles with warranty costs as shares drop 18.5%.
Insider Monkey, Jan 10, 2025
-
Citroen We Care program provides powertrain warranties up to 8 yrs.
Press Release, Jan 10, 2025
-
Fortress Building Products lengthens warranty on steel railings.
Press Release, Jan 9, 2025
-
A-dec lengthens warranty on dental equipment from 5 to 10 yrs.
Press Release, Jan 9, 2025
-
Walmart customer arrested for allegedly stealing his replacement TV.
MoneyWise, Jan 8, 2025
-
ProGuard Warranty renames itself Proguard Automotive.
Press Release, Jan 8, 2025
-
EticaAG introduces 10-yr. battery storage system fire warranty.
Press Release, Jan 8, 2025
-
Navigating the rigid world of energy storage warranties.
Energy Storage News, Jan 7, 2025
-
Choice Home Warranty lists the plan features homeowners like most.
Press Release, Jan 7, 2025
-
Ten best battery warranties for EVs costing less than $50,000.
Top Speed, Jan 5, 2025
World's Largest Warranty Problems:
On the one hand, U.S.-based manufacturers are required to disclose their warranty expenses to investors. On the other hand, they try their best to obscure the news and bury it in plain sight when something really expensive happens. But as the saying goes, a picture's worth a thousand words. And in the charts that follow, it's hard to hide a billion-dollar warranty problem.
Over the past few years, every once in a while, a set of warranty expense numbers comes in that makes us wonder if there's been a typographical error in a company's annual report. Suddenly, there's a billion-dollar warranty expense and there's no explanation at all anywhere in the document.
Other times, a major safety recall or some other big event makes the news, and inevitably it gets reduced into a major escalation in a company's warranty expenses. For these, we don't need any additional explanations, but we never do find out exactly how much it costs.
Consumer Reports' 2006 Extended Warranty Ad:
There was panic in the industry when one of the most trusted consumer advocates told its readers not to buy extended warranties. Ten years later, the magazine's advice is almost forgotten, and the industry is bigger than ever.
In a few weeks we'll be marking a very important anniversary in the service contract industry. Just as the holiday shopping season of 2006 was getting under way, a major consumer product ratings publisher told shoppers that extended warranties were a waste of money. On Tuesday morning, November 14, 2006, the USA Today newspaper carried on the back page of the "Money" section (page 10B), the following full-page ad placed by Consumer Reports magazine:
Reaction was swift. Some said both the frequency of breakdowns and the average cost of repair was higher than Consumer Reports was calculating, making service contracts a better value than was admitted. Others said it was simply a matter of price, in that nobody would deny the value of a service contract priced at 0% of the product's price (in other words, free).
VW's Emissions Warranty Scandal:
Some students cheat on tests. But companies rarely do, because the cost of getting caught is very high. And in the long run, someone usually snitches. So isn't it ironic that a bunch of students caught one of the world's largest manufacturers cheating on a test?
At Volkswagen AG, the world's largest passenger car manufacturer, and the world's largest warranty provider, with some of the industry's highest warranty expense rates, things just went from bad to worst. The company, which spent 7 billion euro (US$7.9 billion) last year on warranty claims, could end up paying an additional US$3.6 billion in claims and fines to fix a major problem with almost half a million diesel cars that have been found to be illegally polluting the air.
It all started last May, when the International Council on Clean Transportation, a small nonprofit organization focused on the reduction of vehicle emissions, and a research team at the Center for Alternative Fuels Engines and Emissions within West Virginia University, documented the discrepancy between test levels and real world nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions levels from new passenger cars equipped with diesel engines.
Warranty Expenses When Conglomerates Break Up:
In early 2020, two diversified companies spun off product lines to become "pure plays" in specific industries. And now, seven quarters later, the warranty expense metrics of the five new companies, which were previously blended together, have diverged in very distinct ways.
After news broke last month about the plans of General Electric Company and Johnson & Johnson to break themselves into three and two companies, respectively, it made us recall the break-ups of last year, when United Technologies Corp. and Ingersoll-Rand plc reorganized themselves into three and two units.
As we wrote about in the May 28, 2020 newsletter, our main interest in the break-ups of these conglomerates was how their subsequent financial statements would allow us to get a much clearer view of their warranty expenses, since the aerospace claims and accruals would no longer be blended with those of the air conditioning or industrial/building products lines of business. And now, with nearly two years of separate data in hand, that clearer picture has emerged.
The A-Team of Extended Warranties:
Ten companies, whose names all begin with the letter A, control at least 57% of the $40 billion U.S.-based and consumer-facing service contract industry. Most are administrators and/or underwriters of the protection plans, but a few are electronics manufacturers and/or retailers.
Extended warranties are a huge business in the U.S. Last year, consumers spent an estimated $17 billion on vehicle service contracts, and roughly $23 billion on protection plans for their appliances, electronics, computers, and mobile phones.
A huge chunk of that money is going to the people that sell them: the dealers and retailers who collect very healthy sales commissions and move on. But the rest is going to a long list of service contract administrators and insurance underwriters who seem to retain the risk and do all the work.
Privacy Policy, GDPR guidelines & Cookie Policy
** DOES NOT DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION**
to outside parties UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
Periodically, aggregate statistics will be provided to our advertising partners, but no specfic or personal information will be included. We do ask you if you are interested in receiving relevant information or offers from warranty vendors via email. You may choose to receive this information or easily "unsubscribe" and choose NOT TO RECEIVE any emails from Warranty Week outside of your newsletter subscription.
🔶 If you choose to receive additional information other than your newsletter, this information is sent to you directly by Warranty Week. If you choose not to receive other information from us, this WILL NOT AFFECT your regular subscription. If you choose to discontinue your newsletter subscription, you may also do this by simply unsubscribing at any time. When you send us your "unsubscribe" request to each of our offerings, YOUR RECORD GETS PERMANENTLY REMOVED from these databases as we receive your remove requests.
🔶 Thank you for making Warranty Week the Web's premier resource for warranty professionals and please let us know how we can serve you better!
🔶 What information do we collect?
🔷 We collect information from you when you subscribe to our newsletter.
🔶 What do we use your information for?
🔷 Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:
To send our weekly newsletter.
"Your information, whether public or private, will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or given to any other company for any reason whatsoever, without your consent, other than for the express purpose of
delivering the purchased product or service requested."
🔶 Do we use cookies?
🔷 As per our Cookie Policy (bottom accordion tab) our system requires the use of certain cookies to function. We also have optional cookies you may opt-in or opt-out of using.
🔶 Do we disclose any information to outside parties?
🔷 We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
🔶 GDPR Compliance
🔷 We are in compliance The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (G.D.P.R.) laws which are meant to ensure a common set of data rights in the European Union. (see lower accordion tab)
🔶 California Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
🔷 Because we value your privacy we have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. We therefore will not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent.
🔶 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
🔷 We are in compliance with the requirements of COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act), we do not collect any information from anyone under 13 years of age.
Our website, products and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old or older.
🔶 Your Consent
🔷 By using our site, you consent to our web site privacy policy.
🔶 Changes to our Privacy Policy
🔵 If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page.
🔶 Contacting Us
🔷 If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us using the information below.
Warranty Week Home Page
10520 66th Road
Forest Hills, NY 11375-2179
USA
📧 Editor
📅 Last Updated: December 12, 2024
This Data Protection Notice explains how we collect and use your personal information. Please read this notice carefully to understand our practices.
🔶 Information We Collect ‐ We may collect the following personal information about you:
- 🔹 Email address
- 🔹 IP address
- 🔹 Other information you provide through our website or contact forms
🔶 How We Use Your Information ‐ We may use your personal information for the following purposes:
- 🔹 To respond to your inquiries or requests
- 🔹 To provide you with information about our products or services
- 🔹 To improve our website and services
- 🔹 To comply with legal requirements
🔶 Your Rights ‐ You have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
- 🔹 Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- 🔹 Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
- 🔹 Erasure: You have the right to request that we delete your personal information.
- 🔹 Restriction: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information.
- 🔹 Data portability: You have the right to request that we transfer your personal information to another organization.
- 🔹 Object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information.
🔶 How to Exercise Your Rights
🔷 To exercise any of your rights, please contact us using the information provided below.
🔶 Contact Information: 📧 Editor
🔶 Changes to This Notice
🔵 We may update this Data Protection Notice from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page.
📅 Last Updated: December 12, 2024
- 🔹 Essential Cookies: These must be enabled for the site to function correctly.
- 🔹 Optional Cookies: These control opt-in or opt-out of certain enhancements to the site.
📅 Last Updated: December 12, 2024