Archived Copies of Warranty Week

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December 2002 to Today

Worldwide Auto Warranty Expenses: Most auto manufacturers have filed their latest annual reports, so the totals are in for 2021: $45.9 B in claims paid, a 2.4% claims rate, $54.0 B in accruals made, a 2.8% accrual rate, $128.4 B in reserves held, and $653 in accruals made per vehicle sold. Claims and accrual totals changed little last year, but because sales rebounded in 2021, the expense rates fell.

October 6, 2022

Nineteenth Annual Product Warranty Report: While the erratic nature of accruals continued in 2021, claims totals remained stable. But warranty reserves hit a new record high late in the year, and expense rates briefly set a new low record early in the year. Manufacturer's warranty expenses are sorted into 18 industries and three major sectors: vehicles, electronics, and building trades.

Nine-Month 2021 Warranty Report: This year, product sales took off but warranty expenses didn't follow. The result is that early in the year, warranty expense rates dove to levels never reached before, before rising back to typical levels later on. And the cause of this dip wasn't the automakers. This time it was the computer manufacturers.

December 16, 2021

Warranty Snapshots of the Top 100 Providers: So far this year, most of the largest warranty providers have paid out more in claims and set aside more in accruals than they did last year. But when product sales are factored in, most companies saw their warranty expense rates fall, because sales rose somewhat faster than expenses did.

December 9, 2021

Nine-Month Truck, RV & Car Warranty Trends: While the pandemic left a clear mark on sales and warranty accruals last year, the downturn was brief and the recovery was fast. So far in 2021, other events such as safety recalls and environmental warranty problems seem to have had more of a noticeable effect on their warranty metrics.

November 18, 2021

Apple's Product Warranties & AppleCare: The world's largest extended warranty program got even larger last year, reaching an estimated $8.5 billion in revenue. At the same time, Apple's product warranty expenses continue to shrink, with claims falling to a nine-year low even as product revenue soars in the fiscal year that just ended.

November 4, 2021

Mid-Year HVAC & Appliance Warranty Metrics: The totals and averages are moving in response to the ups and downs of the top manufacturers. But they didn't move much in response to the pandemic or the lockdowns that follows. At the same time, for at least one top home improvements retailer, the extended warranty business is booming.

October 21, 2021

Mid-Year Aerospace Warranty Report: While in years past the top civil aviation manufacturers and their suppliers basically split the industry's warranty expenses between them, in recent years several of the OEMs have run into costly warranty issues. Meanwhile, the suppliers continue to cut their warranty costs steadily.

October 14, 2021

Mid-Year U.S. Truck Industry Warranty Metrics: During the lockdowns, sales were down and so were accruals for the top truck makers. But warranty claims barely changed, and were actually down more this year than last. And while extended warranty sales fell precipitously in 2020, they're still not back up to the record levels we saw in 2019.

September 30, 2021

Mid-Year New Home Warranty Report: Some homebuilders hit the bullseye every quarter with their warranty accruals. Others oscillate wildly, allocating way too much one quarter and next to nothing the next. And while new home sales are soaring, warranty expenses are not, suggesting either exemplary levels of quality or more inefficiency. gyrations.

September 23, 2021

Mid-Year U.S. Auto Warranty Expenses: As if the pandemic wasn't enough of a challenge, the top U.S.-based automakers also now face a spike in recall costs that have driven up their warranty accruals dramatically, not only at the end of 2020 but also in the middle of 2021. The result is alarming warranty expense levels not seen before, but easy to spot in these charts.

September 16, 2021

Worldwide Heavy Equipment Warranty Report: Claims were up a bit last year but warranty accruals fell significantly, as did product revenue. As a result, the industry's claims rate was also up a bit while the average accrual rate fell. And the combined warranty reserve fund balances of the 52 companies we're tracking in this category grew five percent to a record $9.81 billion.

September 9, 2021

Worldwide Auto Warranty Expenses: Last year, claims fell -10% to $43.9 billion while accruals rose +4% to $51.0 billion. And with some additional adjustments along the way, that drove worldwide warranty reserves up to a new record balance of $114.9 billion. And because sales fell so fast, the average claims rate rose to 2.8% last year, while the average accrual rate jumped to 3.3%.

September 2, 2021

Warranty Chain Management Conference: In the middle of the summer, in the middle of a pandemic, on the strip in Las Vegas, the annual gathering of the warranty management industry will reconvene after spending a year online. Insurance, telematics, sustainability, and automation are among the major topics on the agenda.

August 26, 2021

Top Asian Automaker Warranty Expenses: While the top carmaker in India seems to be getting its warranty expenses under control, recall-driven warranty costs have spiraled out of control for the top two Korean carmakers. Hyundai's accrual rate more than doubled to nearly 6.5% last year, while Kia approached 5%.

August 12, 2021

Japanese Automaker Warranty Expenses: Sales revenue fell and so did claims, but warranty accruals actually rose last year. Because of the pandemic, unit sales fell to their lowest level of the last ten years. But while claims are down, accruals are up, as Japanese manufacturers seemingly prepare for increased costs down the road.

Assurant Inc. During the Pandemic: With a major share of the insurance underwriting for both retail appliance, electronics, and mobile protection plans as well as for auto dealer's vehicle service contracts and ancillary plans, the company is a bellwether for a large portion of the extended warranty industry, both in the U.S. and worldwide. And some peculiar things happened to both its revenue and profit rates last year during the pandemic and the lockdowns that resulted.

American Home Shield During the Pandemic: While sales of existing homes dipped during the worst of the lockdowns, they soared for the rest of last year. But while home warranties have historically been closely tied to the sale of existing homes, American Home Shield has moved on to selling the annual policies directly to homeowners staying put, and then encouraging those homeowners to renew year after year.

European Automaker Warranty Expenses, Part 1: Six out of the seven top car manufacturers based in Europe have delivered their annual reports detailing their 2020 sales and warranty expenses. All saw sales declines but some actually increased their warranty expenses last year.

New Home & Building Materials Warranty Report: What you won't see in this week's collection of warranty expense reports are soaring or plunging warranty metrics. Most of the building trades' warranty expenses were fairly stable in 2020, with those metrics generally rising or falling by 10% or less. But just as there are exceptions to every rule, there were also a handful of big moves up and down last year.

US Computer Industry Warranty Report: Despite the pandemic and the lockdowns that followed, U.S.-based computer manufacturers continue to reduce their warranty expenses from one year to the next, as they have since 2003. And while some of their suppliers had a bad 2019 in terms of warranty cost increases, in 2020 most of them managed to reduce warranty costs proportionally to sales.

HVAC & Appliance Warranty Report: Warranty costs and expense rates remained fairly stable for the HVAC manufacturers but were much less so for the appliance makers. But the real surprise is how late in the year the effects of the pandemic lockdowns seem to have been felt. Instead of a really bad second quarter, these companies saw a slow decline from one end of the year to the next.

Medical & Scientific Equipment Warranty Report: In the year of the pandemic, nothing seemed to happen as expected. Sales were up but warranty expenses were down, especially during the tumultuous second quarter. And some warranty expenses seem to have been shifted from early to late in the year, by both manufacturers and their customers.

Eighteenth Annual Product Warranty Report: When the pandemic began a year ago, shopping and work patterns changed radically, as many people found it hard to leave their homes or get to work. One would have expected a deep dive in warranty claims early on, but there was an even deeper drop in warranty accruals in the middle of the year, and a much higher makeup effort towards the end of the year.

Top 100 Warranty Providers of 2020: As we've done for the past 18 years, it's time to compare the most recent warranty metrics of the largest warranty providers in the U.S. to their year-ago warranty metrics, to see which of them have most successfully reduced their warranty costs.

RV Warranty Update: Severely damaged during the Great Recession, the RV industry actually grew last year, and the survivors of that downturn a decade ago have also learned how to keep their warranty expenses under control, despite the health emergency. Winnebago, in fact, raised its warranty accruals in 2020 by exactly the same proportion as sales.

Detroit Auto Warranty Update: It was supposed to be a down year, with car sales down and warranty expenses down also. The first part came true, and warranty work was way down last spring, but the latest financial data from the top U.S.-based automakers has warranty costs soaring late last year.

February 18, 2021

Nine-Month 2020 Warranty Report: So far this year, warranty claims are down -10%; accruals are down -15%, and warranted product sales are down -7%. But a few industries such as Security Systems and Computer Peripherals are actually up on all fronts, while the warranty metrics of Aerospace and Computers are way down.

December 17, 2020

Warranty Snapshots of the Top 100 Providers: So far this year, claims are down significantly and accruals are down by significantly more. But warranted product sales are down by only -7%, which for a pandemic is not terrible. And because of the interplay between those metrics, warranty expense rates are down only slightly overall.

December 10, 2020

High-Tech Electronics Warranty Snapshots: While the pandemic of 2020 affects everyone all over the world, not every company or industry has been equally affected by all the stay-at-home orders. Product sales and warranty accruals traditionally move up or down together, but that's not happening to every company or every industry this year. Instead, some are up and some are down, with no visible pattern.

December 3, 2020

Warranty Snapshots of Planes & the Building Trades: Unlike the passenger car industry, there is no clear trail of pandemic-induced calamity in the warranty metrics of the building trades or the aerospace industry. It hasn't been a good year for many manufacturers, but it hasn't been the Worst Year Ever, as it has for many students and workers, not to mention all the families that lost their loved ones.

November 19, 2020

Apple's Warranties & Service Contracts: In its brand new annual report, the company details its declining product warranty expenses while providing financial clues that suggest its market-leading extended warranty program had a really good year.

November 5, 2020

Mid-Year HVAC & Appliance Warranty Report: Some industries saw sales plummet and warranty expense rates soar. Appliances and HVAC systems weren't among them. Some of the individual companies are posting big shifts in their warranty metrics, but they seem to have more to do with acquisitions and divestments than they do with the effects of the pandemic. This is definitely not the auto industry.

October 29, 2020

Mid-Year Aerospace Warranty Report: While a big merger and a big spin-off have clouded the industry's warranty metrics, making year-to-year comparisons tricky, it's still pretty clear that the pandemic has hit aerospace companies hard. But the grounding of the 737 MAX a year before the lockdowns certainly didn't help.

October 22, 2020

American Auto Warranty Expenses: In this first part of a worldwide automotive warranty report, we find last year's slowdown turning into this year's slump. But the warranty expenses of the top U.S.-based automakers were actually up last year, and have failed to fall as fast as sales did this year, leading to increased expense rates.

August 20, 2020

Semiconductor Warranty Report: After a sudden jump in claims in 2018, warranty expense rates took a jump early last year. But by year's end, both the amount of money going towards warranty costs as well as the percent of sales it represented were back down to normal ranges. But warranty reserves haven't been this low since 2009.

Medical & Scientific Equipment Warranty Report: The amount of warranty expense reported by these manufacturers has never been lower, but their expense rates have been slowly rising for the past few years after more than a decade of cost reductions. Even though it's last year's data, the importance of low failure rates has never been higher.

Top 100 Warranty Providers of 2019: Though the very largest manufacturers and warranty providers rarely report massive changes in their warranty metrics from one year to the next, at least a few of the mid-sized companies always seem to report cutting their claims and accrual expenses in half. And 2019 is no exception, with major warranty cost reductions reported by several manufacturers.

The Biggest 9-Month Warranty Expense Rate Changes: While we can't directly compare one company's warranty expense rates to another's, we can compare each company's current metrics against their year-ago levels. And then we can compare the size of the changes, to reveal which companies are seeing costs fall and which are seeing them soar.

January 16, 2020

OnPoint Warranty Aims for the Connected Home: Not only is Louisville the headquarters for so many warranty experts, it's also the city they return home to after their excursions to other cities. OnPoint, in fact, launched last year after two of its co-founders who were on opposite coasts simultaneously realized there really is no place like home.

December 12, 2019

Worldwide Aviation Warranty Expense Report: Warranty accruals were up last year, but warranty claims continued to fall. It's still too early for the cost of grounding of the 737 Max to show up in the data, but why are Boeing's warranty costs always much larger than Airbus? Meanwhile, Bombardier and Dassault saw significant spikes in their warranty expenses last year, while Gulfstream and Embraer saw slight declines.

October 10, 2019

Truck Extended Warranty Sales: New accounting rules require companies to disclose their "service-type warranty" sales. Last year, five of the top U.S.-based truck manufacturers sold more than $1.2 billion worth of extended warranties, a stunning 18% gain over 2017.

August 29, 2019

WCM Opening Keynotes & Closing Panel: For the 15th time, warranty industry professionals are heading to the annual WCM Conference, convening this year in Orlando, Florida. Over the course of three days, industry thought leaders are scheduled to delve deep into topics such as warranty fraud and the Internet of Things.

February 28, 2019

Early Look at Year-End Warranty Data: The Hewlett-Packard family of companies has filed their annual reports, as have a few others such as Deere and Navistar. While companies whose fiscal years end in December are just beginning to publish their warranty expense reports this week, many others with different fiscal years have already released the data.

February 14, 2019

B2B Service Contract Conference: Last year, a commercial service contract trade association was launched at the Nashville conference. This year, two half-day programs have been added to the main conference to delve into topics related to how commercial service contracts are priced, configured, and sold to businesses.

September 27, 2018

Mobile Home Warranty Expenses: While much of the industry collapsed a decade ago, the five large manufacturers that remained in business have made a steady comeback. Last year, claims and accruals finally surpassed their pre-recession peaks, even while most of the remaining manufacturers have been able to keep those expenses steady as a percentage of sales.

GE & UTC Service Contract Estimates: Their jet engine operations may generate billions a year in service contract revenue, as evidenced by the tens of billions of dollars in deferred revenue carried on their balance sheets. But without hard numbers to go by, we have to estimate the size of their protection programs.

Commercial Truck Service Contracts: At roughly one percent of revenue, commercial extended warranties for trucks represent more of a convenience for customers than a major additional source of profits for manufacturers. Still, we know they bring in more than a billion dollars a year just in the U.S., even though only a handful of truck manufacturers report the relevant metrics.

Honda & Toyota Warranty Report: Both companies are recovering from some bad years in terms of warranty costs: Honda in fiscal 2016 and Toyota in fiscal 2017. But according to the figures in their brand new annual reports for the just-finished year of fiscal 2018, both companies are now on the mend, with warranty costs that are still unusually elevated, but not as high as they were a year or two ago.

Automotive Supplier Warranty Report: Of all the companies that supply parts and components to the car and truck manufacturers, those making engines, axles and transmissions pay the most claims and see the highest warranty expense rates. Last year, in fact, they broke records for claims paid, accruals made, and reserves held.

Automotive OEM Warranty Report: The car manufacturers used to spend a greater share of their sales revenue on warranty work than the truck manufacturers did. But because of persistent cost-cutting, that is no longer the case. Last year, car manufacturers cut their expense rates to below-average levels, while the truck manufacturers were slightly above their long-term average at the end of 2017.

Fifteenth Annual Product Warranty Report: All the metrics are down this year, including product sales. Some companies continue to cut their warranty expenses by huge amounts, producing better products with lower failure rates. But others are getting better at shifting more of their warranty expenses back onto their suppliers.

Top 100 Warranty Providers of 2017: While total claims and accruals fell last year, some companies saw their warranty costs soar. By comparing each company to itself over time, we can spot the most and least improved warranty providers. And we can also spot the accounting eccentricities of those few that act like nobody's watching.

WCM Conference Preview, Part 2: Travel plans are being made for the 14th edition of this annual warranty and service contract industry conference, which opens in less than two weeks. The agenda this year is a mix of both returning favorites and new topics suggested by both presenters and attendees at past conferences.

February 22, 2018

WCM Conference Preview, Part 1: The workshops are filling up, and travel plans are being made for the 14th edition of this annual warranty and service contract industry conference. The agenda this year is a mix of both returning favorites and new topics suggested by both presenters and attendees at past conferences.

February 15, 2018

Midyear Computer Industry Warranty Report: Even though numerous industry players have been acquired or have gone private, the remaining manufacturers have continuously cut their warranty expenses from one year to the next. But then along came the iPhone, and now Apple's frequent ups and downs are dominating the industry's statistics.

November 2, 2017

Midyear Auto Warranty Expense Report: Though passenger car sales have slowed a bit from last year's record pace, there's no sign of a slowdown among truck makers or their suppliers. More worrisome is a slow but steady rise in warranty expenses that's been under way for several years, after more than a decade of gradual cost reduction.

October 26, 2017

New Home Warranty Expense Rates: Last time there was a recession, the warranty metrics of new home builders flashed danger signals more than a year before it officially started. Currently, there's nothing to worry about, by the looks of the latest industry data.

October 12, 2017

Asian Automotive Warranty Report: Honda had a bad year in 2016, and this year it was Toyota's turn to report dramatic increases in recall costs. They used to have the lowest automotive warranty costs in the world but now that title belongs to Hyundai, which has yet to see the impact of defective air bags or other rampant problems.

U.S. & European Auto OEM Warranty Report: While Volkswagen and Fiat have seen their warranty costs rise significantly in recent years, BMW, Daimler and Tesla have driven their expense rates down. And somewhere in the middle this year are Ford and GM.

Automotive Warranty Expense Report: While the individual manufacturers see their claims, accrual, and sales totals change up and down from year to year, some long-term trends are also evident. The carmakers are cutting costs the most and the longest, while the powertrain manufacturers are falling behind other types of suppliers.

Service Contract Pricing: Refrigerators: The bigger the refrigerator, and the more it costs, the lower the ratio between its list price and the price of protecting it for a given length of time. And the longer the duration of coverage, the more it will cost, though the industry-wide ratio isn't close to a straight line in terms of cost per year.

January 19, 2017

Service Contract Pricing: Washer/Dryers: While it costs a little more to protect washers than dryers, on a proportional basis it also costs less to protect expensive washers and dryers than low-priced units. And while none of the top appliance vendors want to sell one-year service contracts, plenty of retailers and administrators are willing to protect washers and dryers for five or even 10 years.

January 12, 2017

Service Contract Pricing: SquareTrade: Next year, once Allstate completes its SquareTrade acquisition, we'll find out whether there's more value in its direct-to-consumers sales model or in its traditional retail relationships. But this year, though the company has a reputation for selling inexpensive product protection plans, we're finding that some of its retail partners are marking up prices significantly.

December 1, 2016

Extended Warranty Conference Overview: Nashville is once again the destination for the extended warranty industry's annual gathering. But this year, the day-and-a-half conference is supplemented by two additional half-days focused on the sales and marketing of service contracts.

September 22, 2016

GWSCA Conference Overview: With a theme centered around the role of warranty and service contracts in customer engagement, this year's annual meeting and conference runs from Wednesday afternoon to Friday at lunchtime.

September 15, 2016

Power Generation & Material Handling Equipment Warranty Report: While the overall totals and averages don't change by much from year to year, some of the individual companies in these industries are seeing their warranty expenses rise and fall dramatically.

Automotive OEM Warranty Report: There were some big declines in warranty costs last year, but it was more a case of getting back to normal after a bad 2014 filled with recalls. Still, the carmakers set a new low for their expense rates, and many of the heavy truck and construction equipment companies also continued to push warranty costs lower.

Top 100 Warranty Providers of 2015: Most of the major warranty providers have published their annual reports in the past few weeks. By comparing their most recent warranty claims, accrual, and reserve metrics against the same expense figures from a year ago, we can make a series of top 10 lists of the most improved and the most injured warranty providers.

Declining Accruals in Detroit: This news can't wait for summer: Ford and General Motors set aside less in warranty accruals per vehicle sold last year than ever before. Thanks to a well-timed coincidence of rising sales, falling warranty costs, rising reliability, and reduced recalls, the top two passenger car and light truck makers in Detroit are cutting their warranty expenses to just a few hundred dollars per vehicle sold.

February 25, 2016

Appliance Protection Plans: When it's all counted together, a huge amount of money is being set aside to pay for product repairs. Manufacturers finance their warranties and consumers can purchase additional protection through either service contracts or home warranties. It all adds up to about $6.77 billion spent last year on protection plans.

January 28, 2016

Home Warranty vs. Homebuilders' Warranties: When it comes to protection plans, consumers spent over $2 billion on home warranties last year while builders spent roughly $1.5 billion on warranty claims. Home warranties are an essential part of a sales transaction in some states, and homebuilder warranties are a major attraction for new home buyers. But most existing homes aren't covered by a protection plan, and the warranty costs for most new homes aren't reported publicly.

January 21, 2016

U.S. Automakers' Warranty Expenses: Because there were so many big recalls in 2014, the amount spent on warranty soared. Last year, things began to get back to normal, but expense rates are still at elevated levels. Nevertheless, unit sales totals smashed a 15-year-old record in 2015.

January 7, 2016

Auto Parts Supplier Warranty Report: Compared to the automotive OEMs, the suppliers have kept their warranty costs low and ytheir expense rates stable. And while some saw costs drift upwards last year, on average the group remained about the same, as they have for the last few years.

Early Look at Annual Warranty Data: About half the big companies have now reported their year-end 2014 warranty expense data. And while little has changed for most of them, a few are now getting back to normal after seeing expense rates soar in 2013 and earlier last year.

February 19, 2015

Service Contract Underwriters: Well over half the service contracts sold each year to consumers are backed by publicly-traded insurance companies based in the U.S. What follows is a list of their financial strength ratings and a look at their stock market track record since 2008.

February 5, 2015

Effective Warranty Management for Improved Customer Satisfaction and Profitability in 2015: After conducting an extensive survey of the global warranty chain management community last year, Strategies For Growth president Bill Pollock has put together a results package consisting of a white paper, a webinar, and a WCM workshop on the subject of current trends in warranty management.

January 29, 2015

Top International Warranty Expense Reductions: While HP saved itself a billion dollars a year, two German carmakers have saved themselves twice as much. Three others have cut their annual claims payments by hundreds of millions of dollars a year in the past decade.

January 22, 2015

Top Warranty Expense Reductions: Using a list of just the top 200 warranty providers, we found one company whose warranty managers have cut costs by a billion a year within a decade, two more that cut hundreds of millions a year, and five that cut tens of millions a year from their employers' annual claims cost. And there were 16 more that deserved honorable mentions for their efforts.

January 15, 2015

Warranty Year in Review: While some companies enjoyed record highs on the stock market, others suffered as rising warranty costs cut into profits. Some even went out of business. And top automakers once and for all proved how useless the TREAD Act is when it comes to protecting customers.

January 8, 2015

Extended Warranty Conferences: As the old saying goes, two's company, but three's a crowd. With the Warranty Chain Management Conference a fixture in the spring, two conferences are competing to become the industry's preferred event in the early fall. This year, they were three weeks apart, but next year, there's only three days between them.

October 16, 2014

Mid-Year Service Contract Report: Consumers will pay nearly $40 billion this year for product protection plans, despite the best efforts of the watchdogs who tell them not to. It's mostly for smartphones and passenger cars, though, because everything else is perceived to be disposable and not worth fixing.

October 9, 2014

Mid-Year Warranty Expense Report: By comparing each company to itself over time, and then comparing the size of the changes, we can spot the companies with the most improved warranty costs and those in the most trouble.

October 2, 2014

The End of Warranty Cost-Cutting? For ten straight years, manufacturers steadily reduced their warranty expense rates from over 1.8% of their sales revenue to under 1.3%. But in the eleventh year, the declines stopped coming. Could it be that there's no more left to cut? And have manufacturers instead begun to spend more on the customer experience?

Service Contract Regulation Seminar: In addition to the customary annual update on service contract laws, regulatory actions and civil cases, attendees at the WCM Conference this year will get a detailed look at the CFPB and a snapshot of how service contract regulations work in Canada.

February 27, 2014

Vehicle Service Contract Conference: This year, it will be possible for an attendee at the WCM Conference to hone in on some high-level discussions about issues affecting the vehicle service contract industry. They used to do that in the fall at a show in Vegas, but that event has gone in a different direction.

February 13, 2014

Warranty Expense Reductions: As the year comes to a close, we take a look at which of the largest warranty providers has achieved the largest expense rate reductions in the past 12 months. But in order to compare companies against each other, first we have to compare each company to itself over time.

December 19, 2013

Top 100 Warranty Providers of 2012: While most of the largest manufacturers continued to reduce their warranty costs last year, some saw dramatic increases. Here are the top up and down percentage changes of the year for three warranty metrics: claims, accruals, and reserves.

Warranty Workshops: Three of the four pre-conference workshops at this year's WCM Conference are built around analytics, but none require much math. Instead, they lay out the business case for analytics, and the benefits the software and services can provide. Another workshop promises to show diversified manufacturers how to gain a global view of their warranty operations.

February 21, 2013

Most Improved Warranty Metrics, Part 2: Warranty expense rates have been on a downward trend for most of the past decade. And most of the manufacturers are reducing their claims and accrual rates year after year. Some, however, continue to cut costs faster than their peers.

October 25, 2012

Top 100 Warranty Providers of 2011: While most of the largest manufacturers continued to reduce their warranty costs last year, some saw dramatic rises. Here are the top percentage increases and decreases of the year for claims, accruals, and reserves.

Warranty Experts: Attendees of this year's WCM Conference will have a rare chance to not only learn from the experts, but to engage them in lengthy question and answer sessions about the past, present and future of the warranty industry. And those who haven't learned how to be in two places at once can watch it all later on video.

February 23, 2012

Aerospace Warranty Report: Unlike the auto industry, the suppliers of this industry account for the bulk of its warranty spending. And yet these suppliers have been steadily cutting their warranty costs year after year, while the airframe makers are paying more than ever before.

January 12, 2012

Top 100 Warranty Providers: While most manufacturers keep cutting their warranty costs, some report massive spikes in their claims and accrual rates for the year ended in September. Others continue to recover from past spikes, with some of the largest declines of the year.

December 29, 2011

Mid-Year Warranty Report: The good news continues into the first half of 2011, with massive warranty cost reductions extending their streak into a ninth straight year. With sales finally getting back to normal, product reliability has never been better, and repair costs have never been lower than they are now.

October 6, 2011

Medical & Scientific Equipment
Warranty Report: Though there is a strong seasonal pattern that drives their warranty costs up in the summertime, companies in this sector have generally been able to reduce those costs from year to year. Even the companies making warranty-intensive X-ray and laser equipment have been cutting costs in recent years.

Computer Warranty Report: After years of cost cutting, warranty expenses remained low last year and look to stay there this year, even as sales continue to rebound. Apple, meanwhile, is beginning to feel the effects of the increased warranty cost that comes in small packages.

Eighth Annual Warranty Report,
Totals & Averages: When sales fell, so did warranty costs. But even though sales are rising again, warranty costs are remaining low as a percent of sales. That reflects a change in reliability, and caps a multi-year success story resulting from the increased attention paid to warranties.

Top Appliance Retailers: In an informal online shopping excursion, we found all but one retailer selling extended warranties, typically for between 10% and 20% of the price of the appliances they cover. Durations ranged from two to five years, though one regional retailer also offered a ten-year "major component only" plan.

January 20, 2011

Automotive OEM Warranties: As sales volumes recover, warranty costs are falling to unbelievably low levels. That's partly a side effect of the dismal truth that there are fewer two- and three-year-old vehicles in use. But it's also proof that those newer vehicles are built better than before and will need less warranty work over time.

November 18, 2010

Construction Equipment
Warranties: While sales fell in 2008, warranty claims continued to rise well into 2009. So some of the top construction equipment makers saw their claims rates reach all-time highs last year. In the first half of 2010, however, things seem to be getting back to normal.

October 21, 2010

New Home Builders & RV Makers: Even among the survivors of the Great Recession, warranty costs are now rising to alarming levels. And for some builders, home sales are still falling year-over-year. The result is a state of affairs where warranty work is financed from a shrinking pool of reserves.

October 14, 2010

HVAC & Appliance Warranties: Both claims and accruals have taken a nosedive this year. But that's good news if it's the result of increased quality and reduced cost, rather than merely a symptom of slowing sales. The problem is, it's hard for external observers to tell the difference.

October 7, 2010

Automotive Warranties: GM and Ford are cutting their warranty expenses and closing the gap with both their competitors and their suppliers. And it's beginning to get some notice in the daily newspapers. Truck makers aren't as lucky, but their year-ago figures weren't as dreadful.

Home Warranty Market Share: While American Home Shield continues to dominate, electrical and water utilities are shaking things up with the growth of their wire and pipe protection services. And despite a continuing multi-year dip in home sales, the home warranty industry set a record this year with $1.5 billion in premiums paid by consumers.

December 22, 2009

Appliance & Building Material Warranties: We conclude our mid-year product warranty report with a look at the supplier side of the homebuilding industry, where we find at least one group paying more for warranty claims this year than they did last year.

October 22, 2009

Automotive Warranties: With GM now government-owned and several mobile home makers trapped in bankruptcy, industry-wide warranty statistics are losing their meaning. And thanks to the distortions caused by massive sales declines this year, claims rates have also lost much of their relevance during this recession. But among at least the well-run warranty providers, accrual rates have remained proportional to sales rates and quality levels.

September 10, 2009

Worldwide Auto Warranties, Part One: Why do Japanese automakers and heavy equipment manufacturers seem to have such low warranty costs? Though sales are down since last year, warranty costs remain under control, according to annual reports filed recently by Toyota, Honda, Komatsu and others.

Annual Warranty Totals & Averages: While claims were up slightly in 2008, both warranty reserves and accruals actually plunged last year. And as sales fall, the percentage of product revenue spent on claims has risen. With no less than 21 charts, we detail the industry totals and averages for the past six years.

Early Warranty Data: While only a few dozen of the hundreds of warranty reporting manufacturers have filed their year end 2008 financial reports so far, very few of these early filings reflect the turmoil one would expect, given the gloom of recent headlines. Are these early filers the exceptions? Or are things really not as bad as they seem?

January 29, 2009

Warranty Cost Cutting: Among the top 100 warranty providers, more than half have reduced the percentage of sales they allocate to warranty costs in the past year. Some have cut their accrual rates by a third, a half, or even more. And many have also seen their claims rates fall, suggesting not only cost cutting but also quality improvements.

November 20, 2008

Furniture & Appliance Warranties: At the half-year mark, warranty costs are creeping up as sales slowly decline for some well-known brands. But others have seen sales rise and warranty costs fall.

September 25, 2008

Computer Warranties: At the half-year mark, HP is up and Dell is down, while Apple and Seagate keep their warranty costs under control. At Lexmark and Palm, however, already-elevated warranty costs keep going higher.

September 18, 2008

Top 100 Warranty Providers: Compared to a year ago, much has changed in terms of warranty claims, accruals, and reserves. Key ratios suggest that some companies are enjoying vastly reduced repair costs thanks to quality gains. However, for the largest manufacturers, the percentage of sales they spend on warranty hasn't changed much.

September 5, 2008

Automotive Warranties: In terms of warranty accruals, vehicle makers are setting aside less funds in 2008 than they did a year ago, while their suppliers are setting aside more. But before one concludes that supplier recovery efforts are the primary reason, let's allow some time for recent litigation and asset sales to be fully reflected in the numbers.

Top 100 Warranty Providers: Key ratios show how some manufacturers have made fairly radical changes in their warranty finances over the past year. But, like a dog that doesn't bark, what's remarkable is how few of the biggest warranty providers have seen relatively big increases or decreases since March 2007.

Five-Year Warranty Trends, Part Six: The total balance in all U.S. manufacturers' warranty reserve funds first surpassed $40 billion in 2007. The total is up 4.3% since 2006 and is up 16% since 2003. But while balances in some industry sectors are soaring, in others they're actually shrinking from year to year.

Five-Year Warranty Trends, Part Five: American manufacturers now keep $41.1 billion in their warranty reserves, equal to 17 months' worth of claims paid. And it's been more or less steady at that capacity level for the past five years. Meanwhile, average accrual rates have stayed close to 1.7%, although different industries accrue for warranty at different rates.

Five-Year Warranty Trends, Part Four: Warranty costs as a percentage of sales have remained rather stable since 2003. But while some industries are always below the overall average, others are always above it. And that depends not only on the product being made but also on the maker's spot in the supply chain.

Five-Year Warranty Trends, Part Three: Measured in dollars, claims were up by only $400 million last year (+1.4% since 2006) while accruals rose $1.5 billion (+5.5%) since 2006. But Microsoft's Xbox 360 debacle accounted for much of those increases in a year that saw warranty expenses decrease or remain the same for manufacturers in many industries.

Five-Year Warranty Trends, Part Two: While several of the biggest warranty spenders have compiled remarkably consistent results since 2003 in terms of the percentage of revenue they spend on warranty work, others have managed to reduce their costs considerably over time. And then there are the handful that saw costs rise by remarkably high amounts.

Ford's Warranty Costs: Figures presented at the Warranty Chain Management Conference last week showed a massive drop in the automaker's warranty expenses. But that had much to do with the accounting for the soon-to-be-sold Jaguar and Land Rover divisions. Still, even after adjusting year-ago figures to account for that impending sale, Ford's warranty costs are down significantly.

Top 100 Warranty Providers: While manufacturers' warranty costs shouldn't be compared directly against one another, they can be compared against themselves over time. And when one looks at those with the biggest percentage increases and decreases, one sees the biggest warranty winners and losers of the past year.

January 10, 2008

Camcorder Shopping: All the major brands except Canon give only 90-day warranties on labor, making extended warranties an attractive add-on. But there are numerous small brands that give the full year on both labor and parts. Meanwhile, extended warranties are priced low by some retailers, while a few try to get more for the protection plan than they do for the product it covers.

December 5, 2007

Mid-Year Warranty Report: Numerous companies continue to fine-tune their warranty spending, reacting to claims rate fluctuations by modifying accruals. While warranty spending by one company can't be compared to another's, we can compare a company to itself over time, by way of a series of top ten lists.

August 15, 2007

Institute of Warranty Chain Management: The time has come for companies in the warranty industry to write a check to fund the launch of warranty management training and certification services. If the fundraising goes well, individual memberships are set to follow by year's end.

Computer Warranties: Though warranty costs increased only slightly for PC makers as a group in 2006, a few companies saw radical changes in their claims and accrual rates. And Dell's still missing, with no new warranty data in almost a year.

Warranty Spending in 2006: With the total over $28 billion and climbing, warranty claims reported last year by US-based manufacturers have never been higher. But while some companies pay out more of their sales in warranty claims, others have cut some key ratios significantly.

Warranty Institute: A year after his call for the formation of a warranty industry association, HP's Glen Griffiths plans to announce the official launch of the Institute of Warranty Chain Management next week in Tampa.

Warranty Conference, Day One: Whether by design or by coincidence, this year's Warranty Chain Management Conference seems to have two major themes: the globalization of warranty management and the legal aspects of warranty and extended warranty. At times, attendees will have to choose between two or even three equally good choices when deciding which track to follow.

February 28, 2007

Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates: Half the industry segments follow seasonal patterns, with claims and accrual rates peaking during the same quarter every year. Four segments are following downward trends while two are on upward slopes. But what's most surprising is how small the fluctuations have been over the past 15 quarters.

January 17, 2007

Copy/Print/Scan/Fax Warranties: While in this digital era it has become increasingly difficult to find standalone office machines on the market, it has also become very difficult to find anything for sale with more (or less) than a year's warranty.

October 11, 2006

Top 100 Warranty Providers: In this midyear report, we look at who's up and who's down compared to a year ago. Driven by acquisitions and longer warranties, some companies are paying out more than ever before. But others have found ways to cut their outlays by big numbers.

September 26, 2006

Television Warranties: Bigger is usually better, when it comes to TV warranties. While the old tube TVs are more or less disposable, flat screen vendors usually either fix them in the home or send someone out to pick up the units that fail. And while a year is the most common warranty period, several TV manufacturers issue multi-year warranties on their premium lines.

September 7, 2006

CD & DVD Warranties: Only Sony is willing to back its optical disc products with multi-year warranties, and only its high end units benefit from the five-year coverage. Everyone else issues manufacturer's warranties of one year or less.

August 29, 2006

Digital Media Warranties: Digital music players and digital cameras, despite prices that sometimes surpass several thousand dollars, are never warranted for more than a year. Some manufacturers will cover labor charges for only the first 90 days, which pushes these units right to the edge of disposability, given the cost of repairs.

August 15, 2006

Computer Warranties: While most computers still carry a one-year warranty, some are covered for only 90 days while many office computers still cling to three-year warranty periods.

Computer Warranties: While most computers still carry a one-year warranty, some are covered for only 90 days while many office computers still cling to three-year warranty periods.

Product Warranty Trends: 2005 is shaping up to be a $27 billion year for the warranty industry, though claims still represent only 1.7% of sales. More than a dozen companies have cut their claims rates. Some manufacturers, however, have seen their claims rates soar into the danger zone.

January 10, 2006

Computer Warranties: It's entirely possible that HP, Dell, and IBM are each now paying roughly the same percentage of their hardware revenue to satisfy warranty claims. A year ago, HP was paying much more, and Dell and IBM were paying less.

November 9, 2005

Top 50 Warranty Providers: Manufacturers spent more than $25 billion last year on warranty claims, but sales rose a bit faster, so claims as a percentage of revenue fell slightly. Most of the top 50, however, saw their claims rates fall more.

Product Warranty Trends: Manufacturers seem to pack their end-of-year reports with as much warranty expense as they can find, creating a kind of step function in the quarterly data.

January 11, 2005

Product Warranty Providers: Gateway holds onto the title of most improved for 2003-2004, but almost three-quarters of the top 50 manufacturers are seeing their warranty claims rates decline year over year.

January 5, 2005

Home Warranty Claims & Accruals: Homebuilding, heating and cooling each have their peak seasons. But do warranty claims for new homes and HVAC units also have a peak season? Recent data suggests that claims actually peak later in the year, months after sales do.

August 31, 2004

Warranty Claims & Accruals: While some U.S. manufacturers are still preparing their latest financial statements, most of the largest warranty providers have already announced their second quarter claims and accruals. While some of the top 50 are spending more on warranty than a year ago, most are spending less, and a few are spending a lot less.

August 17, 2004

Industry Segments: Year to year, each industry's overall share of warranty claims changes slowly, as do their individual claims rates as a percentage of sales. But because many companies operate in more than one industry, precise calculations are elusive.

Warranty Claims: While some U.S. manufacturers are still preparing their latest financial statements, most of the largest warranty providers have already announced their first quarter claims and accruals. Half of the top 50 are spending more on warranty than a year ago while half are spending less.

Warranty Reserves: While the average manufacturer spends 1.9% of product revenue on warranty claims and keeps a little over a year's worth of funds in reserve, each industry is different. Computer manufacturers and automakers fund their warranty programs at different levels than telecom or aerospace manufacturers. But in any group, as with any trend, there's always the odd man out.

Warranty by Industry: While automotive warranties continue to account for half of all claims, a diverse mix of other industries makes up the balance, from air conditioning to airplanes. Manufacturers grouped by the types of products they make exhibited distinct personalities during the past year.

Skatepark Warranties: Whether they're made of steel, plywood, plastic, or paper, the ramps and rails installed in skateboard parks are sold with a warranty. But whether the warranty lasts for a year or 20 years seems to have more to do with marketing than the strength of the materials used.

February 24, 2004

Turf Warranties: In some of North America's largest sports stadiums, the grass is always greener, thanks to AstroTurf and its successors. Unlike the sods it replaces, an artificial sports surface comes with an eight-year warranty. But if you're planning to make a claim, bring your lawyer.

February 10, 2004

Warranty Software: Is there such as thing as a company conceived and launched to provide nothing but warranty claims processing software? Apparently not, but at least two companies decided a year ago to focus almost exclusively upon warranty.

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