Warranty Week Industry Headlines

Commercial Service Contracts, Part 2: Though the terms extended warranty and service contract are used interchangeably, in a commercial setting a service contract can mean much more than an insurance-like agreement. It can include maintenance and product support, with a focus on response time and cost, and may have only incidental ties to the repair of defects or malfunctions.
January 18, 2018

Solar Equipment Warranties: While product warranties that last for one or two decades are reassuring to buyers, they're not worth much unless funds are available to pay claims. That means betting on young startup companies eventually becoming old industry veterans. But who knows how reliable a system installed now will be in 10 or 20 years, and how much it will cost to repair or replace?
July 28, 2016

The Post-Purchase Experience: More than just a buzzword, it's becoming an important part of customer loyalty. Consumers who feel their service contracts can provide a better level of customer service will buy them again, just for the convenience of knowing who to call when they need a repair.
October 23, 2014

Automotive Warranty Report: For the first nine months of 2013, claims are up a bit from 2012 levels while accruals are down. More importantly, the percentage of revenue spent on warranty work is down as well. That means manufacturers expect to see lower warranty costs in the future, as they make more reliable vehicles that cost less to repair.
January 9, 2014

Seagate's Data Rescue Service Contracts: Warranties and service contracts repair or replace the data storage hardware in computers and mobile phones. But they don't cover the data and files stored within them. But now, for a small fee, Seagate and its partners will provide a service contract for data recovery.
October 24, 2013

Consumer Electronic Warranties: The top companies don't have very high warranty expense rates. Outside of laptops and smartphones, their product warranties aren't all that costly. So perhaps warranty claims and repair costs are not a big deal for most consumer electronics companies
July 18, 2013

Service Contracts & Repair Costs: In the ongoing clash between those who sell extended warranties and those who say take your chances, the odds of saving money depend upon the cost and likelihood of needing a repair.
January 10, 2013

Warranty Marksmen, Part 1: Given the average duration of a company's product warranties and the predicted repair cost, a company should be able to accurately estimate how much they need to set aside. But some companies are better at it than others.
November 29, 2012

Warranty Apps: Smart phones need warranty coverage. But they also can be used as platforms to better control their own warranty coverage. Some apps focus on the consumer, either before or after the sale. Others aim to assist the repair crew, after a claim has been filed.
February 2, 2012

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

WCM Conference, Part Three: The future of the consumer electronics industry was the subject of a panel discussion that brought together retailers, manufacturers, repair service providers, insurance underwriters and extended service contract administrators to talk about everything from OnStar to iPhone.
March 24, 2011

The First Service Contract: A GE appliance dealer sold it to a customer in Chicago nearly 77 years ago, along with a refrigerator that turned out to be highly reliable. Yet the same sales drivers used back then -- peace of mind, repair costs and technological worries -- still work today.
February 3, 2011

Fleet Warranties: Among companies that operate fleets of hundreds or even thousands of vocational vehicles, service contracts are rarely bought. Some ask their manufacturers for longer warranties, but most prefer to fix their trucks and buses themselves. And what they like to outsource isn't so much the repair labor as it is the labor associated with warranty claims submission.
May 20, 2010

Vehicle Protection Association: Although it would have been better to prevent the "expiring warranty" scam from trashing the reputation of the vehicle service contract industry, efforts are now under way to repair the damage by making direct marketers adhere to a code of conduct. In the UK, however, the code preceded the need, so there was no problem, at least in the vehicle service contract industry.
January 14, 2010

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

Extended Warranty Advice: An industry expert tells retailers and manufacturers how to get more value from their extended warranty data, possibly helping them to decide what to sell and how to price it based on how much it costs to repair.
March 28, 2006

Global Services: Solectron helps major electronics companies design and manufacture their products, but in the future it sees a major opportunity to expand its operations in warranty repair and even recycling services.
June 14, 2005

Warranty Conference,
Part Six: Warranty fraud is a big problem for vehicle service contract administrators. But surprisingly, the biggest culprits are usually the mechanics and repair shops, not the consumers.
April 12, 2005