Archived Copies of Warranty Week

December 2002 to Today

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.
March 4, 2021
Top Asian Automaker Warranty Expenses: The recent trend has been upward for the warranty metrics of these Korean and Indian car companies, with some of their expenses setting new record highs. Their warranty costs are far from out of control, but they're no longer low, which is bad for companies known for their lengthy warranties.
August 15, 2019
Managing Servicers and Dealers with Data: After, Inc. uses state of the art modeling techniques combined with industry know-how to help manufacturer's navigate the sometimes challenging relationship between manufacturers and TPAs with servicers and dealers. Implementing cost control changes with minimal friction is the goal.
March 1, 2018
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.
September 21, 2017
Top 100 Warranty Providers of 2016: While we can't directly compare the warranty expenses of companies to each other, we can compare a company to itself over time, and can then make comparisons based on the rate of change. In doing so, we can spot the companies cutting their warranty expense rates significantly, as well as those whose warranty costs are beginning to spin out of control.
March 16, 2017
U.S. Truck & Auto OEM Warranty Report: While falling sales drive Navistar's claims rate upwards, Paccar finds ways to cut warranty costs. And both GM and Ford continue to report some of the lowest warranty cost per vehicle metrics in the world, while Tesla gets its warranty costs under control.
July 21, 2016
Building Materials Industry
Warranty Report: While some sectors have been able to reduce their warranty costs, others have seen them slowly rise. A few have seen costs rise as revenue falls, making warranty expenses even more painful to manage. But some have gotten their costs back under control after seeing them spike in recent years.
May 28, 2015
Aerospace Warranty Report: Because a few big manufacturers dominate the industry, their problems or successes with warranty cost control can change the industry averages significantly. But over the long term, the trend is clear: aerospace suppliers have learned how to cut their warranty expenses and keep them low. The OEMs? Not so much.
April 2, 2015
Appliance Service Contract
Market Shares: Though the market has remained relatively flat for years, market shares are changing as online sales are gaining and new players are emerging. Still, six underwriters control 90% of the market share.
October 10, 2013
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
The Abt Experience: Not content to merely collect a sales commission and be done with it, Abt Electronics keeps tight local control over its extended warranties and service organization from a single location. And customer loyalty? We're talking customer love.
February 17, 2011
Data Storage Warranties: Sales are once again rising and warranty costs are falling or at least remaining under control, despite longer warranty durations. But while some companies are cutting their warranty costs for real, at least one is merely changing the way it reports the numbers.
September 23, 2010
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.
July 2, 2009
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