Archived Copies of Warranty Week

December 2002 to Today

Top Warranty Acquisitions: Every once in a while, a manufacturer or retailer is acquired and ceases reporting its warranty expenses, while the acquiring company reports the amount of warranty reserves it gained through the purchase. What follows are some of the largest transactions of and by U.S.-based warranty providers in the past 18 months.
November 12, 2015
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
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
Farm & Lawn Equipment Warranties: Six months after the peak in sales comes the annual peak in warranty expenses. And while some companies take a pay-as-you-go approach, others have mastered the annual cycle to such an extent that their accrual rates hardly budge from one season to the next.
June 20, 2013
Warranty Fraud Detection: SAS says send us your claims data and we'll show you the fraud. If upwards of 10% to 15% of claims are in some way suspect, such a system could pay for itself in just a few months. Does it sound too good to be true? GE Appliances was the first customer.
February 25, 2010
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.
April 29, 2008
Warranty & the Law: Some laws that affect warranties go back decades. Others are just a few months old. At the recent WCM Conference, three lawyers provided some perspective on how they see these laws affecting both manufacturers and extended warranty providers who find themselves in court defending against a breach of warranty lawsuit.
March 27, 2007
The Warranty Reserve: With 18 months of data in hand, it's now possible to begin defining a normal range for the size of the warranty reserve fund, expressed as a multiple of the average amount spent per month on claims.
September 14, 2004
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: In some industries, warranty claims and accrual rates move together in parallel. In others, they each seem to have a mind of their own. This week we take a look at nine months of warranty claims totals and the percentages of sales they represent in nine different industries.
December 15, 2003
The Warranty Reserve Fund: Given the availability of six months of data detailing changes in the warranty reserves of more than 600 U.S. manufacturers, what trends are becoming visible so far?
October 6, 2003
Warranties in the HVAC/R Industry: As temperatures climb, so does the need for air conditioner and refrigerator repairs. But even in the cold winter months, HVAC/R vendors spent an average of 1.9% of product sales to satisfy warranty claims, according to recently filed financial statements.
June 30, 2003