Archived Copies of Warranty Week

December 2002 to Today

WCM Conference Schedule:  Attendees have some tough choices to make between six different parallel conference tracks. Several continue to repeat the dual themes of warranty fraud detection and the Internet of Things, while many showcase the latest innovations that new technology has to offer to warranty professionals.
March 7, 2019
Service Contract Pricing: Wi-Fi Doorbells: One of this holiday season's hottest products is likely to be those video doorbells that let homeowners see who's knocking even when they're away. But they're so new to the market, the technology is so unproven, and the risks are so unknown, that a large part of the service contract industry seems reluctant to offer protection plans for them.
November 17, 2016
Retail Product Warranties: Though it's not common, there are some retailers, primarily in the auto parts business, that provide their own product warranties above and beyond what the manufacturers offer, and report those expenses in their financial statements. But it's likely to become more common in other lines of business, as more manufacturers open their own retail outlets or sell directly to consumers online, and more retailers begin to sell their own brands.
August 18, 2016
Assurant Expert Services: While repairs are a huge part of aftermarket services, so are installations, assemblies, configuration and preventative maintenance. Assurant Solutions is putting them all under a single umbrella that it can offer to its retail clients who can in turn sell service to their end user customers.
August 30, 2012
Warranty Maturity Model: Now that three companies have put themselves through the self-assessment and compared notes, it's time to widen the offer to additional manufacturing companies. Next month, the three companies will present case studies at the WCM Conference in Orlando.
February 9, 2012
How to Buy Extended Warranties: Step One: Read the contract. Research the terms and conditions of the service contract while you compare the prices and features of the products themselves. Then use your common sense and Google to decide if the extended warranty offer is a deal worth adding, or if you should shop elsewhere.
August 25, 2011
INSERT TITLE HERE NLA Circuit Board Repairs Offer Profitable Service Addition for Appliance Contractors
February 10, 2011
Retail Auto Parts Warranties: While many of the major auto parts chains are willing to go above and beyond the warranties that manufacturers offer on products such as batteries, most are reluctant to begin selling service contracts. But at least one retail chain has taken that step, and has also begun to offer extended warranties on its own labor services.
June 10, 2010
Extended Warranty Insurance Companies: The advice columns tell you not to buy extended warranties, but they never tell you not to buy extended warranty companies. Of the four largest publicly traded warranty insurance companies, at least two offer dependable dividend yields and perhaps also capital gains as the recovery takes hold on Wall Street.
May 14, 2009
Green Warranties, Part Three: To help the environment, extended warranty administrators are stepping up to offer customers gift cards in return for their waste computers and cameras and more energy-efficient replacements for their unrepairable home appliances.
May 30, 2008