Warranty Week Industry Headlines

ServiceBench Signs HomeServe: When it came time to upgrade its field service management system, the home warranty company turned to Asurion's ServiceBench unit for a cloud-based service platform that could connect its customers, contractors, and service center team, helping them to make sure that the right contractor is assigned for the job and that they show up at the appointed time.
August 23, 2018

New Home Warranty Report: With products such as single-family homes, it's possible to measure warranty accruals not only per dollar of revenue, but also per unit sold. And then it becomes clear which companies have mastered their warranty cost estimation process and which are still making it up as they go along.
June 8, 2017

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

Fulcrum Analytics Spins Off After Inc.: The experts in extended warranty analytics and post-sale marketing services have spun off the business unit so it can stand on its own.
September 17, 2015

U.S. & Asian Auto Warranty Report: Almost every passenger car manufacturer is reporting rising warranty expense rates, thanks to soaring recall costs. But while some OEMs are seeing their costs per unit rise by a third or even by half, a few are reporting only small increases.
July 16, 2015

Warranty Accruals per Vehicle: Though currency fluctuations are a major factor, in 2013 both GM and Ford accrued less per vehicle sold than any of the European or Japanese OEMs. And though BMW and Daimler command a higher price per vehicle, they've accrued less and less per unit over the past decade as they continue to cut warranty costs.
July 17, 2014

Warranty Acquisitions: Big companies are buying smaller companies all the time. But then they have to merge their product lines, combine their warranty reserves, and publish all the details. Divestitures, meanwhile, also happen once in a while, but not as often as entire companies are sold as a single unit.
October 20, 2011

RV & New Home Warranties: Sales are declining so claims rates are rising. But a few homebuilders have radically cut the amount they set aside per unit sold, raising suspicions that they're intentionally estimating low. Meanwhile, homes on wheels continue to show higher warranty costs.
June 20, 2008

Manufacturer's Extended Warranties: Although retailers dominate the business, a handful of manufacturers do very well for themselves in the extended warranty business. Now a major bank's insurance unit wants to help more of them to launch service plan sales efforts.
February 14, 2006