Our "Service Contract Pricing" series is back in 2026 by popular demand. Over the next two months, we will go online shopping in the United States for appliances, home furnishings, and utility vehicles, and collect data on the extended warranties offered by a variety of retailers.

This week, we went online shopping for washing machines, and extended warranties to protect them. We collected data for washing machine service contracts sold by 29 different online retailers, which represent 15 different extended warranty administrators and obligors, and 8 different insurance underwriters.

Our sample of washing machines represented 14 different appliance manufacturers. 58% were front load washers, and 42% were top load washers. The prices ranged from $480 to $2,750, and the drum capacities ranged from 2.3 cubic feet to 6.1 cubic feet.

Our 29 retailers are about half well-known national chains, and half regional retailers. We expanded our sample of regional appliance retailers for this new series, because we're fascinated especially by the small regional chains with their own repair networks, many of which are also the administrator and obligor of their own homegrown extended warranties. We saw a bit of this in our series pricing service contracts for electronics, but in-house protection plans and repair networks seem to be more prevalent amongst regional appliance retailers.

Methodology

We surveyed the most popular online appliance retailers in the United States, along with a variety of regional chains across the country. We identified these retailers using market trend data and search engine results. Of course, we only collected data from retailers that sold both washing machines, with optional extended warranties attached to them.

We only collected data for stand-alone washers, not for washer and dryer sets, nor be all-in-one combination washers and dryers. We also excluded all portable or compact washing machines, and all washers intended for commercial use. We only surveyed new appliances, not refurbished or open-box appliances.

We let each website's algorithm guide us in our data collection, to help us see which retailers are emphasizing which manufacturers. We collected data for four to six washing machines from each online retailer, unless the site's stock was limited. From each site, we gathered data for both top- and front-loaders, with varying prices ranging from the lowest to the highest available.

We did not collect any sale prices. For each site, we collected data on the "original price" only.

We gathered washing machine extended warranty data from a total of 29 U.S. online retailers. The nationwide retailers were: Amazon, Best Buy, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Home Depot, LG, Lowe's, Maytag, Menards, Samsung, Walmart, Wayfair, and Whirlpool.

In addition, the regional retailers from which we collected data were:

• ABC Warehouse, based in Pontiac, Michigan, with stores in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana,
• Abt Electronics, based in Glenview, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area,
• AJ Madison, based in Brooklyn, New York, with additional stores in the metro areas of Washington D.C., Miami, Atlanta, and Houston,
• Appliance Village, in Rochester, Minnesota,
• Big George's Home Appliance Mart, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan,
• Big Sandy Superstore, based in Ashland, Kentucky, with stores in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and Missouri,
• BrandsMart USA, based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area, with stores in Florida and Georgia,
• Electronic Express, based in the Nashville, Tennessee area, with stores in Tennessee and Alabama,
• Famous Tate Appliance & Bedding Centers, based in Tampa, Florida,
• Gerhard's Appliances, based in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, with locations in the Philidelphia metro area,
• Jetson TV & Appliance, based in Fort Pierce, Florida,
• Nebraska Furniture Mart, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, and based in Omaha, Nebraska, with locations in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Texas,
• Orville's Home Appliances, in the Buffalo and Rochester, New York metro areas,
• P.C. Richard & Son, based on Long Island, New York, with locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
• RC Willey, also owned by Berkshire Hathaway, and based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with locations in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and California,
• Warners' Stellian, based St. Paul, Minnesota, with locations in Minnesota, the Des Moines, Iowa area, and the Kansas City, Missouri area.

Survey Results

First, let's take a look at some statistics about the washing machines and extended warranties for which we gathered data.

Figure 1 shows the brands of washing machines gathered in this survey of online retailers.

We found the most extended warranty plans for LG washing machines, followed by Whirlpool, GE, and Samsung. Maytag, of course, is owned by Whirlpool, but still sells appliances under a separate brand name. We also gathered data for washing machines from Electrolux, Bosch, Element Electronics, Miele, Frigidaire, Insignia, Kenmore, and Hotpoint.

Figure 2 shows the price ranges of the washing machines we surveyed.

We found the most extended warranty plans attached to washing machines in the price range of $1,000 to $1,250. The next most common price range was $850 to $1,000.

Figures 3, 4, and 5 show statistics about the extended warranties attached to these washing machines. Figure 3 shows the length of the service contracts we surveyed.

The most common length of service contract was five years, followed closely by three years.

Two-year and four-year plans were present, but less common, and one-, seven-, and eight-year plans were uncommon, though we did find them. We did not find any six-year plans available, nor did we find any longer than eight years.

Figure 4 shows when each service contract began, either the date of purchase/ delivery of the appliance, or when the limited manufacturer's warranty ends (typically after one year).

It was more common for these appliance protection plans to begin at the date of purchase of the washing machine, rather than after the limited warranty ends.

Many of the plans that began after the end of the manufacturer's warranty were sold on the online retail websites of the manufacturers. For instance, the Domestic & General Protection Plans sold by Whirlpool and Maytag begin after the manufacturer's warranty ends, as do the Asurion plans sold by LG, and the Assurant plans sold by GE Appliances.

Figure 5 shows the proportion of plans that included language covering "normal wear and tear," as opposed to only covering mechanical defects.

Only 29 of the 326 plans for which we gathered data included language denoting that "normal wear and tear" are covered. Typically, the extended warranty plans we found covered mechanical defects, though a few also included preventative maintenance.

The plans that explicitly covered "normal wear and tear," "accidents," or similar language, were: Lowe's Protection Plan, provided by Assurant, and the Washer & Dryer Protection Plan from Nebraska Furniture Mart, provided by Allstate.

Administrator, Obligor, and Underwriter Teams

Many of the regional retailers do their own in-house extended warranty. First, we'll describe the administrators, obligors, and underwriters working with the larger national retailers.

Best Buy saw the biggest change since we conducted a similar survey for electronics last year. On August 12, 2025, Best Buy switched its Geek Squad plans from AIG to Assurant. On December 8, 2025, all plans sold prior to August also switched over to Assurant.

Lowe's also sells extended warranties from Assurant.

Home Depot sells Allstate/ SquareTrade plans, as do Menards, Walmart, and Wayfair.

Amazon only sells a selected range of Kenmore washing machines. Amazon offers Appliance Protection Plans from Asurion, with underwriter Continental Casualty Company.

Many of the appliance manufacturers have their own online retail websites, and sell extended warranties as well.

Whirlpool and Maytag sell plans from Domestic & General USA, with underwriter Technology Insurance Company, Inc.

GE Appliances and Samsung both sell plans from Assurant, with administrator and obligor Federal Warranty Service Corp., and underwriter American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida.

LG sells plans from Asurion, with underwriter Continental Casualty Company.

Electrolux sells Total Appliance Protection plans, which it administrates itself, with obligor OnPoint Warranty Solutions LLC, and underwriter Universal Underwriters Insurance Company.

Regional Retailers

AJ Madison, Appliance Village, Big George's Home Appliance Mart, Famous Tate Appliance & Bedding Centers, Gerhard's Appliances, and Nebraska Furniture Mart sell extended protection plans from Allstate.

BrandsMart USA sells plans from administrator ProtectALL, with obligor First Shield Consumer Service Corporation, and underwriter Arch Insurance Company. This is a change from our study last year, when we found BrandsMart selling Allstate plans.

Orville's Home Appliances sells plans from administrator New Leaf Service Contracts, LLC, with obligor 4warranty Corporation, and underwriter Lyndon Southern Insurance Company.

The rest of the regional retailers have their own in-house extended warranty programs.

ABC Warehouse, Abt Electronics, Big Sandy Superstore, Electronic Express, Jetson TV & Appliance, P.C. Richard & Son, RC Willey Home Furnishings, and Warners' Stellian all have homegrown extended warranty programs, with their own repair network of service technicians.

Electronic Express uses the name Alliance Warranty Solutions for its obligor, and Warners' Stellian uses the name Ironclad Home Services, LLC for its administrator and obligor.

One-and Two-Year Service Contracts

In the rest of this newsletter, we will compare the extended warranty price to the corresponding washing machine price, as a percentage.

In the following charts, the y-axis is that percentage, and the x-axis is the extended warranty price. Figure 6 shows these data for the one- and two-year extended warranty plans.

The price pairings ranged from a low of $45 for a one-year Bodewell Care Protection Plans provided by Assurant, on a $1,549 front-load washer from GE Appliances (3%), to a high of $150 for a two-year Ironclad Product Protection provided by Ironclad Home Services (Warners' Stellian), on a $850 GE Appliances top load washer (18%).

The average cost of a one- or two-year protection plan was 8% of the appliance price. Therefore, in this group, there were 41 plans below average, and 19 plans above average.

The outlier plan in the top-right of Figure 6 is another of the Ironclad Home Services plans from Warners' Stellian. In fact, the five of the six plans that cost the highest percentage of the appliance price were Ironclad plans from Warners' Stellian. The other retailer with several plans above average was P.C. Richard & Son.

Three of the four plans with the lowest percentages were Assurant plans from GE Appliances.

Three-Year Service Contracts

Figure 7 shows the price of three-year extended warranties as a percentage of the appliance price, compared to the extended warranty price.

The low range of these price pairings was a $27 three-year Wayfair Protection Plan provided by Allstate, for a $1,429 LG front load washer from Wayfair (2%). The high of the range was a $260 Ironclad plan from Warners' Stellian, for a $1,050 GE Appliances top-load washer (25%).

In the lower left corner is a cluster of five data points, all of which are Allstate plans from Wayfair.

The average cost of a three-year service contract was 12% of the washing machine price. There were 68 plans below average, and 40 plans above average.

The most expensive plan in Figure 7 was the $380 "Extended Warranty with AWS" (Alliance Warranty Solutions) plan from Electronic Express, for a $2,750 LG front-load smart washer (14%).

Four-Year Service Contracts

Figure 8 shows the percentage and plan price pairings for four-year service contracts.

The lowest percentage was the $252 four-year Abt Local Extended Protection Plan from Abt Electronics, local to the Chicago area, for a $2,499 LG front-load washing machine (10%).

Interestingly, the largest percentage pairing was also from Abt Electronics, though it was one of five retailers offering four-year protection plans. The highest of the range was a $358 four-year Abt Local Extended Protection Plan, for a $1,249 Electrolux front-load washer (29%).

The average cost of a four-year extended warranty was 16% of the washer price. There were 17 plans below average, and 14 plans above average.

The most expensive plan was a $500 four-year Extended Warranty with AWS plan from Electronic Express, for a $2,750 LG front-load washer (18%).

Five-, Seven-, and Eight-Year Service Contracts

Finally, Figure 9 shows the percentage and plan price pairings for service contracts five-years and longer.

The low range of the pairings was dominated by five-year Wayfair Protection Plans provided by Allstate. The lowest percentage was a $52 five-year protection plan, for a $1,429 LG front-load washer (4%).

The highest percentage plan in this sample was unique in a few ways. The protection plan cost a whopping 51% of the total appliance price. It was a $380 eight-year Extended Service Protection Plan from P.C. Richard & Son, for a $750 Whirlpool top-load washer.

The average cost of a five-, seven-, or eight-year service contract was 19% of the washing machine price. There were 77 plans below average, and 50 plans above average.

The most expensive plan was a $630 Extended Warranty with AWS plan from Electronic Express, for a $2,750 LG front=load washer (23%), the same washer for which we saw the most expensive three- and four-year plans.