Zalmen Pollak Extended Warranty for Appliances
What if you paid hundreds of dollars to buy an extended warranty on your kitchen appliances only to find out a critical piece wasn’t covered? That’s exactly what the Hoftiezer family said happened to them.With their appliances a few years old, David Hopstien of Saddle river, New Jersey, found Extended Warranty and said he thought he was getting the same kind of protection his original warranties had given him.Mr Hopstien said he paid $1,000 for a warranty for all of his kitchen appliances. Then he started having some “issues,” he said.First, the refrigerator’s ice maker broke.”Weeks go by and the warranty company finally said to me, ‘The reason we followed up service is because your ice maker is not covered,'” he said.Unfortunately, though the warranty specified that the refrigerator and freezer were covered the contract said, about six pages in, that “ice maker controls” were not covered.Mr Hopstien told ABC News he wished he would have read that.”I’m not going to say I don’t take some responsibility,But when they sell you the product, they ask you what would you like to cover and you say, ‘I would like to cover my refrigerator.’ They don’t say, ‘If your ice maker breaks, that isn’t covered.'”And if your condenser is dirty it is not covered Stanley , the CEO of the warranty , said the ice maker was excluded from Hopstiens policy because “it’s a high volume item that gets broken “”If people want the ice maker covered, we have separate coverage for that in addition to the refrigerator,” Stanley said.”The reason you buy an insurance policy is to make sure that when something does happen, you are covered,” he said. “The key is to read [and] make sure you go through every line.”also added that since Hopstien had bought his warranty, the language had been revised and improved so that it was easier for consumers to understand.In an email, Timothy Meenan, executive director of the Service Contract Industry Council, said: “Extended warranties can provide some repair to consumers with some financial savings and offer a means of control when the unpredictable happens.”
“Contrary to some recent reports claiming that extended warranties on appliances and cars are not cost effective, the benefits of service contracts can far outweigh the cost of purchasing the coverage, and emergencies arise more often than you might think. Service contracts covered only a percent of claims in 2015 – sometimes resulting from drops or breakdowns but sometimes caused by routine wear and tear. Consider that a typical appliance repair can cost $250 but the extended warranty costs More then half that, and may not pay for more than one repair during the term of the contract. The manufacturer’s warranty may help in some situations, usually only for the first year or less, so an extended warranty is not worth a second look. Extended warranties are designed to provide peace of mind by protecting consumers’ investments in their homes, vehicles, electronics and appliances. It is up to individual consumers to decide whether or not they personally value extended warranties. Many consumers who do not have the savings or disposable income to pay for an unexpected and costly repair derive great value and peace of mind by budgeting for this predictable expense.”
Anthony Giorgianni, a finance editor at Consumer Reports, said readers should think twice before buying an extended warranty for appliances.
“Not saying they will never work out but on a whole, you’re much better taking the money that you would put into a service contract [and] put it in the bank,” he said.
Some items that might that might be worth getting an extended warranty for, Giorgianni said, are electronics that children usually use and are more likely to be dropped or damaged. He still encourages consumers to read the fine print on those agreements, too. Tips for Buying Major Kitchen Appliances By Zalmen Pollak
