Warranty Experts
Warranty Experts are brokers and do not actually underwrite the contracts. The contract he speaks of does exist and is binding, or so our friend who is a practicing attorney believes. I have one of those contracts. They run for three to five years, depending upon the specific contract(ours is for four years). They are written that way to encourage the buyer to pay the claims that only exceed the deductible by a small amount and they are usually a contract with a substantial deductible(we chose $200). The company does make money on these contracts in two ways. First of all, the refund policy helps to keep the claim rate low for those who do use the coverage. Second, fewer than half do reach the end of the contract with no claims, so most do not get the refund. And last, even when the customer does get a refund, the company has had the use of the original price for the three to five years and they have made money on those funds. On the other hand, if you seek the contract only to protect you from a major disaster, like an engine or a transmission, then you get that protection and if nothing bad happens, you get your money back. Keep in mind that if you have no claims, the company has no expenses either, so it is easy for them to show a profit. If purchased for the proper reason, these contracts can be a good service. And our attorney was able to make contact with three former customers of the company that wrote ours had refunded the price too, so that too can be documented.
It is true that both Warranty Experts and the underwriter do make money on the contract. Warranty Experts work on a commission and they make their money up front. The insurance company that writes the contract is regulated under the insurance laws of the state where they do business. They make their money from those who have claims and do not use the total amount paid and from the return on the invested funds that have been paid in as premiums. It can be a good thing, if you check them out. No extended warranty will save you money if there is no major problems. But that same thing is true of your home owner's insurance and the auto insurance that we all carry.