How We Rate Extended Warranties

As a third party consumer advocate group, we rate all companies using the same, stringent criteria without bias. To help us identify the best companies for extended warranty coverage, we looked at major factors to determine the rating for each company. These factors include:

1. Aggressiveness of Company Reps: The more pushy and aggressive the company reps were when we tried asking some simple questions, the lower their rating for this category.
2. Years in Business
3. Member of Better Business Bureau/Similar Organization and In Good Standing
4. Strength of Insurance Company Backing the Policies: Any companies not backed by insurance companies with A ratings were severely marked down in our rating system because they pose a greater risk of not being able to pay claims.
5. Stratified Coverage: We frown on the “one-size-fits-all” plans and rewarded companies that offered customers a greater range of choices and prices to help meet their needs and budget.
6. Exclusion vs. “Covered Parts” Coverage: Remember, plans that only list “what’s covered” tend to be cheaper and trying to avoid paying for repairs and maintenance they know are common to older vehicles.
7. Features: Things like towing, road side assistance, and vehicle rental during repair are all great features so companies were also rated on both the type of feature and its relative value for the average policy holder.

After compiling individual ratings in each category, the final scores were tallied and each company received the appropriate rating. The more stars we gave the company, the better it scored on each of these 7 categories.