Before you buy — twelve questions
Ask these on the phone, and get the answers in writing before you pay anything. A provider that will not answer them has answered the only question that matters.
- 1Who is the obligor on this contract? Not the brand name — the legal entity required to perform.
- 2Who administers claims? Frequently a different company from the one selling to you.
- 3Which insurer backs it? Ask for the reimbursement or contractual liability insurance policy and the insurer's name.
- 4Send me the full contract before I pay. In Florida this is a statutory right. Everywhere else it is a test.
- 5Is this tier exclusionary or named-component? If it lists what is covered, anything missing is not.
- 6Does it cover wear, or only sudden mechanical breakdown? On a high-mileage vehicle this decides most claims.
- 7If a claim is denied after teardown, who pays the teardown and reassembly? Silence in the contract means you do.
- 8Is there a betterment or depreciation clause? If so, you pay a percentage of covered repairs on top of the deductible.
- 9What labour rate do you reimburse? If it is below your shop's posted rate, you cover the gap every time.
- 10What is the aggregate claim limit? Watch for caps tied to the vehicle's value, which shrink as the car ages.
- 11What is the free-look window, the cancellation fee, and is it transferable? Transferability is real resale value.
- 12What is your best price? No state rate-regulates these products. The first number is an opening bid.
The sentence that saves the most money
"Email me the full contract and I will call you back tomorrow." A legitimate provider does this without friction. Time pressure is this industry's most reliable tool, and removing it costs you nothing.
Your claim was denied — the first week
- 1Get it in writing, with the specific contract clause and section number relied on, plus any inspection report. A verbal denial cannot be escalated.
- 2Read the clause they cited against the contract. It frequently does not say what you were told it says.
- 3File a dated proof of loss by email or certified mail and keep proof of the date. This starts the sixty-day clock in many contracts.
- 4Pull your maintenance records — dated, itemised, with mileage. Missing records are among the most common denial grounds.
- 5Send the demand letter from our complaint page, asking for the clause, the inspector's report, and the names of the obligor and insurer.
- 6File your complaint with us. It publishes on the company's record and counts toward its score, where the next buyer will see it.
- 7Diary day sixty. If the provider has still not paid or provided service, check whether your contract lets you claim directly against the insurer.
- 8Talk to a consumer attorney if the amount is meaningful. Federal warranty law contains a fee-shifting provision that makes many of these cases viable to take on.
Refund and free-look rules
Cancellation rights vary sharply by state, and this is one of the few places where where you live genuinely changes what you are owed. Your own contract may be more generous than the statutory floor — check both.
| Jurisdiction | Full refund window | After the window |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 60 days, 100% of gross premium less claims paid | At least 90% of unearned pro rata, less claims paid |
| Texas | Before day 31, no fee | Pro rata; fee capped at $50; due within 46 days or a 10%/month penalty accrues |
| Washington | 9 days no fee; days 10–30 with up to a $25 fee | Pro rata with up to a $25 fee |
| NAIC model states | 20 days from mailing; 10 days if delivered at sale | Pro rata; 10%/month penalty if unpaid after 30 days; no cap on admin fees |
Sources: Florida CFO, Texas TDLR, Washington OIC, NAIC Model #685.
Paid the loan off? The refund is yours
On early payoff the full pro-rata refund of unearned premium goes to you, not to the lender — there is no balance left for it to offset. Nobody calculates and sends it automatically. Cancel in writing, state the effective date and odometer reading, and say the refund is payable to you directly.
Red flags
The call was unsolicited
No legitimate service contract has ever needed to reach you by robocall. Hang up, regardless of how plausible the rest sounds.
"Final Warranty Notice"
Urgency language on mail or texts, from senders with no connection to your dealer or automaker.
Money before details
Pressure for financial information and a down payment before you have seen anything. That sequence is the scam.
Implied manufacturer ties
Claims of a relationship with your dealer or automaker. Verify independently — fabricated affiliations are a documented pattern.
Won't send the contract first
A seller who will not send the document before taking payment has answered your question.
"Bumper to bumper"
Every contract in this category has exclusions. A seller who says otherwise is describing a product that does not exist.
No obligor or underwriter named
If they will not say who is legally obligated and which insurer backs it, you cannot know whether anything does.
Advertised rating ≠ live profile
Check the rating yourself. We found providers advertising accreditation their live profile does not show.
No legal entity or address
A company with no disclosed entity, address or officer is not one you can pursue if something goes wrong.
The rebrand pattern. Operators shut down and relaunch under new names — our dataset contains several clusters where multiple brands trace to the same operators and administrators. A clean-looking brand tells you nothing. Check the legal entity, which is why every record on the ratings page leads with the corporate name and its known alternates.
Verify a provider before you pay
Most states require a service contract provider to be licensed or registered before it can sell to you, and in most of them you can check that yourself in a couple of minutes.
Your state insurance department ↗
Look up whether a provider is licensed in your state, and check for orders against it. In insurance-regulated states this is the body with the authority to compel a company to respond.
Your state attorney general ↗
Consumer-protection enforcement, and the venue that matters most in states that regulate service contracts outside the insurance framework.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ↗
Where a lender or servicer is involved — a contract rolled into your auto loan, or a refund not paid after early payoff or a total loss.
NHTSA recall lookup ↗
Check open safety recalls on your VIN. Recall work is free at a franchised dealer and has nothing to do with a service contract — do not let anyone sell you coverage for it.
National Association of Consumer Advocates ↗
Directory of consumer attorneys. Federal warranty law's fee-shifting provision is why many will assess a claim at no cost to you.
On this site
Provider ratings
Every company we track, with the disclosed obligor, administrator and underwriter, contract terms, complaint volume and any enforcement action on file.
Glossary
The eleven terms that decide whether a claim gets paid, in plain language.
File a complaint
Put your experience on the company's public record, where it counts toward their score and the next buyer sees it. Includes the demand-letter template.
Video library
The same research in a form you can watch before you sign.
Scoring methodology
Every component, its weight, its sources, and what we refuse to publish because we could not verify it.