On Aug 5, 10:34*am, Phisherman wrote:
On Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:57:39 -0400, Paul Oman
wrote:

anyone have any experience/comments/vendors etc. regarding purchasing
appliance insurance for our home? Mostly new appliances but a very old
but still working fine, oil furnace.

paul

Appliance insurance is very good if you are the salesperson or
company, bad if you are the buyer. *It is wise for home owners to have
a few thousand in a money market account, ready when you absolutely
need it. *It cannot be that difficult to put away $100 a month to an
account in your name, why give it away to an insurance company?
Insurance companies will try to deny your claim because that improves
their profit, not something you want in an emergency. * Insurance is a
statistics game, nothing more. *Taking good care of your appliances is
the best insurance you can get.

That's the problem with ALL insurance systems.
Insurance companies have whole departments and policies whose purpose
is to 'Contain Costs'.
In other words, to NOT pay out any claims they can avoid and/or pay
out as little as possible. That pressure probably extends to local
dealers who actually do the maintenance work?
So that the insurance company/ies can maximize their bottom
line ........ or profit.
It is one factor that makes, for example, insured health care
insurance, in the USA, so expensive for users/customers!

While we would never go one day without overall home insurance, which
costs only a very small percentage of capital worth of the home, we
have generally considered appliance insurance very expensive and not
worth while. Better to take the premium money and put it (plus
interest) towards buying a replacement appliance unit in say ten years
time. Or just resolve that one of the costs of owning and using a home
involves annual and regular costs for repairs and maintenance.

Although many good appliances last longer, especially if one is
'handy' doing one's own straightforward repairs. e.g.
Late last year a relative bought used washer and dryer for around $200
(for both). Recently had to install a pump on the washer, himself, at
a replacement cost of under $40.

A few auto companies, notably Hyundai here, have included some very
complete insurance in their sales and auto-leasing contracts. Cynics
will say 'Cheap Korean product so maintenance guarantees needed!'. But
a few owners spoken with have expressed great satisfaction with having
'everything' covered.