If you’ve spent much time looking for a way to protect your purchases, you’ve probably seen terms like “product protection”, “product warranty”, and “product liability insurance” tossed around. But what are the differences between these types of protection, and which one do you need?
If you're on the hunt for product protection, subscribe to Mulberry Unlimited. You'll get coverage for all your online purchases under the same product protection plan for just $9.99 a month. Unlimited claims and coverage are all included with your subscription, as well as coverage for all types of accidental damage. Still wondering if product protection is right for you? Here’s everything you need to know about product protection, product warranties, and product liability insurance:
Product warranties
Most large purchases (think cars, electronics, or even furniture) come with a standard manufacturer’s warranty. However, these warranties are generally limited in what they cover, and typically offer one year of coverage for things like mechanical failures or defects in manufacturing.
Extended warranties, on the other hand, generally extend the standard warranty coverage for a longer period of time, and add some additional coverage as well. However, if you’ve ever dealt with the messy process of trying to file a claim with a warranty provider before, you’ve probably noticed that actually getting your money’s worth is harder than it sounds. Between having to haggle with an insurance agency and lots of fine print, extended warranties have their drawbacks.
Product protection
Product protection plans are similar in concept to extended warranty plans, but they apply to different things. For example, rather than only purchasing protection for the occasional big-ticket item like a car, product protection plans allow you to protect almost any of your online purchases, including appliances (large and small), furniture, bikes, luggage, and much more.
Another important part of product protection plans is that they cover accidental damage, such as stains, rips, tears, and more. While any coverage is helpful to have, most incidents are considered accidents, so having coverage for accidental damage is one of the best ways to get your money’s worth out of your purchases.
Product insurance
Product insurance, also referred to as product liability insurance, protects businesses against accusations that a product they have manufactured or sold is harmful. Although most products are not inherently harmful, it’s possible for any product to pose some type of danger or harm, so it’s wise for any business involved in retail, manufacturing, importing, wholesaling, or similar activities to invest in product liability insurance.
The cost of product insurance varies depending on things like the size of your business, the nature of the products you sell, and where you fall in the supply chain. Factors like these are indicative of how much risk is associated with your business.
So what does product liability insurance actually cover? In the event of disaster, product liability insurance covers things like medical bills of the people harmed by your product, legal fees if you are sued, and court-ordered compensation in order to keep your business from going under.
What’s the difference?
The most significant difference between product liability insurance and both product protection and product warranties is that product liability insurance is designed to protect your business, while product protection and product warranties are designed to protect your purchases. So what’s the main difference between product protection and product warranties?
Although both protect your purchases, a product warranty is available through the manufacturer (such as a Walmart warranty), while product protection plans are not. Additionally, product warranty plans are often administered through an insurance provider, such as Allstate or Uniters, or other large companies that often take a long time to get through to on the phone and a long time to process the claims. Companies like Mulberry provide a one on one customer experience and a hassle free experience for a quick, smooth claims process.
Another key difference between product warranties and product protection plans is the coverage that they offer. While extended warranties are typically an extension of standard warranties, which offer limited coverage, product protection plans offer everything that extended warranties offer, plus coverage for accidental damage.
Which one is right for you?
What type of protection is best for you really depends on your individual circumstances and how much risk you’re willing to assume. Although product liability insurance is not legally required, if you’re a business owner (especially one that is involved in the supply chain), chances are you shouldn’t go without product liability insurance in order to protect your business.
When choosing how to get protection your purchases, the coverage, price, and versatility of a product protection plan makes it a more useful purchase than a product warranty. With a Mulberry Unlimited subscription, you can protect unlimited purchases with no hidden fees or deductibles, all for only $9.99 per month.
