Sizing a service contract starts with counting. A home may have a single water heater, several climate zones, a detached garage, or a second system. Each may or may not be named in the contract. This article shows how to count the units and match the count to the covered-items list. It is a general explainer, not legal advice.
List every system the contract could name
Walk through the home and write down each system and appliance, where it sits, and whether it is inside the house or in a separate structure. Include second systems, zoned systems, and any equipment that serves more than one room. Note the make and model where the seller provides them. The list is the basis for every comparison that follows.
Check how the contract counts units
Contracts count covered items in different ways. Some name a specific item by location or serial number. Some list a category, such as the heating system, without saying how many units the category includes. Some cover only the items inspected at sign-up. Read the covered-items section and the definitions, and find out which method applies. Then compare the count on your list with the count in the contract.
Detached structures and shared equipment
A detached garage, workshop, or outbuilding may have its own opener, heater, or power supply. Check whether the contract treats a detached structure as part of the home. Check whether equipment that serves both the house and the structure is named once or in parts, and whether the contract covers each side of the connection. Ask the seller to answer in writing.
Zones and second systems
A zoned system may have more than one controller and more than one air handler. A second system may serve a single floor or an addition. Ask whether the contract covers each zone, each system, or only the primary system. A contract that covers only the primary unit leaves the second system outside its terms, even when both sit in the same house.
Size the contract to the count
Once you have the count, compare it line by line with the covered-items list. Mark each unit as named, not named, or unclear. Send the unclear marks to the seller as written questions. Do not assume a unit is covered because it sits in the same house as a named item.
Where to check the state rules
Rules for service contracts vary by state. Each state page on this site names the regulator and the statute or program for that state. The Alabama page is one example of the layout. Where a state is marked as not read in this edition, this site has not read its rules and does not describe them. This article gives no figures. The published figures are on the state pages of this site, and the unit count is a question for the contract text, not for the state page.