A deductible is the part of a covered repair that you pay before the contract pays its share. It is one of the few terms in a service contract that moves your cost up or down without changing the list of covered parts, so it deserves its own check before you compare offers.
Find out what the deductible is measured against
Some contracts charge the deductible once for each claim. Others charge it once for each visit, once for each repair order, or once for the whole term. Read which one applies. A contract that charges the deductible at each visit can cost you more than one that charges it once, if the unit comes back several times in a term. Ask whether a diagnosis visit that finds nothing wrong counts as a claim, and whether a second part repaired during the same visit adds a second deductible.
Ask whether it comes off the bill or out of a reimbursement
Some contracts pay the repair facility directly and subtract the deductible from the invoice, so the shop collects your share at the counter. Others have you pay the full invoice first and then reimburse the covered part less the deductible. The second route puts the cash out first and depends on the claim being approved and paid back. Ask which route applies, and whether the contract states how long a reimbursement takes. Do not assume the deductible is the only amount you pay at the counter. Ask separately about tax, supplies, and trip charges, which the contract may leave with you.
Ask whether a higher deductible actually lowers your total
A higher deductible usually lowers the price of the contract, and a lower deductible usually raises it. Whether that trade pays off depends on how many claims you expect over the term and how much you would pay out of pocket for each one. Write both options on the same page, using the same term length and the same expected claim count, and compare the totals. Do not compare one contract with a high deductible against another with a low deductible without adjusting for the difference. Ask the seller to show the total you would pay under each option, with the deductible included.
Check whether the deductible resets
Find out whether the deductible starts over at each renewal, after a cancellation, or when the contract passes to a new owner. A deductible that is partly used when a contract rolls over, or when a second owner takes over, changes what the next claim costs you. Also ask what happens when a claim is only partly approved. Some contracts apply the deductible before the approved share is calculated, and others apply it after. The difference shows up on the invoice, so get the order in writing.
Read the deductible beside the rest of the paper
A deductible does not work alone. Read it together with the limit on each claim, the term length, the cancellation refund, and the waiting period, since each one changes how much of a repair the contract pays and when. The deductible tells you your share of a covered repair. The limits and the exclusions tell you how much of the bill the contract may leave with you altogether. Do not read a low deductible as a sign of broader cover, and do not read a high one as a sign of weaker cover. It is a price term, and it should be judged as one.
What this guide has not read
This is a general explainer. It does not describe any named company's contract, and it does not set out any amounts. The published figures sit in the state tables on this site. Each state page names the regulator, the statute or program, and whether a roster is printed, and it gives the roster's own as-of date. The Alabama page, for example, sets those items out in the same order used on every state page, at the Alabama page. Check the as-of date on any roster you read. This edition has not read every state's contract paper, and the state pages say which states it has not read. Where a state page says not read, ask the seller for the blank contract and the deductible wording in writing before you rely on anything.