A service contract is read in parts. The coverage grant says what is covered, but the definitions section says what the words in that grant mean. When you put two offers side by side, a matching parts list can hide a different result if one contract defines failure, wear, or breakdown more narrowly than the other.
What to pull from each offer
Ask for the full blank contract for each offer, not a summary sheet. Find the definitions section by its heading or by the defined terms, which are often capitalized. Copy the definition of each word that appears in the coverage grant. Common ones are failure, breakdown, wear, normal use, pre-existing condition, and authorized repairer. Write each definition beside the matching definition from the other offer.
What to compare
Compare whether a failure must be sudden or can develop over time. Compare whether a part that is worn but still working counts. Compare how a pre-existing condition is decided and who decides it. Compare whether a covered repair depends on a diagnosis from a specific shop or from any licensed shop. Note any term that appears in the coverage grant but is never defined. The contract may leave its meaning to the seller's later judgment, and that point belongs on your question list.
Questions to put in writing
Ask the seller who decides whether a condition is a failure under the contract, and what written reason it gives when a claim is denied. Ask whether the definitions in the blank contract are the ones that apply to your claim, or whether a separate form adds terms at the point of sale. Keep the answers with the contract.
What this guide does not do
It does not say what any company's definitions say, and it does not rank offers. The state pages on this site name the governing statute or program for each state and print the roster entry where one is published. Where this edition has not read a state's roster, the state page says so.