A service contract is written around a list of covered units, and that list is often shorter than the equipment in the house. The range and the main refrigerator get the attention, while the chest freezer in the garage, the extra refrigerator in the basement, and the laundry pair by the back door are left out of the sizing. This guide is for a household that has a real decision in front of it and needs to know which spare units belong on the list before any terms are compared.

Start With a Walk-Through, Not the Brochure

Walk every room that holds a powered appliance, including the garage, basement, utility closet, porch, and any outbuilding connected to the home. Write each unit on a plain sheet with four facts: where it sits, what it does, how often it runs, and whether it stays with the home if the home is sold. Copy the rating plate or serial label onto the sheet. The plate is usually inside a door, on a back panel, or under a lid. Without it, a contract may have no reliable way to match the unit you describe to the unit that fails.

Sort the Spares by How They Are Used

Spare units do not all carry the same load. A chest freezer that holds stored food and is opened only now and then is a different job from an extra refrigerator that is emptied and refilled every weekend for guests. A clothes dryer in a busy house with children runs far more than one used for occasional loads. Mark each unit as full time, seasonal, or occasional. Then ask the contract how it treats each mark. Some terms assume every covered unit is used the way the main kitchen is used. Others name a use load in the definitions section. Check which approach applies before you assume a spare unit is covered at the same level as the range.

Ask How the Contract Counts Units

Contracts count covered items in different ways. Some name the appliance type, some name a specific serial number, and some describe equipment by the room where it sits, so a unit moved from the garage to the porch may fall outside the description. Some cap how many units a household may enroll, and some do not. Ask these questions in writing:

  • Does the contract count units by type, by serial number, or by room?
  • Is there a cap on how many units a household may enroll, and does a spare unit count against it?
  • If a spare unit is moved, replaced, or added after enrollment, what must be reported, and by when?
  • Does the contract limit coverage for a unit set in a garage, unheated space, or outdoor enclosure?

Check the Waiting Period and the Condition at Enrollment

A waiting period is the stretch after coverage begins during which a claim may not be paid. It may apply to each unit on its own clock, so a spare freezer added later can start a new waiting period even when the main kitchen has been covered for some time. Ask whether a unit must be working when it is enrolled and whether the contract requires a condition check or photos. A unit that is already failing may be turned away, or may be enrolled with a limit. Keep the enrollment record for each spare unit with the rating plate sheet so the two can be matched later.

Cancellation and Transfer for Each Unit

Cancellation and transfer rules are usually written for the whole contract, not for each unit. Ask whether cancelling removes every covered unit at once or lets you drop a single spare unit while keeping the rest. If the home is sold, ask whether the contract follows the home, the owner, or neither. A freestanding freezer that leaves with the seller may fall off the contract even though the household keeps the main kitchen. Read the refund method for cancellation, and ask how a removed unit is valued in that calculation.

Where This Site Helps

Each state page on this site names the regulator, the statute or program, whether the state publishes a roster, and the as-of date printed on that roster. Use the page for your state to see what the rules say about how a contract may describe covered equipment. Where a state is marked as not read in this edition, the page says so, and nothing more should be assumed for that state. The Alabama page at this link shows the layout used for each state. The published figures in this site's tables are the place to look for any cost, and this guide gives none.

Before You Compare Terms

Put the spare unit sheet next to the contract. Mark every unit the contract names, every unit it leaves out, and every unit it describes only by room. A unit left out is a gap to raise with the seller in writing before you sign. Ask for the definition of covered unit, the enrollment cap, the waiting period, and the removal rule in the same document. Update the sheet as units are added, moved, or retired. A contract sized only to the kitchen may leave the garage out of its terms entirely.