There is some controversy about furniture protection as they can be costly. Some people say they are great and some people say they are a waste of money.  Which is it?  Casco Bay Furniture Review  decided to have a look at this topic.

In my previous (work) incarnation, I was a rep for a major furniture protection plan company. I personally trained thousands of retailers in how to sell protection plans so I feel I am uniquely qualified to answer this question

In my opinion, a protection plan is well worth the investment. Just think if your cat uses your $4000 “Classic Leather” sofa as a litter box. You will be very happy to have the plan to cover the sofa. However, it is only a good investment if the price is within reason. I have seen some retailers charge as much as $800 for a five year protection plan for a four piece leather living room set. This is a lot.

What do these plans cover? Most plans cover food and beverage stains, human and pet stains, rips, cuts, and burns and ink and lipstick stains. Most plans (from companies such as Guardian, Guardsman and Ultrashield) have a five day notification period. What does this mean? You have to notify the company within five days of the claim. So let’s just say your child spills grape juice on your fabric sofa. If you notify the protection plan company on the sixth day of the spill, they will not honor the claim.

Or let’s say you have an unknown stain on your fabric sofa. If you tell the protection plan company, “I don’t know what the stain is,” they will not honor the claim as it could be something other than a covered item. How do they know when the stain occurred? They know this only by what you tell them. So if you make a claim, make sure you tell them specifically what it is and within the 5 day time frame. At Casco Bay Furniture our premium plan covers all stains so we don’t have this exclusion

Premium plans. There are some premium plans out there that have better coverage. Besides covering all stains, rips, cuts, and burns, they provide frame, spring, and mechanism coverage and have up to a 30 day reporting period. Become an informed customer before you buy and you will be much happier if something happens to your furniture. At Casco Bay Furniture we  carry a premium plan as we feel the extra coverage is worth the investment.

Trade Secret: The plan companies do not like pets. The plan companies will cover, if you pet had an accident on your sofa, for example (vomit/urine), but they don’t cover teeth, claws or beaks. They will not cover a cat scratching, dogs chewing, or parrots pecking. As a rule, it’s best to never bring up your pet. They won’t cover your dog putting his nail through your leather sofa, but they will cover your husband sitting down on the sofa with a screwdriver in his pocket.

Wet plans or dry plans. Some of these plans, especially those from a local retailer will involve applying a product to your furniture such as a Scotch Guard like product for upholstery or a leather conditioner for leather. This is considered a “wet plan” and can be good and bad. On one hand, it may help to prevent stains, but in some cases, it may void your manufacturer’s warranty. Read your manufacturer’s warranty booklet to be sure. I favor dry plans to avoid this issue. At Casco Bay, we think it is best to avoid this problem and we only use dry plans. Nothing is applied to the product, but you still have coverage.

If I have a claim, what do the plan companies do? Generally the warranty company does one of four things or a combination of services. For starters, they may send out a cleaning kit, but they usually send out a tech. The tech will come to your house and try to repair the item. If not, they can order any new parts. In some cases, the item may have to be replaced. Most plans have one replacement. I have found that most techs can do a very good job. Trade Secret: some plans will only replace the affected item and some plans will replace all the item—if for example, there is a shade match issue. Read you plan details carefully. An informed customer is a happy customer!

Save your receipt from the store and make sure your plan is registered. At Casco Bay Furniture we register every plan for our customers. What I suggest, however, is that you tape a copy of your registration and a copy of your receipt to the bottom of your furniture.

I hope Casco Bay Furniture Review has answered most of your questions. Any other questions about  protection plans, please let us know.

Related Articles:

• Casco Bay Furniture – A Conversation With the Leather Doctor