Eagle Eye said:
I have been researching many companies over the last to weeks.
I just look at the 5 star warranty website and reviewed the contract. This coverage is probably one of the best I have seen as they only sellan exclusionary plan (Gold Plan). I also have never found a website that gives so much information, so take the time to read the content.
With regards to the timing belt issue, your translation is wrong (as I call the insurer directly).
If your timing belt is required to be replaced at 50,000 miles, so this is done. Now, let's say the belt breaks at 52,000 miles and damages the valves, the valves would be covered.
The contract also states parts are covered if they are worn beyond the manufacturer's tolerances.
Normal maintenance items and part replacement is based on the service recomendation per the manufacturer.
Keep in mind that what they told you on the phone means NOTHING unless they back it up in writing in the contract. This is a basic principle of contract law. The "parol evidence rule" says that if an oral agreement and a written contract disagree, the written contract ALWAYS wins. Period, end of story, case closed.
Also, what they told you on the phone directly contradicts what the contract says. They explicitly state in the contract that if the failure is caused by parts that are normally replaced, the damage is not covered. Example:
"General Contract Exclusions" Clause 3:
"(This Service Contract does not cover the following parts, services, conditions, or events) : Normal maintenance items or parts normally designed to be serviced or replaced periodically during the life of Your Vehicle, such as, but not limited to: oil, coolant, fluids, lubricants, refrigerants, filters, (except when required in conjunction with a covered repair), spark plugs, spark plug wires, glow plugs, light bulbs, sealed beams, lenses, fuses, wiper blades and arms, battery and battery cable, drive belts, coolant and vacuum hoses, brake rotors, brake drums, brake pads and linings."
The timing belt is both a drive belt and a part that is a normal maintenance item, so it obviously is not covered under the plain language of the contract, even if it fails early. (Notice no exception is made for early failure of maintenance parts. If there was, then I wouldn't be writing this.) In my mind, this is a perfectly reasonable warranty exclusion, (although it still won't cover vaccuum gremlins) but...
When you add this to:
"General Contract Exclusions" Clause 6:
"(This Service Contract does not cover the following parts, services, conditions, or events) : Any loss caused by the failure of any other part of Your Vehicle that is not included for coverage in this Contract, regardless if the resulting damage is to a covered part."
Basically, if any loss is caused by a non-covered part, you are hosed.
The contract states in plain English that timing belts are not covered. It further states, in plain English, that if a non-covered part fails (i.e., that same timing belt), the failure of your head and valves is not covered. There is no other way to read this contract. Just because a sales rep on the phone tells you otherwise does not change what is written there.
The sales rep you talk to on the phone is not going to be the same person that evaluates your claim. Their purpose in life is to sell policies. The lawyer who wrote the contract could not have been any more clear in excluding losses caused by maintenance parts. If they really cover failures by maintenance parts failing early, then they would need to modify the warranty contract to say so before I would sign on the dotted line.
Again, remember that what they tell you on the phone means NOTHING unless it is backed up in writing in your insurance contract by the company. Yes, you could pursue the matter with your state insurance commission if they backtracked, but why not just save yourself the trouble and find a warranty company that does not exclude failures caused by the failure of maintenance parts?
SirWired