Editing Extended warranty (section)

=== United States ===
In the United States, extended warranties are regulated by many state insurance commissioners as "service contracts." Service contracts can cover automobiles, consumer goods (such as appliances, electronics, lawn equipment, etc...) and homes. The regulatory structure requires licensure or registration of the warranty providers, financial solvency regulation, and service contract consumer disclosures. Service warranty "providers" apply for licensure or registration, and then may sell their products, usually at the point of sale of the product, for example at the car dealership, or at the retail consumer electronics store, but some companies such as [[afterinc.com|After, Inc]], [[SquareTrade]], [[Warranty Direct]] and [[Motoreasy]] also sell directly to consumers. In the United States, a type of extended warranty called vehicle service contracts are typically regulated by the states as insurance.  At one point, California issued a cease and desist letter to several corporations which were selling the insurance illegally in the state; the corporations contended that it was not insurance because the contracts required that certain additives be used.<ref>[http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2010/release082-10.cfm Commissioner Poizner Orders Vehicle Warranty Company to End Illegal Telemarketing, Stop Operating as Unlicensed Insurance Company]. California Department of Insurance.</ref>

The [http://go-scic.com/ Service Contract Industry Council] was founded by [[Fredrick D. Schaufeld]] and Bernie Schermer in 1988 and is a [[trade association]] of members of the industry.