The best words you can use to describe Walmart are ‘king of superstores.’ With over 10,000 stores throughout the world, they are all over the map. Seriously, they have seen the highest growth over the years. Dedicated to bringing a change in the average consumer’s life, Walmart surely contributes positively.
As you guys might know, their success revolves around offering everyday products at low prices. In their unwavering commitment to please the customers, they also offer a protection plan. This plan provides coverage on the merchandise you purchase from them, particularly the high-dollar items.
What Is The Walmart Protection Plan?
The Walmart Protection Plan is third-party insurance, powered by Asurion, which covers a wide variety of merchandise you buy from Walmart. For those who don’t know, Asurion is one of the country’s leading insurance providers. If the product breaks after getting the plan (from normal use or manufacturing defect), the item in question is either replaced, repaired, or even reimbursed. For accepted claims, they usually send you a box to return the damaged item.
For an item like a laptop or a cell phone, both electronic and mechanic failure is covered. But, the plan won’t cover intentional damage or even theft. So, the plan does not give you the liberty to be extremely careless with the product.
What Does the Walmart Protection Plan Cover?
From electronic gadgets, jewelry items, and more, a lot of different items on Walmart have a manufacturing warranty that lasts from anywhere between 90 days to a full year. From the time of purchase, Walmart gives you 30 days to get the plan. So you don’t have to make a split-second decision at the cash counter. You can take your sweet time to decide whether or not it’s worth getting the plan for the item you purchased from them.
You also have the option of transferring the plan to someone else by clicking on the ‘Transfer Plan’ option on your account dashboard. In scenarios where you have sold or given the product to someone else, this feature can come really handy.
How Much Does Walmart Protection Plan Cost?
The cost depends on the item you are getting. So, we can’t really give you a straight answer here. But, we can give you a general idea about the cost. On average, most plans cost anywhere between $2 to $40.
How Do I File a Claim?
The protocols of filing a claim are pretty normal. You can simply visit Walmart’s customer service counter with the damaged item and the receipt ( to prove ownership) in order to file a claim. Unless you have purchased any additional cover, no extra documentation will be needed. The main ingredient is the product receipt itself, which has the plan printed on it. Store visit aside, you can also file a claim online.
To begin with, you will have to visit the protection plan website. Once on the website, you need to enter your email address to retrieve your plan. Once the email address is entered, the system will walk you through the steps required to file a claim.
It’s important that you enter the same email address that is mentioned on the purchase protection plan.
How Good is the Approval Rate?
The good news is that the company through which the protection plan is issued won’t create a scene over small things. Under the right circumstances, they will honor the claims without any fuss. Basically, it’s uncommon for them to blame you for creating the issue yourself to take advantage of the protection plan. Things along the lines of the item repair being beyond the condition of the protection plan are also rare.
In fact, most legitimate claims are approved almost immediately. So, don’t be surprised if you receive a gift card right away to purchase a new product. For cheap stuff, it’s usually no issue. Only if there is a need for additional investigation, the claim process can take longer than usual. This usually happens during high-value electronic items. The protection plan, on expensive items, can be a bit complicated.
As far as status tracking goes, it’s made as easy as possible. They have a support hub section on Walmart’s website. This portion of their website is dedicated to claim handling. You can not only file claims but also receive constant updates about them.
Tips & Tricks
- You should save a copy of the receipt to film a claim. This will speed up the response time. Keep in mind that Walmart offers you an easy way to save your receipt on their website for future use.
- It’s important that you be honest with the information that you provide to the company at the time of filing a claim. Failure to do so can delay or even lead to the company not honoring your claim.
- We know it’s boring, but devote some time to read the fine prints. You should learn about what’s covered in your plan. Will you be protected if the device gets damaged from a fall? Is water damaged covered and so on?
- Keep in mind that a lot of exclusions can make the protection plan literally worthless. If you start seeing things like, “this is not covered, that is not covered,” you better move on.
- It’s also important to come to terms with the fact that the insurer will have the final say in whether the claim is legitimate or not. If you fail to provide enough proof (when asked for), you may not get the coverage.
- If there is a manufacturing warranty on the product for which you are filing a claim, you will be directed to use the manufacturing warranty. Of course, this is only if the manufacturing warranty on the product is still valid.
So, Is Walmart Protection Plan Worth It?
It does cost a bit extra, but the plan is worth the peace of mind it offers. This is especially true when you are spending big bucks on an item. It’s good to know that if something goes wrong with the item, you are covered.