Welcome toLifetimeWarranty.orga 501(c)(3) nonprofit

We collect, research, and rate lifetime warranties to help you make longer lasting purchases and to protect consumers from misleading marketing tactics.

Browse Lifetime Warranties Learn our mission →

441

Warranties indexed

Independent

Donor-funded, ad-free watchdog

Transparent

Open methodology, public reviews

Definitions of Lifetime

“Lifetime” sounds self-explanatory. It isn't. In practice, “lifetime” can mean anything from one year to forever. The FTC only requires companies to define lifetime, not to use a specific definition (and even then 36% don't define it). Here's the breakdown:

UnspecifiedSays “lifetime” without ever saying whose, or how long.158 · 36%
Lifetime of the ProductThe product’s own lifetime, which the company gets to judge. Varying levels of description.132 · 30%
Human LifeAs long as a person owns it, often only the original purchaser.83 · 19%
Forever* (company's lifetime)As long as the company stays in business.23 · 5%
N/A - other guaranteeNot a lifetime warranty, but a different guarantee understood to last a “lifetime” or have no time limit. Often uses a trade name like All-Mighty Guarantee (Osprey) or Ironclad Guarantee (Patagonia).16 · 4%
# of yearsA fixed term, like 25 or 100 years.15 · 3%
OtherTied to something else, like the life of what the product is installed in (a car, for example).14 · 3%

How We Rate

Every rating comes from the warranty's full fine print and webpages, scored for clarity, coverage, and process against the rubric below by Ethan, an attorney and our executive director.

Each warranty is scored out of 100. Tap a criterion to see how its points are awarded.

Clarity

20 pts

Do they clearly define lifetime, and how complex or opaque is the policy?

Lifetime definition10 pts
- 10Explicitly defines "lifetime" with no ambiguity.
- 8"lifetime of the product" with very clear information.
- 6"Lifetime of the product" with some further information
- 2"lifetime of the product" with no further information
- 0"Lifetime" or "life" used with no definition or specificity
Legalese and Complexity10 pts
- 10Plain language throughout; easily understood
- 8Mostly plain language; minor technical terms or complexity/opacity
- 6Mix of plain and complex/opaque language; requires effort to understand
- 4Heavy legalese or complexity; exclusions buried or hard to find; consumer would likely miss key limitations
- 4Missing important information
- 2Impenetrable text; no attempt at consumer-friendly language

Coverage

50 pts

What does the warranty actually cover?

Failure coverage20 pts
- 20Covers all defects and failures, includes wear and tear
- 16Covers manufacturing defects and most failures under normal use
- 12Covers manufacturing defects only; normal wear and tear explicitly excluded
- 8Narrow coverage; major exclusions
- 4Coverage so limited it's nearly meaningless (e.g. excludes most or all major components and failure types)
- 4Not Specified
Effective length20 pts
- 20Multi-generational, no time bounding (transferable, or explicitly covers product "forever")
- 16Lifetime of original owner (clearly stated), or >25 years
- 12Long-term (10-25 years) or human lifetime with major caveats
- 8Medium-term (2–9 years) or "lifetime of the product" with some exceptions
- 4Unspecified duration, or short-term (under 2 years), or "lifetime of the product" with no further information
Company age10 pts
- 1050+ years in business
- 820–49 years in business
- 610–19 years in business
- 45–9 years in business
- 20–4 years in business

Process

30 pts

Two parts: how much friction a claim takes on your part, and what the company actually does to repair or replace.

Friction

15 pts

How much friction does the warranty put on you?

Proof of purchase2 pts
- 2No proof-of-purchase requirement stated
- 0Proof of purchase required (email or receipt)
Product registration3 pts
- 3No registration requirement stated
- 0Registration required; often within a deadline after purchase
Claims process5 pts
- 5Minimal friction: simple online form or single contact method; and/or in-store
- 3Moderate friction: reasonable multi-step process (e.g. register, send pictures, get return authorization); and/or in-store
- 1High friction or unclear claims process
Shipping cost5 pts
- 5Company covers shipping both ways (inbound + outbound); and/or in-store
- 3Customer pays shipping in, company pays return shipping; and/or in-store
- 3Customer not required to return, company ships replacement
- 3In-store only
- 2Customer not required to return; customer pays shipping on replacement
- 1Customer bears all shipping costs
- 1Unspecified

Repair vs Replace

15 pts

What is the company’s actual repair or replacement process?

Repair / replacement cost5 pts
- 5Repair or replacement is always free; no fees
- 4Free in most cases and/or reasonable fee for wear and tear
- 3Customer pays a fee (e.g. parts, labor, administrative)
- 2Customer pays a significant deductible or percentage of replacement value
- 1Customer bears the full cost of repair/replacement
Resolution type5 pts
- 5Always attempt to repair first; replace if irreparable; replacement is equivalent or better
- 4Repair-or-replace policy
- 4Company sends replacement parts
- 3Replace only (no repair attempt), with equivalent product
- 2Replace with equivalent product or refund original purchase price
- 1Company reserves right to replace with lesser value product
Known repair program5 pts
- 5Yes
- 5Yes, through dealer network
- 0No
- 0No, but sells replacement parts
Limitation on the right to repair yourself or by 3rd party Learn More−10 pts

Ratings Data

Every published rating (267 of 441 rated so far), grouped in 5-point bands. Filter to see how lifetime type, category, and company age correlate (or don't) with the score.

Filter by

All published ratings267 rated · median 64

Ratings distribution
Score range	Warranties
35–39	10
40–44	6
45–49	19
50–54	28
55–59	35
60–64	42
65–69	51
70–74	27
75–79	24
80–84	11
85–89	5
90–94	7
95–100	2

Browse Lifetime Warranties

Welcome toLifetimeWarranty.orga 501(c)(3) nonprofit

We collect, research, and rate lifetime warranties to help you make longer lasting purchases and to protect consumers from misleading marketing tactics.

441

Warranties indexed

Independent

Donor-funded, ad-free watchdog

Transparent

Open methodology, public reviews

Definitions of Lifetime

UnspecifiedSays “lifetime” without ever saying whose, or how long.158 · 36%
Lifetime of the ProductThe product’s own lifetime, which the company gets to judge. Varying levels of description.132 · 30%
Human LifeAs long as a person owns it, often only the original purchaser.83 · 19%
Forever* (company's lifetime)As long as the company stays in business.23 · 5%
N/A - other guaranteeNot a lifetime warranty, but a different guarantee understood to last a “lifetime” or have no time limit. Often uses a trade name like All-Mighty Guarantee (Osprey) or Ironclad Guarantee (Patagonia).16 · 4%
# of yearsA fixed term, like 25 or 100 years.15 · 3%
OtherTied to something else, like the life of what the product is installed in (a car, for example).14 · 3%

How We Rate

Every rating comes from the warranty's full fine print and webpages, scored for clarity, coverage, and process against the rubric below by Ethan, an attorney and our executive director.

Each warranty is scored out of 100. Tap a criterion to see how its points are awarded.

Clarity

20 pts

Do they clearly define lifetime, and how complex or opaque is the policy?

Lifetime definition10 pts
- 10Explicitly defines "lifetime" with no ambiguity.
- 8"lifetime of the product" with very clear information.
- 6"Lifetime of the product" with some further information
- 2"lifetime of the product" with no further information
- 0"Lifetime" or "life" used with no definition or specificity
Legalese and Complexity10 pts
- 10Plain language throughout; easily understood
- 8Mostly plain language; minor technical terms or complexity/opacity
- 6Mix of plain and complex/opaque language; requires effort to understand
- 4Heavy legalese or complexity; exclusions buried or hard to find; consumer would likely miss key limitations
- 4Missing important information
- 2Impenetrable text; no attempt at consumer-friendly language

Coverage

50 pts

What does the warranty actually cover?

Failure coverage20 pts
- 20Covers all defects and failures, includes wear and tear
- 16Covers manufacturing defects and most failures under normal use
- 12Covers manufacturing defects only; normal wear and tear explicitly excluded
- 8Narrow coverage; major exclusions
- 4Coverage so limited it's nearly meaningless (e.g. excludes most or all major components and failure types)
- 4Not Specified
Effective length20 pts
- 20Multi-generational, no time bounding (transferable, or explicitly covers product "forever")
- 16Lifetime of original owner (clearly stated), or >25 years
- 12Long-term (10-25 years) or human lifetime with major caveats
- 8Medium-term (2–9 years) or "lifetime of the product" with some exceptions
- 4Unspecified duration, or short-term (under 2 years), or "lifetime of the product" with no further information
Company age10 pts
- 1050+ years in business
- 820–49 years in business
- 610–19 years in business
- 45–9 years in business
- 20–4 years in business

Process

30 pts

Two parts: how much friction a claim takes on your part, and what the company actually does to repair or replace.

Friction

15 pts

How much friction does the warranty put on you?

Proof of purchase2 pts
- 2No proof-of-purchase requirement stated
- 0Proof of purchase required (email or receipt)
Product registration3 pts
- 3No registration requirement stated
- 0Registration required; often within a deadline after purchase
Claims process5 pts
- 5Minimal friction: simple online form or single contact method; and/or in-store
- 3Moderate friction: reasonable multi-step process (e.g. register, send pictures, get return authorization); and/or in-store
- 1High friction or unclear claims process
Shipping cost5 pts
- 5Company covers shipping both ways (inbound + outbound); and/or in-store
- 3Customer pays shipping in, company pays return shipping; and/or in-store
- 3Customer not required to return, company ships replacement
- 3In-store only
- 2Customer not required to return; customer pays shipping on replacement
- 1Customer bears all shipping costs
- 1Unspecified

Repair vs Replace

15 pts

What is the company’s actual repair or replacement process?

Repair / replacement cost5 pts
- 5Repair or replacement is always free; no fees
- 4Free in most cases and/or reasonable fee for wear and tear
- 3Customer pays a fee (e.g. parts, labor, administrative)
- 2Customer pays a significant deductible or percentage of replacement value
- 1Customer bears the full cost of repair/replacement
Resolution type5 pts
- 5Always attempt to repair first; replace if irreparable; replacement is equivalent or better
- 4Repair-or-replace policy
- 4Company sends replacement parts
- 3Replace only (no repair attempt), with equivalent product
- 2Replace with equivalent product or refund original purchase price
- 1Company reserves right to replace with lesser value product
Known repair program5 pts
- 5Yes
- 5Yes, through dealer network
- 0No
- 0No, but sells replacement parts
Limitation on the right to repair yourself or by 3rd party Learn More−10 pts

Ratings Data

Every published rating (267 of 441 rated so far), grouped in 5-point bands. Filter to see how lifetime type, category, and company age correlate (or don't) with the score.

Filter by

All published ratings267 rated · median 64

Ratings distribution
Score range	Warranties
35–39	10
40–44	6
45–49	19
50–54	28
55–59	35
60–64	42
65–69	51
70–74	27
75–79	24
80–84	11
85–89	5
90–94	7
95–100	2