Companies sell extended service plans for just about everything these days – from iPods and cell phones to big screen TVs, washing machines and everything in between. When you buy an extended service contract, you're betting your new gadget will break within the next three years & the cost of fixing it will be higher than the price of the warranty. The seller of the warranty is betting it won't. The odds vary. You beat the house if you pay $200 and run up against an $800 repair. They win if nothing goes wrong & they've pocketed $200 of almost pure profit.


One way to potentially pay less and possibly stack the odds a little more in your favor is with "umbrella" coverage. GreenUmbrella.com offers all-in-one extended plans for $9.95 a month that covers all your new gadgets or household appliances for three years. Green Umbrella covers an unlimited number of major brand home appliance products per customer, there are no deductibles and there are no fees for in-home repair or replacement service. Consumers can register multiple products up to 30 days after purchase at no additional cost. More than 50,000 coverage eligible products are listed on the site & right now, they're running some specials allowing you to register anything you've purchased in last calendar year.

Arguably, the more items you register, the more valuable the potential service. There are some caveats: they don't cover cell phones and they don't cover accidental damage.