I totally agree that there is no way anybody should get a rider on a $60 printer but for several thousands of dollars of camera gear it makes sense. I used to spend a few weeks a year at a friend’s cabin in Ontario and none of the extended warranties I looked at covered dropping my camera in the lake or smashing it against a rock or most any other way of destroying my gear in the wild.
As far as making a claim in a homeowner’s policy for a $60 printer, my same friend filed a claim for around $1000 when he took out a propeller on his boat. The insurance agent said “You’d better hope the boat burns to the waterline next time because after the second claim your rates will go up big-time and after a third claim you will be cancelled.
Your suggestion is very good... in most cases the extended warranties are a total rip-off by the retailers. I purchase them only under special circumstances.
The camera and lenses that I bought the drop and spill coverage for were heavily discounted refurbs so I was a little nervous about why they had been returned, and the events that I used them to film required multiple cameras that I wasn’t always near while taking video. So I felt that the setup was at risk more than a typical item. And someone did eventually knock my tripod over at an event.
Another item I purchased that worked in my favor was a 60” HD Projection TV that was marked down to half price because it had been a floor sample at Sam’s Club. Since the TV was marked down to half price the warranty was also half the price and by joining the Sam’s Club “executive membership” that night they doubled the years on the extended warranty.
The extended warranty covered the bulb which at that time was 100s of dollars; it had 1000s of hours on it before we got it. The TV started developing some issues before the extended warranty was up. They ended up replacing the screen and all the electronics. A month later the bulb burned out so I got a new one of those also. The only thing that wasn’t replaced was the plastic holding it all together. Essentially, the TV was like new.