From refrigerators to ranges, dryers to dishwashers, major appliances are some of our biggest home investments. In many ways, they’re the MVPs of our lives because we rely on them daily for essentials like clean clothes and family dinners.
But you’ve probably had a major appliance malfunction at one time or another. According to our research, 95% of homeowners report having a major appliance stop working at some point.
We asked a group of homeowners about their experiences with major appliance malfunctions and found some surprising trends about:
- Which appliances breakdown the most and when
- The time, money, and frustration appliance malfunctions cause
- Appliance owners’ biggest appliance regret
Watch Out for Your Washer
Which appliance do you think breaks down the most? According to our survey, the most frequent appliances to malfunction were:
- Washing machines (29%)
- Refrigerators/ice makers/freezers (27%)
- Dryers (16%)
- Dishwashers (14%)
And why did they stop working? The leading issues were:
- Having an appliance stop working completely (34%)
- Electrical malfunctions (24%)
- Performance issues such as not heating or cooling properly (22%)
Broken Appliance? Now What?
You may assume that appliances stop working most often when they get older. But our research tells the opposite story: Over half (52%) of malfunctions occurred within five years of purchase, with 18% happening in the first year and 33% within two years of purchase.
And when an appliance breaks, owners must decide how to deal with it: Should I try to fix this myself? Should I schedule a repair? Should I just get a new one?
But no matter the final decision, one part of the outcome is the same: It ends up costing them. Just over half (55%) of homeowners spent money repairing or replacing broken appliances, costing an average of $713 per repair.
Besides monetary costs, broken appliances cost time, too. On average, in-home repairs take 11.7 hours to research, schedule, and complete.
Then, when scheduling in-home repairs, 78% of homeowners waited more than three days from scheduling to receiving a repair appointment. Plus, technicians were late to those appointments 24% of the time, with an average delay of 48 minutes.
In total, homeowners have collectively spent 29,651 years on in-home appliance repairs.
Going Back in Time
According to our research, 61% of American homeowners who have had an appliance malfunction or stop working say they wished they could go back in time and purchase a protection plan for it. Considering the time, expense, and effort it takes to repair or replace a major appliance, it’s no wonder.
At Allstate Protection Plans, our mission is to complete in-home repairs in one visit. Our appliance plans often include coverage for food spoilage and missed laundry, to help with the costs associated with appliance malfunctions. And when you need help, we’re there—with 24/7 online claims available whenever, wherever. So you get back up and running, quick and easy, with no hassles.
