How often do you pursue warranty reimbursement opportunities? If you’re trying to save money, manage a budget, or generate funds, filing claims for your warranties can help.

While it’s true that many repairs covered under warranty aren’t too expensive, they do add up over time. This is especially true for businesses that are more likely to have multiple repairs covered by warranties.

For example, Heyl Truck Lines increased their reimbursements by 990% using fleet management software from Cetaris. If you run a business with equipment of any kind, warranties can save you some serious cash over time.

Whether you’re a business or an individual, if you haven’t thought about pursuing reimbursements through your warranties, here’s why you should start.

1. Money is Money

When you consider all the ways you consciously work to save and generate money, there’s no reason to exclude warranty reimbursements. It’s money saved. Submitting requests to have your equipment fixed under the manufacturer’s warranty does require a little bit of time and effort, but in the end, it will be money in your bank account.

2. Warranty Reimbursements Add up Over Time

If the cost to repair things under warranty is so small it seems like it’s not worth getting reimbursed, consider that your reimbursements will add up over time. What looks like a small cost today can equal thousands of dollars in the long run.

For example, say you run a business that has several pieces of equipment under warranty, like networking equipment, copy machines, and computers. You’re constantly buying new equipment so you’re always going to have things under warranty at any given time.

Now, say you need an average of five repairs per year at an average repair cost of $400 per incident. It doesn’t seem like much when you look at a single repair, but that would equal $2,000 per year, which is $20,000 over the course of ten years.

You can do a lot of things with $20,000. If you’re an individual and not a business, cut that number in half and you’ll still save thousands by pursuing your warranty reimbursements.

3. Some Repairs are Expensive

While it’s true that many repairs are cheap, which can make reimbursement seem frivolous, some repairs are expensive. However, you can’t know ahead of time which repairs you’ll need. This is why it’s important to make sure you only buy expensive equipment with a good warranty.

There’s a chance that some of your equipment might break down and be difficult or impossible for anyone but the manufacturer to fix. Under a warranty, they’ll generally pay for shipping both ways to repair the equipment, or they’ll send out a technician to your location.

If you happen to need a repair that will cost a lot of money outside of the warranty, it’s worth pursuing your claim through the manufacturer to get it covered completely. Every bit of money you can save is money you can use for something else you really want or need.

4. Self-repair Won’t Void Your Warranties

Maybe you avoid submitting warranty reimbursement requests because you’ve already performed your own repairs through third-party companies, or you’ve removed those stickers that say, “warranty void if removed.” The good news is that it’s illegal for manufacturers to void a warranty because a sticker is removed or because you’ve used third-party parts or repair services.

There is a movement dubbed the “Right to Repair” that has been forcing manufacturers to stop limiting a consumer’s right to repair their own devices. The FTC supports a consumer’s right to repair and has stated, many times, that warranty restrictions of this nature are illegal.

5. You Might have Additional Warranty Rights

Did you know that a manufacturer might have the legal responsibility to make repairs even if you don’t have a written warranty? Sometimes manufacturers are legally responsible for repairs that fall outside of the specifications in their warranties. For instance, there are laws that create “implied warranties,” although, these can be voided under certain circumstances like selling an item “as-is.”

This subject can be a bit complicated, but it’s worth asking for a repair if your equipment malfunctioned in a way that could be considered a substantial defect, regardless of your warranty details.

A warranty reimbursement puts money in your hands

As stated early on, money is money. If your goal is to save or generate money, then pursuing warranty reimbursements is worth the time. Usually, the process is simple and you’ll just need to fill out a form and mail (or email) it to the manufacturer. The more reimbursements you pursue, the more money you’ll have in your hands.