Lowe's protection plan: who actually runs it, and what it owes you.

Your administrator

One exception: water-heater plans in California are provided by Lowe's itself. The terms call the plan a service contract, not insurance — but it is insurance-backed, which is why your state insurance department and the Florida OIR take complaints about it.

What the plan covers

Defects and — Lowe's stresses this — normal wear and tear, plus power-surge damage; parts and labor included. Excluded: accidental or intentional damage, abuse, unauthorized repair, theft and loss. Replacement, when it comes, is at the administrator's sole discretion and may be a new, rebuilt, or refurbished product; the payment is capped at the original Retail Cost, and a replacement ends the contract — coverage does not transfer to the new product.

The rules that decide fights

• The lemon clause — harsher than Home Depot's: three covered repairs on three separate occasions, plus a fourth repair required → payment up to the original Retail Cost plus tax. And the fine print defines most of the loop out of the count: diagnosis, customer education, telephone troubleshooting, alignments, cleanings — and a "no fault found" diagnosis — are expressly NOT covered repairs.
• Fridge rental money: a covered refrigerator not repaired within 72 hours of the initial claim → rental reimbursement up to 25% of the appliance's Retail Cost. Approval must be obtained before renting.
• The 14-day payment: a product not repaired within 14 days earns a one-time $50 payment — expressly not on refrigerators or freezers.
• Food spoilage: up to $300 per incident, with documented proof of loss required.
• The payback trap: no service claims for the full term → 30% of the plan price back — but only if you claim it within 60 days after the plan ends.
• Your hidden duty: the terms require notifying the administrator of a defect within 90 days of discovery.

If your claim is already stalling

Start with the not-fixing page, count your case in the checker, and if the stall passes a month, go to the regulator door — in Texas that's TDLR; in Florida, the OIR.