To simply say it: usually, yes.

Depending on the type of product, the extra insurance, warranties, coverage or services can really pay off! I'd like to tell you a story...

My husband and I received a very nice Kodak Digital Camera in 2003 as an anniversary present. It was a present from his mom & dad, and cost well over $300.00. So, we start tinkering with this camera and we LOVED it! After about a week, I went to open the door that holds the batteries in. I noticed that a little plastic hinge piece had broken, and the door would no longer close. Our parents had bought the "extra" warranty for us, so we simply returned it to the store and got a new replacement. Two weeks later, same thing again! Again, we returned the camera and received a replacement. We were super careful with the camera this time... and what do you know? 2 days later the latch had broken a third time!

When we took the camera back to the store, we ended up getting a whole different camera at the companies request because our extended warranty included a "lemon" policy and this camera was obviously a lemon! We ended up with a professional version of a Fuji camera that we still have.

If we had not gotten the extra coverage, the store would have only replaced the camera once, and then we would've had to deal with the manufacturer direct (and we all know how much of a pain that is!)

So for electronics:

Pro: Don't have to deal with the manufacturer typically for replacement because of extended warranty terms.

Pro: More time to worry about returning things.

Con: Usually costs you about 10% of the cost of the item for a 2-3year extended warranty.

I will HIGHLY recommend this!

I worked for Budget Rentals in their moving truck department doing customer service. I'll give everyone out there 2 huge tips.

1- READ THE MATERIALS/Rental Agreement

2- Buy the extra coverage/insurance.

Our number one customer service complaint was when a customer would get into an accident which they were at fault for, and would have to pay huge costs to repair the vehicles or replace them in the worst case. Paying an extra $20.00 would have saved them over $5000.00 usually!

I'm not saying that you should buy the 3-year warranty that Walmart offers for that $15 keyboard you bought last week...

But if something might cost you more than a few hundred to replace or repair, you're going to end up saving yourself a bundle by paying a few more bucks up front!

And if you don't end up using that extra protection, then kudos to you too!

And that's my first answer! -Ms. Sooz