Warranty Disclaimer: What It Is and How It Protects Your Business
In short
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably embarked on a new journey as a business owner. Or perhaps you need some extra information. Well, you’re in the right place! 👀 Read this article to find out what a warranty disclaimer is and how it can help protect your business from liabilities.
Jump to…
- What Is a Warranty Disclaimer?
- How Do Warranty Disclaimers Protect My Business?
- How Do You Write a Warranty Clause?
- What Is a Typical Warranty Statement?
- Where Should the Disclaimer of Warranty Be Displayed
- Warranty Disclaimer Examples
- Warranty Disclaimer Template
- How Do I Protect My Business in Practice?
💡 Download our free Warranty Disclaimer Template
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What Is a Warranty Disclaimer?
A warranty disclaimer is a statement or clause in a contract that excludes or limits the seller’s responsibility for certain warranties. This typically means that the seller is not guaranteeing that the product or service will meet specific standards or perform in a particular way.
These disclaimers are often used to protect the seller from being held responsible if the product doesn’t perform as expected. However, it doesn’t always mean they can avoid responsibility for everything.
How Do Warranty Disclaimers Protect My Business?
As a business owner, you need to be one step ahead and limit your responsibility, especially in cases of misuse of your website, content, product or services.
Here are some examples of user issues for which you could be held accountable:
- The customer expects a different product based on outdated previous content;
- A product you sold was misused, modified or damaged causing it to malfunction to cause harm;
- A customer was injured while using your product;
- Someone downloads user-generated media via your website which contains malicious code;
- and many other cases!
👉🏽 In short, better to be safe than sorry! You need to make sure to protect your business from liabilities, and, ultimately, from financial or legal implications.
A disclaimer of warranty protects business owners from legal liability if their product or service malfunctions. See an example below:
How Do You Write a Warranty Clause?
Writing a warranty clause can be quite complicated, because it involves outlining the promises or guarantees that you are making about the product or service, as well as any limitations or conditions.
Here are the main elements of a warranty disclaimer:
- Scope of the warranty: define what is covered and specify whether the warranty covers repairs, replacements, or refunds.
- Duration: indicate how long the warranty lasts.
- Exclusions: list anything that is not covered by the warranty.
- Procedure for claims: describe the steps the buyer should follow to make a warranty claim.
- Limitations of Liability: include any limits on the seller’s responsibility, such as excluding liability for indirect or consequential damages.
Drafting a disclaimer of warranty can be quite complicated! Some key components of the statement can include that:
- Services or products are provided on an “as is” – this can be read as “in its present condition”, and “as available” basis -i.e. when a service is not available in a specific geographic area, or momentarily down for upgrades/maintenance;
- Use of the service/product is at the user’s own risk;
- There are no warranties, express or implied.
Be clear, concise, address the main liabilities and make your disclaimer easily accessible to users.
What Is a Typical Warranty Statement?
There are many different types of warranty disclaimers, but a generic warranty example to limit your responsibility can read something like this:
[Seller Name] guarantees that the product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for two years from the date of purchase. If the product has a defect during this time, [Seller Name] will, at its discretion, either repair or replace it at no cost to the purchaser.
This warranty does not cover damage caused by misuse, accidents, unauthorized repairs, or normal wear and tear. To make a warranty claim, please contact [Seller Name] customer service at [contact details] within [X] days of discovering the defect and provide your proof of purchase.
Where Should the Disclaimer of Warranty Be Displayed
For your warranty disclaimer to be legally valid, you need to make sure it can be found easily by users. Best practice is to:
- Make the disclaimer easily accessible from every page of your site, i.e. your website’s footer
- Or, you can add your disclaimers in your Terms and Conditions document!
Warranty Disclaimer Examples
As we mentioned, warranty disclaimers can have different purposes, such as limiting your liability or communicating to your customers that the product is not covered by warranties.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Product Warranty
Product warranty agreements define all the details about the warranty for a certain product, such as the duration of the warranty, what it covers, and what the company will or will not do in the event of a defect.
“[Product Name] comes with a limited warranty that guarantees the product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of [X] months from the date of purchase. This warranty does not cover damage resulting from misuse, abuse, accidents, unauthorized repairs, or alterations. To make a warranty claim, please contact our customer support team with proof of purchase. Our sole liability under this warranty is limited to the repair or replacement of the defective product at our discretion.”
No Warranty Expressed or Implied
This disclaimer is used when a company wants to make it clear that it offers no warranty of any kind on a product. This means the product is sold “as is,” and the company is not making any promises about its condition or performance.
“This product is sold ‘as is’ without any warranty of any kind, either express or implied. [Company Name] makes no representations or warranties regarding the performance, reliability, or functionality of the product. By purchasing this product, you acknowledge and agree that you assume all risks associated with its use.”
Limitation of Liability Clause
This clause limits the amount of compensation a company will provide if something goes wrong with the product. It essentially sets the boundaries for what the consumer can claim.
“To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, [Company Name] shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, or data arising out of or in connection with the use or inability to use this product. In no event shall our total liability exceed the purchase price paid for the product, or the replacement value of the product, whichever is less.”
As Is Disclaimer
Similar to the ‘No Warranty Expressed or Implied’ disclaimer, the “as is” disclaimer is commonly used to indicate that the product is being sold with no guarantees, warranties, or promises of quality or condition.
“This product is provided to you ‘as is,’ without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. [Company Name] does not warrant that the product will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error-free. By purchasing and using the product, you agree to assume all risks associated with its use.”
Warranty Disclaimer Template
Here you can find a warranty disclaimer template that you can customize and use for your business.
How to Use the Template
- Fill in Business and Contact Details: Before you publish it, fill in all the [brackets] with your business info and contact details.
- What this Template covers: The template covers selling physical goods and includes sections for business-to-consumer (B2C) sales. Make sure these sections match what your business offers.
- Tailor to Legal Jurisdictions: The template includes parts relevant to the EU, so make sure they comply with the laws where your customers are.
Warranty Disclaimer Template (HTML Text)
Copy and paste the Warranty Disclaimer Template HTML directly into your website.
<h1>Warranty</h1>
<p>Our website is provided by:</p>
<p>[name/company and full address]</p>
<p>Contact email: [email address]</p>
<p>You must read this document carefully.</p>
<p>This document was generated with the use of the <a href="https://www.iubenda.com/en/help/110162/-protect-your-business-what-is-a-warranty-disclaimer">Warranty Template</a>.</p>
<h2>Legal warranty of conformity for goods under EU law</h2>
<p>We guarantee the conformity of goods sold to European consumers for at least 2 years from delivery. This warranty applies to goods available on our website according to the laws of your country.</p>
<p>The laws of your country may grant you broader rights regarding legal warranties of conformity.</p>
<h2>Applicable remedies</h2>
<p>[For example, consumers may have the right to ask for:</p>
<ul>
<li>repairing the product;</li>
<li>replacing the product;</li>
<li>price reduction;</li>
<li>reimbursement.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Information about this document</h2>
<p>This document was generated with the use of the <a href="https://www.iubenda.com/en/help/110162/-protect-your-business-what-is-a-warranty-disclaimer">Warranty Template</a>.</p>
<h2>What is not covered by the warranty</h2>
<p>[For example, products that have been modified by the customer or defects resulting from improper use may not be covered by the legal warranty.]</p>
<h2>Additional warranties</h2>
<p>[You may also provide the customer with an optional extended warranty. This can be included in the product’s price or offered for an additional cost. However, this warranty is separate from the legal one, which is always valid for at least 2 years. You must inform the customer that the extended warranty does not impact their rights under the legal one.]</p>
<h2>Contact</h2>
<p>All communications must be sent using the contact information provided in this document.</p>
<h2>INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT</h2>
<p>This document was generated with the use of the <a href="https://www.iubenda.com/en/help/110162/-protect-your-business-what-is-a-warranty-disclaimer">Warranty Template</a>.</p>
Warranty Disclaimer Template (WordPress)
Copy and paste the Warranty Disclaimer Template WordPress directly into your website.
<h1>Warranty</h1>
<p>Our website is provided by:</p>
<p>[name/company and full address]</p>
<p>Contact email: [email address]</p>
<p>You must read this document carefully.</p>
<p>This document was generated with the use of the <a href="https://www.iubenda.com/en/help/110162/-protect-your-business-what-is-a-warranty-disclaimer">Warranty Template</a>.</p>
<h2>Legal warranty of conformity for goods under EU law</h2>
<p>We guarantee the conformity of goods sold to European consumers for at least 2 years from delivery. This warranty applies to goods available on our website according to the laws of your country.</p>
<p>The laws of your country may grant you broader rights regarding legal warranties of conformity.</p>
<h2>Applicable remedies</h2>
<p>[For example, consumers may have the right to ask for:</p>
<ul>
<li>repairing the product;</li>
<li>replacing the product;</li>
<li>price reduction;</li>
<li>reimbursement.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Information about this document</h2>
<p>This document was generated with the use of the <a href="https://www.iubenda.com/en/help/110162/-protect-your-business-what-is-a-warranty-disclaimer">Warranty Template</a>.</p>
<h2>What is not covered by the warranty</h2>
<p>[For example, products that have been modified by the customer or defects resulting from improper use may not be covered by the legal warranty.]</p>
<h2>Additional warranties</h2>
<p>[You may also provide the customer with an optional extended warranty. This can be included in the product’s price or offered for an additional cost. However, this warranty is separate from the legal one, which is always valid for at least 2 years. You must inform the customer that the extended warranty does not impact their rights under the legal one.]</p>
<h2>Contact</h2>
<p>All communications must be sent using the contact information provided in this document.</p>
<h2>INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT</h2>
<p>This document was generated with the use of the <a href="https://www.iubenda.com/en/help/110162/-protect-your-business-what-is-a-warranty-disclaimer">Warranty Template</a>.</p>
Warranty Disclaimer Template (Word DOCX)
⚠️ Please note
The disclaimers above are just examples and may not always be suitable for your activity or business. For example, if you sell to consumers in the EU, you must guarantee at least a 2-year warranty (depending on the country), while there are countries (like Switzerland) where you can exclude the warranty altogether. Before you add your disclaimer, check your jurisdiction and its requirements, don’t just copy and paste!
How Do I Protect My Business in Practice?
Warranty disclaimers are a good way to protect your business, but a legally sound Terms and Conditions document can help you address all potential problems, not just warranty.
Terms and Conditions are not always mandatory but strongly recommended for setting how your product, service or content may be used, in a legally binding way. However, they become mandatory if you have an e-commerce, as they define the conditions of sale of your store.
🔍 Want to learn more? Read our post for 5 reasons why you need Terms and Conditions.
How iubenda can help
Looking at the complexity of drafting clauses such as warranty disclaimers, you will definitely be glad to know that our Terms and Conditions Generator is ready to assist you!
🚀 Easily generate professional disclaimers and clauses adapted to your specific situation
🚀 Use our pre-drafted clauses, written by lawyers
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