Analysis of warranty claim data: a literature review

Abstract

PurposeTo provide a brief survey of the literature directed towards the analysis of warranty claim data.Design/methodology/approachFor convenience, this survey of the analysis of warranty claims data is somewhat arbitrarily be classified by topics as follows: age‐based claims analysis, aggregated warranty claims analysis, marginal counts of claims analysis, warranty claims analysis by using covariates, estimation of lifetime distribution using supplementary data, two‐dimensional warranty, warranty costs analysis, sales lag and reporting lag analysis, and forecasts of warranty claims.FindingsEmphasis is placed on a discussion of different kinds of warranty claims data selected from reviews and on a comparison of the statistical models and methods used to analyze such data.Research limitations/implicationsSince the literature on product warranty data is vast, more work on this problem is needed.Practical implicationsThis review points out why warranty claims data is important and gives a survey of the literature pertaining to the analysis of such data. The emphasis is on the analysis of minimal databases of real warranty data, constructed by combining information from different sources, which can be collected economically and efficiently through service networks. The research is applicable for those responsible for product reliability, product design decisions and warranty management in manufacturing industries.Originality/valueThe paper reviews different statistical models and methods used to analyze warranty claims data. The statistical models and methods presented are be valuable and meaningful tools for product reliability and warranty management and analysis.