Flooring is one of the most expensive purchases consumers will make in their lifetime. And yet, until recently, the industry never had extended protection available for accidents to the flooring.
A manufacturer’s warranty covers manufacturing defects in flooring materials as well as installation and workmanship issues. But not accidents.
Centricity changed all that four years ago when it entered the flooring space. Bob Kilinski, chief sales and marketing officer, said he attended his first flooring trade show (FloorCon) in 2022 and landed several retailers at the Tucson, Ariz., show; the beginning of a successful run that continues to this day.
The protection plan works like this: Centricity covers accidental damage protection, generally defined as a sudden, unpreventable, unintentional incident that causes damage to the floor or grout during what is considered normal use. For example, carrying a pot of water from the stove and accidentally dropping it on the floor and causing a dent.
Consumers pay the retailer a percentage of the fully installed price when they purchase the flooring. For example, say they purchase $30,000 of flooring and the retailer charges 10%. Adding the protection plan for five years costs the consumer $33,000.
All plans are for five years, and Centricity will repair or replace the damaged flooring up to the price of installation.
Filling a void
Kilinski said Centricity conducted more than 7,000 interviews with homeowners and learned the following:
- 80% of consumers want protection when buying premium flooring.
- 69% of first-time homebuyers are likely to buy a plan.
In its four years, Centricity has signed up 150 companies representing over $1.5 billion in sales. The retailers range from single-store locations to multi-million, multi-store dealers like America’s Floor Source.
Retailers respond
AFS Group, which operates 12 locations across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, was one of the first major retailers to offer Centricity’s plan to its customers. “Our customers expect the best when they shop at America’s Floor Source and safe- guarding their beautiful flooring investment for five years gives them an added layer of assurance that provides true peace of mind,” said Michel Vermette, CEO/CFO, AFS Group. “We’re excited to partner with Centricity to provide our customers with coverage that goes beyond what homeowners’ insurance or a manufacturer warranty covers.”
Christoff & Sons Flooring, Jackson, Mich., has sold Centricity’s accidental damage protection plan for a little over a year, with positive results to report.
“As a retailer we appreciate being able to offer this additional coverage to our customers while also increasing the job total,” said Brooke Christoff, owner. “Our sales staff is getting in the groove of offering this plan to every customer and seeing how it benefits not only our customer but the [RSA] as well. Our sales staff works on commission, and by adding the protection plan they are increasing their bottom line and ours.”
Christoff also lauded Centricity for listening to what retailers need to improve the selling process. “They have made it easy for our sales staff to get access to their spiffs… who doesn’t love that?” she said.
Rick Robinson, operations manager for The Carpet Guys, Troy, Mich., said customers would get upset if they accidentally chipped or scratched their floors. “They’d call us to ask how much it would cost to repair or replace the flooring. Offering this plan gives our customers confidence that regular household accidents are covered and their floors are going to be taken care of properly.”
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