Purchasing signage for your business is a very significant investment — especially when large-scale sign packages are involved — and your sign company knows it. For this reason, some sign providers offer a warranty on their products, often ranging from 1 to 5 years out. While your sign representative will likely explain the many things covered under their warranty, it’s uncommon for reps to go into detail about what exactly the warranty does not cover.

Sign warranties cover parts, labor and signage. This means that if an LED light goes out, you’re covered. If a screw comes loose and the integrity of the sign is put at risk because of builder error, your covered. If the installers chipped painted while out in the field, you’re covered. Essentially, the sign company is saying, “We believe in the value and quality of what we’ve built, and we’re backing our work with this guarantee.”

However, sign companies do not cover things that happen beyond their control — that’s what your insurance company is for. Here are 5 things your sign company’s warranty cannot cover:

1. Your sign got hit by a car

Time and again, a vehicle will swerve out of control and hit a sign. Whether it be a drunk driver, a distracted texter or someone who simply miscalculated a turn, the damage is done and a business is left with damaged signage. Unfortunately, your sign company warranty cannot cover the product in this situation.

2. Weather damage

Flooding, hail, catastrophic winds — if you live in Houston, you know all of these can happen in a single day. Mother Nature can wreak all sorts of havoc on signs, but your sign company warranty cannot cover that type of damage.

3. Vandalism

Many cities are forced to deal with the headache that is vandalism. Spray painting, key scratching and throwing eggs are just a few examples of the damage that can be caused by vandals — and your sign company warranty cannot cover it.

4. Theft

Aluminum is a pricey metal, which is why the sign industry will occasionally see a situation where a sign — or large parts of it — were stolen, most likely to be scrapped and sold to an aluminum recycler. Sign company warranties cannot cover stolen parts.

5. Another sign company worked on your sign

If you trust one sign company to manufacture and install your signage, but then you hire a different sign company to perform any kind of work to said signage, your original warranty becomes null and void, and nothing will be covered.