yea I found it weird as well. I assume they figure most people don't have the skills to just connect it again.

When I was looking into it, it's common practice for kitchen appliance warranties to have that as a requirement for warranty support when they are giving a replacement, likely they are trying to disincentivize someone getting a replacement for a minor issue, and then reselling one of the two appliances they have to make a profit, which I do understand for replacements but... in my case why not just send the replacement part... it likely could even go via an envelope and only pay the price of a stamp.

Theres no way paying to send a whole coffee maker is cheaper than sending a o-ring or a washer....