Home Warranty

Looking for a home warranty plan? A home warranty plan that protects your home appliances and systems. Learn everything you need to know about home warranties here! Call to get your custom quote.

What is a home warranty?

A home warranty is a service contract that helps protect a homeowner by covering the costs of certain home repairs and replacements due to normal wear and tear.

It is important to note that a home warranty is separate from your homeowners insurance. Insurance typically protects a homeowner from unexpected issues that are more catastrophic in nature, such as a fire, flood, etc.

Your home warranty covers your home’s major components, such as the furnace, air conditioning, plumbing, and electrical system. Depending on the contract, a home warranty may also cover major appliances such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, and sometimes even swimming pools.

How Does a Home Warranty Work?

After you purchase a home warranty, coverage typically starts within 30 days after your first payment. If a covered item or system breaks down while under warranty, you file a claim or service request with your provider and get the issue addressed.

If you are currently purchasing a home, you may be able to roll your home warranty into your mortgage payments. Bring this up with your mortgage lender to confirm with your home warranty company if this is possible.

Overall, the process of using a home warranty looks like this:

First, a covered appliance or system breaks down due to wear and tear.
Then, you call your home warranty provider to file a claim or submit a claim online.
The home warranty company processes the service request. Once processed, the company will send a technician to your home. This step occurs within 48 hours on average.
The technician observes the system or appliance at your home and recommends a repair or replacement. At this time, you pay the set service call fee stated in your home warranty contract.
If the repair is minor enough and the contractor has the necessary parts, they can repair it right then and there. However, if an entire replacement is needed, the technician will schedule a follow-up appointment.
Once the repair or replacement is complete, you can enjoy your newly functioning system or appliance with peace of mind and get back to business as usual.

What Does a Home Warranty Cover?

Home warranty coverage varies according to plans. Typically, a provider offers three types of home warranty plans: systems plans, appliance plans, and combination plans.

System plans cover major home systems like your air conditioning, heating, ductwork, HVAC, plumbing, water heater, garbage disposal, smoke detectors, ceiling fans, and doorbells.
Appliance plans cover most appliances like your refrigerator, dishwasher, range, oven, stove, built-in microwave, clothes washer and dryer, garage door opener, and freestanding ice makers.
Combo plans cover both systems and appliances. This plan tends to be the most popular option, and home warranty companies often include extra perks with their combination plans.

Some home warranty companies offer custom plans where you mix and match items you want to be covered. Many providers also provide optional coverage for miscellaneous items, such as your pool, hot tub, spa, or second refrigerator. Customers add these items to their plan for an additional cost per month.

How to get a home warranty

Purchasing a home warranty contract is a fairly straightforward process, but there are certain steps you’ll want to follow and factors to consider before deciding on a policy.

Assess your needs: If you’re thinking about getting a home warranty for a home you’re purchasing, start by making an inventory of all the major appliances and home systems that are included in your new house. Take note of how old they are, when they were last serviced and if any of them already come with a warranty. A home warranty is only worth it if there’s a reasonable likelihood you’ll need to repair or replace something that’s not covered by an original warranty within the next year.
Shop around for plans: As with any insurance policy you buy, you should get quotes from at least two or three home warranty providers. Each will be able to offer something different, but your typical home warranty cost will fall into the range of $300 to $800 per year. If you have specific needs for your home, like coverage for a pool, septic tank or sump pump, make sure the provider includes these add-ons in your estimate.
Examine your plan carefully: It’s important to read the fine print on any contract, but this is especially true for home warranties. Make sure everything you think is covered is in fact covered — don’t assume anything. For example, a home warranty may exclude repairs for certain parts of a dishwasher, or it may only cover one of your two refrigerators. Each plan stipulates key things like what components are excluded, the maximum coverage amounts, the waiting period before coverage starts and how long a repair is guaranteed.
Negotiate with the seller if buying a home: If you’re in a buyer’s market, you may be able to get the seller to cover the cost of your warranty as part of your closing negotiations. Sometimes the seller will even market their home to include a free, yearlong home warranty plan to entice buyers. Note, however, that the seller is under no obligation to provide one and will only do so if they feel it’s worth it.

What home warranties don’t cover

Plans cover your major systems and home appliances, but they don’t cover everything that can go wrong. Generally, home warranties do not cover issues related to:

Preexisting conditions
Improper installation or maintenance
Code violations
Items typically covered by home insurance
Unusual wear and tear
Structural elements
Smart devices
Solar panels
Fireplaces
Mold
Commercial-grade appliances
Items under manufacturers’ warranties

Home Warranty Coverage Limits

No matter what your home warranty plan covers, annual coverage limits will determine how much the company will pay to diagnose, repair, and replace each covered item. Of course, these coverage limits vary dramatically by company. For example, one home warranty plan might cap coverage at $500 per appliance, while another might cover up to $5,000 per item. Sometimes contracts have separate caps for each item, such as $500 for the washing machine and $1,000 for plumbing.

Keep in mind that the plans also have aggregate limits—the total amount the company will pay for all covered losses during one time period (usually a year). So, for instance, the plan may cover up to $5,000 per item, with an aggregate for all claims of $15,000.

Home warranty exclusions

Coverage inclusions and exclusions are where a home warranty provider lists the specifics of a plan’s coverage. The agreement may state that you have coverage for broad items, like “refrigerator” or “electrical system,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean all parts and components in those items are covered.

Home warranties generally provide coverage for items related to the essential function of each system or appliance. For example, your home warranty plan might cover your kitchen refrigerator, but it might not cover nonessential repairs. If a rack or shelf breaks, it won’t affect the essential function of a refrigerator, which is to keep items cold.

In this example, the fine print of your contract might look something like this:

Included

Individual components
Individual back-end parts
Integral freezer units

Excluded

Racks and shelves
Ice makers and ice crushers
Beverage dispensers and water lines
Leaks and food spoilage
Hinges, glass and lighting

Benefits of a Home Warranty

A home warranty is typically purchased to protect against expensive, unforeseen repair bills and provide peace of mind, knowing that repairing or replacing covered appliances and home systems will not break the budget. For those on a fixed income, a home warranty plan can be a useful budgeting tool. For homeowners who don’t have an emergency fund or who want to protect their emergency fund, a home warranty can act as a safeguard. Home warranties also make sense for people who aren’t handy, lack expertise or who don’t have the time to fix a home system or appliance when it breaks down.

Should You Get a Home Warranty Plan?

The decision you have to make is whether a home warranty is worth the cost. Many homeowners will benefit from purchasing a home warranty. Keep in mind that some sellers include a home warranty plan as part of the sale of the home.

Since you can find home warranty plans that cover nearly all the systems and appliances in your home, you can be confident that you won’t need to spend thousands of dollars on repairing or replacing a home system immediately after you’ve moved in. A home warranty plan covers a lot of the unexpected costs that could arise in the year or so after a home has been purchased.

What is Homeowners Insurance? 

Homeowners insurance coverage typically includes any accidental damage to your home and belongings due to theft, storms, fires, and some natural disasters. There are four primary areas covered under a homeowners insurance policy:

The interior of your home
The exterior of your home
Personal property in case of theft, loss, or damage
General liability that can arise when a person is injured while on your property

How Much is Homeowners Insurance?

A home insurance policy is usually mandatory, and a bank will generally require you to obtain one before issuing a mortgage on a home. In terms of typical homeowners insurance cost, the policy is renewed yearly, and its average annual cost is $1,312; though, this cost varies widely from state to state. All home insurance policies offer a deductible, which you’ll pay when your claim is approved. The policy will then take care of any additional costs. Of course, you’ll want to do your research when it comes to home insurance comparisons, as different home insurance companies offer different rates and deductible requirements.

How Does Homeowners Insurance Work?

So, for instance, say a pipe breaks and floods your kitchen. An insurance adjuster will come to your home and fill out a claim to repair or replace any damaged items in your home. Once the claim is approved, the insurance company will deduct the amount of your deductible and issue you a payment for the rest of the balance to repair your home. This deductible can also assist in lowering your yearly policy premium. The higher your deductible, the lower your yearly house insurance policy will cost. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is a terrific resource for more information on home insurance, such as buying homeowners insurance and understanding what is not covered by homeowners insurance.

What is the Difference Between Home Warranty and Home Insurance

A home warranty contract and a home insurance policy operate in similar ways. Both have a yearly premium and a deductible, although a home insurance premium and deductible is often much higher than a home warranty’s. The main differences between home warranties and home insurance are what they cover. Home insurance will help homeowners to pay for structural damage and loss of personal property from emergencies like theft or fire, while a home warranty covers repairs and replacements of a home’s systems and appliances when they fail from old age and normal wear and tear.

Another difference between a home warranty and home insurance is that home insurance is generally required for homeowners (if they have a mortgage on their home) while a home warranty plan is not required.

A home warranty and home insurance provide protection on different parts of a home, and together they can protect a homeowner’s budget from expensive repairs when they inevitably crop up.

What is a manufacturer's warranty?

A home warranty is different from a manufacturer’s warranty in that it typically covers the repair and/or replacement of all major household appliances, including washers, refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers, as well as expensive systems, like central heating and plumbing.

What’s the Difference Between a Manufacturer’s and Home Warranty?

The purpose and meaning of manufacturer’s warranty coverage and home warranty coverage differ significantly. A manufacturer’s warranty is usually provided free of charge when a consumer buys a major home appliance. For a limited time—it could be 90 days or five years or more—the manufacturer will pay for an item’s repair or replacement if it fails as a result of a factory defect or poor workmanship. Appliance companies provide documentation to help consumers know exactly what is covered in manufacturer’s warranty agreements.

A home warranty is a service agreement from a third-party provider, so it is not limited to a specific appliance or even a specific brand. Homeowners can purchase one warranty and receive appliance warranty coverage for a range of home equipment.

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