Home warranty buyers guide
When you are ready to buy home warranty insurance, follow these steps that are intended to help you chose a better service. The important step is to find a reputed company in your area. However, that is also the most difficult part because most buyers do not have great opinion about any one company in particular. We have started collecting provider ratings from our website visitors, but most of the ratings given fall below 3 (out of 5) for all home warranty companies. That means, along with rating, buyers will also have to consider other factors such as annual premium, deductible costs, appliances coverage and of course small prints in the contract. Read on…
Very first step is to decide if you need home warranty. Check this article that explains is there a need for home warranty on this site and review the checklist. It is a good idea to get a detailed home inspection report on your existing house from a third party inspector. This report will help you understand the potential and existing problems with your appliances and will also help you decide if you need home warranty. If some appliances are aging and need special attention, be sure to check if the warranty company provides sufficient coverage for those appliances.
Make a short list of 3-5 home warranty companies that match with your needs. You can use home warranty price comparison section to identify few providers based on premium, deductible, coverage effective dates etc. (Please note that our list covers most of companies that have nationwide coverage and it may have missed local warranty providers.)
Check with your friends and colleagues as to which providers do they use. Be sure to ask about their satisfaction levels with service and claims processing. The may some comments about customer service, contractor turnaround, quality of work etc.
It is important to choose a company that has a decent track record in this industry. Many consumers are dissatisfied with the services offered by many home warranty companies and it is indeed difficult to deal with some companies when it comes to claims processing. It is not easy to find a perfect home warranty company, but you can always chose a company with least number of complaints. There are several ways to research.
- Use home warranty insurance ratings to learn about the ratings given by our users.
- Check company’s track record using trade organizations such as Better Business Bureau.
- Research the company over the Internet for any negative reviews. Insurance discussion board in scam.com has the list of complaints against many home warranty companies. www.ripoffreport.com is another website for lodging complaints.
- Your real estate agent will also be able to provide the name of few reliable warranty companies in the area
Determine if you need extra coverage. Most basic home warranty plans do not cover clothes washer/drier, second set of equipments (second refrigerator), pool/spa equipments, computers etc. And some plans also exclude air conditioning, roof, etc.
Now, start calling the companies and make notes of their offerings. Be sure to collect information such as -
- Annual premium
- Deductible per incident (Trade service call fee)
- Average turnaround time for repair handling
- If you have determined that you need extra coverage mentioned above, check how much extra would it cost
- If you have any aging equipments reported in your Home Inspection report mentioned earlier, be sure to check if the warranty company provides adequate coverage for those equipments
- Ask them how they calculate the buy out amount if you decide to replace the equipment yourself.
- Is coverage effective immediately upon buying the policy? (only matters if you need immediate coverage)
- Ask for clarifications and contractual obligations. Observe how they are treating you, which is a good indicator of how the company treats its customers after sale.
Finally, glance over the contract terms when you are ready to buy the coverage to make sure which appliances are NOT covered. Request a reliability report from your local BBB to make sure there are not too many complaints. Remember to keep all maintenance records which you may be asked by home warranty company when you file claims.
Now you have completed your due diligence part. If you have decided to buy home warranty, we recommend that you get a home warranty quote from Home Warranty Experts below -
Home Warranty Plans – Protect Your Home Appliances and Avoid Costly Repairs. Coverage provided by reputed warranty companies
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We just tried out our home warranty with FIRST AMERICAN HOME WARRANTY…
1. Problem: furnace not powering on.
2. Furnace contractor said he needed to scrub the burners, but didn’t think this was covered.
2. We asked First American Home Warranty if scrubbing the burners was covered: First American Home Warranty said ‘yes this service was covered’.
3. The furnace contractor completed the service and submitted his paperwork to First American Home Warranty. First American HW told the contractor that this service was NOT Covered.
4. We again called First American Home Warranty to ask about the coverage: First American HW NOW said this service was not covered, only if the burners were replaced!
I conntacted them on 5-7 and they sent there air conditioner contractor out late on 5-8.The older of the two men started complaining about the unit being in the attic.They took out the blower motor.They could not make it to the supply house in time.The supply house also had them on “credit hold” ,because of $ issues.I had taken all of 5-8 off from work to wait on them to show up at 4 pm.They contacted One Guard to get approval.Now One Guard has asked to see my home inspection report to see if the home had pre-existing conditions (and it does not).Never have I heard of this.One Guard told me that they would schedule a 5 pm appt. Monday to replace the motor.And now has decided that they cannot authorize “over time”.One Guard is not a member of the “BBB” that I can find out.However J&L Svc. is and I will be fileing a complait.Beware of One Guard Home Warranties Co.
DO NOT USE ONE GUARD HOME WARRANTIES!!! I have had the same problem as others with this home warranty. They Have you pay for the warranty and when its time for them to actually do the work they will not authorize the work to be done. They will think of everything they can to get out of paying for the work that has to be done. They came out to work on my AC and I ended up having to pay $500.00 for the services because they found every excuse they could so they did not have to cover it. I would look into another company because this one is basically a scam.
I have just finished my first year with Sensible Home Warrenty and in the last year have filed a claim for a water heater and a furnance repair. When I called the company they were quick, polite and very responsive. Today when I filed my second claim, I also renewed my policy for another year.
I have several properties with OneGuard home warranties.
Recently one had kitchen sink leaking. I filed a claim
and they did send a technician on time, but he told me the
leaking came from the faucet, and that was not covered,
to fix that i need to pay them $200, i can easily get any one to fix it within $75, so refused, then they ask for $69 service fee.
In their plan they list almost everything that get covered, including plumbing system, but when it is time for their service, they tell you faucet leaking does not belong to plumbing system
It seems to me these guys can try everything to get your money but avoid responsibilities. I am tired of the hassle. I will never
claim again ( i guess this is what they want) but of course i will never use their warranties
FIRST AMERICAN HOME WARRANTY
I purchase the ’spa’ package on my home warranty. All of the things listed as covered: timing, switches, relays, above ground electrical are indeed not covered at all because of my in-ground installation, they combine together and form a “control management system” which is not covered under their limits of liability for “electronic system management”. So the controls for my spa don’t work, it is accessible, it is due to normal wear and tear, and since they are located 3 feet away from the actual in ground spa they are totally not coverred at all. There is nothing else to cover in my opinion, its just a spa, not a rocket jet, it has a button, it turns it on, its broke and they don’t cover that. Basically the limits of liability that claim to not cover electronic, computerized, pneumatic and manual system management means that overturns all of the warranty and they don’t have to pay for anything electronic, computerized, pneumatic, or manual. Is there anything else?