American Home Shield (AHS)
Home Warranty Plan Details and Reviews for American Home Shield (AHS)
Premium: $360
Deductible: $60
Effective: Immediately after payment
Web: ahswarranty.com
Deductible: $60
Effective: Immediately after payment
Web: ahswarranty.com
Customer Service 
Service Timeliness
Repair/Replacement Service
Overall Rating
Total Reviews: 626 Rate this Company!
Service Timeliness
Repair/Replacement Service
Overall Rating
Total Reviews: 626 Rate this Company!
Coverage Area: USA - All States
Offers plans to cover pre-existing conditions and lack of maintenance repairs, for an additional fee.
| Home warranty is a complex insurance product. Unlike home insurance, it does not provide blanket coverage for all appliances. Pre-existing conditions and problems resulting from lack of maintenance of appliance are are generally not covered by home warranty companies. Home warranty sellers may not state these factors clearly, and this will create dissatisfaction among customers. Due to these factors, you will see many negative reviews here. Don't be intimidated by some negative reviews here. If you have maintained your appliances in good condition and go with a reputed home warranty provider, your coverage will be fine. |
We do not endorse any company in particular, however you should ignore the reviews that are overly negative or positive. Such reviews are not likely to offer a balanced view and some of them could be fake reviews posted to promote or demote a company. It is always a good idea to check BBB ratings and make sure the company is licensed to do business in your State by contacting State Insurance Commission. Try to avoid paying annual premium and keep your cancellation rights
Reviews
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I placed an internet request for service on a Tues, I got no response so I called back Thurs morning. I got an ignorant person on the phone. I called back 20 mins later and spoke wiuth a very nice woman. She didnt have any different answers than the last one, she just wasnt ignorant. I called the contractor (Kevin from sovereign Plumbing)an hr later and he said he could be here the following night (fri). He was here w/in a half hour of the appointment and diagnosed that my water heater needed to be replaced. He agreed to do it the following Sat. I emailed him on Tues with no response. I called him on Thursday w no response. I called him Fri morning no answer. I called AHS and they have no report from the previous week nor a warranty claim and told me “he’s your contractorso we have to call him and give him time to get back to us.” So, it was the day b4, I have no appt time nor do i know if he’s coming. AHS calls me back and said the claim has been filed. Cool, so I call the contractor again. He said his brother was supposed to get back to me, no “sorry”, and that he’ll know 9:00 Fri night what time Saturday. I said great, thanks. I received no phone call Fri night. I got up at 7am this morning not knowing what time they start on Saturdays. I called Kevin at sovereign at 8am and left a message. I called AHS at 12:00 and spoke to an ignorant woman who told me, when I asked ho long I wait, that Sat ends when Sun begins. They didn’t care about the lack of service from their outrside contractors and when i asked to work w someone else I was told sure, then they will call you within 2 business days to schedule an appointment, you can pay another deductible, and wait for them to have a chance to install it. I will never buy a warranty from them again.
I had AHS with my home in Texas and had good service and only one problem with a service call during 4 years there. I moved to Alabama and bought a 1 year old home and in my 3 years in this home have 6 calls for heat or A/C problems. The latest being my heat went out on Dec 17, 2009, I called AHSthat same day and a repairman was sent out on Dec 18. The repairman said the circuit breaker on the heat strip (I have a heat pump) was bad they would be back that afternoon. Well that day went and the next day was Saturday then Sunday. Only after I called on Monday morning was I told someone would be there to install the breaker. Mean while its below 20 in Alabama. And how hard is it to get a circuit breaker! I could buy one at Home Depot! Anyway the heat pump was fixed or so I thought. It put out some warm air but not a lot. I was told heat pumps don’t work well in cold weather so I got what I got. On Jan 2, 2010 again the heat pump was not working. It was warmer outside in 20+ degree weather then inside the house. It was not an emergency so the repairman could not come until Monday. The company sent two repair men and a supervisor, they could find nothing wrong with the system. However, I have a zone heating system. I had the zone heating system for all 6 of the previous calls. I was told that zone systems are not covered by AHS, BUT to give me heat he(repairman) will bypass the zone system and give me heat. They gave me heat all right the system NEVER turns off. I have used over 4789kwh of electicity in 3 weeks! AHS will not send anyone out to fix the system because they donot cover “energy” zone systems. So I have constant heat with outrageous electic bills or I disconnet the system at the circuit breaker and have no heat! According to the websites for heat pumps their experts say a zone system is the best economical heating system to own. But don’t get one because AHS will not cover it!
HORRIBLE. Customer service reps are very polite — until you have a claim. Then they give you the run around and every rep you speak to seems to have a different policy. AHS’s overall policy seems to be to keep fixing things (even 20 year old water heaters) until they are completely useless and a fire hazard. They don’t send nearby companies to do the work, even if you request a contractor on their “list” who is in your same zip code and available to do the work! Today, while trying to sort through an issue, an AHS rep hung up on me. I’m done….looking for a new company.
I have been an AHS customer for 12 years and they have replaced my cooktop, built in microwav and waterheater. They have repaired my dryer, washer, refrigerator, HVAC (three times), toilet (3), pressure regulator valve, dishwasher and icemaker. I plan to renew again this year.
Keep raising their prices. Do not cover what they stated. Will keep repairing it instead of replacement the appliance.
I have used AHS for several years, except for 2009. Other than AHS sending a low-quality and rude plumber to my home, my experience with them was alright.
When my Heating/Cooling system went out 5 years ago, they kept sending techs to piece-patch the system after the original tech advised to replace the entire unit. Well, after the 4th visit my house caught on fire-minimal damage,though I ran from my house in nothing but a bath towel.
but AHS then decided I needed a new system. (Go Figure!) The AHS customer service during this ordeal was not good at all. You shouldn’t have to argue, (literally-with a very rude associate, with a company to get them to do what they are supposed to do per their contract.
The serivice on my refrigerator was good, pool plumbing service was good, and the dishwasher replacement service was good. All were handled in a timely manner.
This company is beyond HORRIBLE. I have had another home warranty company, and had break downs with my hvac, microwave, garage door opener, and dishwasher. I never had a single problem, until I made the great mistake of changing to this company to save a little bit of money. I am currently trying to get my refrigerator fixed, and it has been 12 days since I called for emergency service. We have been without a refrigerator for the entire time. We are now a family of four functioning with a little dorm frige. Between my husband and I we have called to find out what is going on 9 times, each time the agent said they would call us back within the hour, and they have not called or had any information that was useful. Today I had the worst converstion thus far with an attendant who, when challenged about the situation began to berrate me and tell me that they aren’t to call back everyday. When I had informed him that no one had EVER called back, all I got was a raised voice and a quick blow off. This situation we find ourselves in SUCKS, and is just getting worse. Do yourself a favor and stay as far away from this company as you can.
I got AHS for free as a part of my house’s closing costs that the seller paid. I had one repair within the past 12 months and it was the main water pipe coming into my house. AHS took 3 days to send a plumber all the while water was pouring out the side of the pipe; and he fixed the leak, however he said that my AHS warranty did not actually cover the repair.
Even though AHS says plumbing is included since this pipe was outside the house and both ends were not anchored in the foundation of the house there was some sort of escape clause in my contract stating it is not covered. Fortunately the plumber felt sorry for me and told AHS that both ends were indeed anchored to the house’s foundation. If it weren’t for that the repair would not have been covered. Needless to say I did not renew the contract. Since when does plumbing coverage not include water running through a copper pipe on my property?
I gave a 5 rating for the repair / replacement service itself because the plumber was awesome, did a great job, and helped me save over $300.00. But none of this was because of anything AHS did.
im not sure if ahs researches the companies that represent them in my area, but if they dont, they are doomed. for example, the cactus garage company, is one company that i had to deal with during my 4 year relationship with ahs. cactus co. came to my residence to fix my garage motor but failed to mention that there was another problem with the pulley system that assists the garage door in opening. since this was not covered by ahs, cactus failed to mention the problem resulting in another garage breakdown only 1 month later.
AHS has been an awful experience for us. We had a repair that was not repaired correctly and we can’t get anyone from AHS to call us back after repeated calls. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND this company to anyone. Additionally, they often deny claims and say that maintenance wasn’t performed properly.
[...] 41% market share, American Home Shield leads the pack followed by First American (11%), Old Republic (8.3%), CCHS (6%), 2-10 HBW (5.3%), [...]
Bought AHS Because the warranty coverage and price looked reasonable when compared to coverage for other home warrenty Co’s for the same or similar price (At least here in GA. anyway)- The nighmare started when our AC decided to stop working the Friday before Memorial day weekend. (Temps went up into the high 80’s for the first time of the season and stayed there for weeks)
called AHS and they “couldn’t get anyone out until Wed the following week!!” “because it was peak cooling season and their service companies were all busy with similar calls”.
I called a few local HVAC Co’s within 10 miles of my house and ALL said they could come get someone out right away. Go figure!
AHS claims to use “LOCAL” service Co’s but the guy who came out ( and subsequent Service Co. ) were all from other side of the state.
AHS defines “LOCAL” by the Service Co’s “Service Area” or Zip codes the guy is willing to drive out to. sorry AHS but that is not “LOCAL”.
when the guy finally came out 5 days later, He drove up in a beat up 10 yr old pickup truck with no company name or any identifying information. He looked at my system for about 5 minutes and told me I was “2 lbs over” on Freon and it damaged the compressor and AHS wont cover it because of “Faulty Maintenance”. Hmmm That’s odd.. The guy who serviced the system last spring said everything was fine.
I called a Local HVAC Co. to get a quote to fix the system and they said “theres no way he could tell there was too much freon if the compressor was broken and you better get a second opinion”
Called AHS and told them what the Local HVAC Co. said and demanded a second opinion. wouldn’t you know they “couldn’t get anyone out until Wed the following week” I pleaded with them to find someone else to no avail – did I mention we were in a spring time heat wave of 85+ temps?
WEEK 2 – Second “LOCAL” company came out and found a blockage in the lines and causing the compressor to shutdown. AHS did agree to fix but the service Co. couldn’t do the repair until the following week – of course… what else???
WEEK 3 – they replaced my air handler with a new one which required all new duct work – Not covered by AHS for $800.00
Between the repair cost and the AHS Warranty cost and 2 $60 dollar service calls, I could have had the repair done faster (less than 4 days), with less agravation for about the same $$.
Scew Home warrantes!!Pay for the fix yourself (you will anyway). put the $300 a year in a money market acount for a repair fund and get the interest on the money!
if your repair fund isn’t enough yet, and it’s a big ticket item just do the “NO interest, NO Payments for 1 year” that everyone offers today and pay it off over the 12 months.
Trust me… You’ll sleep better and have less agravation in your life.
Homeowners: Be afraid…be very afraid. AHS sends out rude,arrogant unqualified repair people. All problems take weeks or more to resolve. Then, the issues are NOT resolved, but, rather, you, the policy holder, are left holding the bag. No air conditioning in the summer, no hot water, no heat in the winter, no “repairs or replacements” as a policyholder would hope for. The solution is to cancel your policy and pay no more. The aggravation will never be worth using AHS.
my line from the well pump to the house broke new years eve day, I called AHS and placed a service call. Well later that day it got worse to the point you could not take a shower or barley use the toilets. I called again and got upgraded to “emergency” I put it in quotes because to them emergency means 24 to 48 hours, despite the fact that I had 8 children and 6 adults visiting me! I kept calling back and the rep were pretty nice and helpful (for the most part) but by the next morning I was starting to get frustrated and called again (7th or so call) and finally
they agreed that Iif I could find a plumber that could come out they would cover the costs. I found one and when I called back to verify I was told that they would not cover the cost since they had up to 48 hours to get someone out there on ‘emergency”.
I finally got to talk to “bonnie” a supervisor who was full of the “giggles” while I was trying to explain the situation, for me that was the last straw, as soon as I get this fixed I am canceling my plan. To be honest they are good except when you have an emergency and I must admit trying to find someone on a new years eve/day is probably not easy BUT it took me about 5 minutes looking in the yellow pages …….
dougc
I have used the service for 2 years, customer service is horrible. I pay $500 for my policy and $60 deductible and the bathroom they have repaired numerous times still does not work properly.
The previous owner of our home purchased the policy for our 3 fla. Our hot water heater went out within 6 months of purchasing the home. AHS told us to arrange to have the hot water heater looked at by one of their approved vendors. The guy came out after 2 days (he couldn’t come sooner)and told me he couldn’t figure out which one was ours. The second guy (another day without hot water)came out and told me which one was ours and replaced our old one (I had to wait another 2 days for him to get it)with a new one – not the same quality. This caused me 1 1/2 days off work. He also charged us $250. I refused to pay the first $150 since I had paid the first guy that for the first visit where nothing happened. AHS only covered the water heater. I found out later that I could have had a better quality hot water heater installed (labor included) for $400. AHS was not worth the money. It’s a rip off.
AHS required that I have my AC unit inspected by a company they authorized before they would agree to cover it. Several years ago my unit passed the inspection and I paid extra to upgrade to a higher efficiency unit in the event the unit needed to be replaced. The unit, now 14 years old, went out during a heatwave this past summer and rather than replacing it they sent 7 different companies to my home on 7 different occasions (since each repair lasted anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks) and they refused to replace it. I was miserable and inconvenienced yet they insisted that replacement was not necessary. I am sure that all those visits and parts they paid for probably ended up costing them more than a new unit.
American Home Shield sends their Maintenance Partner Companies to verify the least cost of repairs or replacement under $500.00 for Equipment and labor. If you have been with the Company and you have called for repairs within a year or two and the cost is even 1/4 of the total premium paid to date; be very warry of getting nothing done.
They are in co-hoots with Merchant Repair Companies in your area. I prefer they pay me back after my work has been done with my own money and own Maintenance/ Repair Company.
I have been with AHS for 12 yrs, and finally I am changing to another company asap. I have been out of my fridge since Dec 8, waiting on parts. There was ice build up on the back of the fridge (a defrost problem caused by a horrible Samsung fridge) and the tech said to take off the back panel to get the ice to melt even faster. When I removed it, and in the process of melting the ice, the coil crinked and the freon spewed out at me. The tech came back out a 2nd time to look at the coil, but reported to home shield that we tore up the fridge! On his crap advice, which I should not have taken, AHS has decided to “cash out” the repairs of the other parts that they were going to pay for initally. I am disgusted and appalled they would think I would sabotage my own fridge, and the tech would tell AHS that we tore it up. That is not true at all. The freon came out of the crink in the coil. DONT GO WITH AHS, YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED.
I am cancelling with them and going with Sensible Home warranty.
This company is the worst. Save your money for the repairs that these people refuse to handle. I have had several problems and every time attempted to turn to AHS it has been a headache with no resolve. I am asking for a credit and turning to another company, there has to be better solution than these people.
Not at all pleased with this company for numerous reasons. This site says the premium is $360 but mine is $500! My deductible also increases every year and they always want to talk about what’s NOT covered and what they CAN’T DO! More than one company (other than the one they told me would be calling) contacted me and tried to make appointments with me. They gave the service provider sent to me incomplete information so they didn’t even know all that they were sent to me for. One guy left without fixing my ‘uncovered’ issue and someone else had to be called back the next day. Then AHS told me that repairs were only covered for 30 days so you may be subjected to pay again for something that was SUPPOSED to be fixed already, oh well, too bad for you. The agents are cold, insensitive and uncaring. I can find no good reason to stay with them and spend my good money with them. When I asked why I should stay they could offer me NOT ONE good reason! They offer NO loyalty incentive to stay and even had some legal issues that required them to pay back $12.50 to those of us that were misled. I will be requesting my refund and going with a more trustworthy home warranty company.
Water heater at my tenants in Vegas burst and was pouring water. I have had a policy with AHS for a year and a half on this property. Called them up and they dispatched it as an emergency ( although it took them 3 hours to get the work order to the repair company but finally after 3 hours on the phone I got to one of the supervisors and she was gracious enough to finally handle it).
Anyway, while we were waiting we disconnected water heater because it was pouring water. A few hours later a repairmen shows up. This guy looks at the water heater and calls the insurance company and tells them he can not diagnose the problem because water heater is disconnected. So he forces us to put the water back on so that he can tell it is leaking water. We go ahead and put water heater back on. At this point he tells us that he can repair it for $1100. We are talking about a $350 water heater and an hour of work. He basically keeps telling AHS that he can not diagnose the problem. What a waste of time.
I have had a similar problem with AC at another property a year ago. Then it took us a week to get AHS to finally fix or patch the problem. This time we just could not stomach going through the same nightmare.
I paid for the heater and I am cancelling all my AHS policies on Monday.
I think AHS needs to hire a few qualified contractors to do their repairs.
The claim was for repair of a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans are covered and no exclusions are listed in the contract. The warranty calls for replacement of identical features, if available. The fan was controlled by a remote and it was the remote that failed. The technician claimed: 1)remotes are not covered (AHS says they are covered when purchased together with the fan.) 2) the remote was added after purchase (nope) 3) the ceiling fan and remote, which were taken from the house, were too old to have serial numbers that would confirm that the fan and remote were sold together (oh, really?). The end of the final phone conversation with an authorization representative ended with “Thank you for calling American Home Shield.” (of course, after my check cleared).
In California, in 2009, nearly every home sold included a home warranty. Other states likely have seen similar increases. No wonder, they did not veer from their script when I informed them they would lose my two contracts over a 30 dollar remote.
The home warranty association propagandizes home warranties makes sense since with tightening budgets. The economics of purchasing home warranties have not changed. If you choose to gamble that a big item will absolutely, totally fail (very low odds) and if you are okay with the likelihood of several days and nights without cooling or heating waiting for repair after repair after repair after repair (yes, this is a different, but now told story), then do it.
Better, invest your annual and visit fees in your own judgment and common sense for the cost of typical minor repairs (compared to their fees) and, maybe, replacement some day.
I purchased AHS when I bought my new home in 2000. I remained loyal due to the excellent service however over the past year customer service and the selection of companies to service their customers SUCK! Recently, I had an issue with plumbing, water coming into the basement during a storm.. the service guy did not do a thorough inspection and left stating the pump was improperly installed, same pump for the past 10 years.. contacted another company, repaired the issue and no issue with how installed.. again, same pump since I owned the house…. contacted customer service and they were rude and not willing to resolved, moving my business elsewhere… I have 2 homes, they will lose my $1000/year…
They have a loophole for every repair item. I was told 95% off the time the item I needed to be repaired was not covered. I quit fighting with them and ended our contract.