First American Home Warranty
Home Warranty Plan Details and Reviews for First American Home Warranty
Premium: $355
Deductible: $55
Effective: Upon payment receipt
Web: homewarranty.firstam.com
Deductible: $55
Effective: Upon payment receipt
Web: homewarranty.firstam.com
Customer Service 
Service Timeliness
Repair/Replacement Service
Overall Rating
Total Reviews: 241 Rate this Company!
Service Timeliness
Repair/Replacement Service
Overall Rating
Total Reviews: 241 Rate this Company!
Coverage Area: USA - All States
| 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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Overall bad company. Claims reps do not return calls. Sent unliscenced contractor to my home to install new furnance. I had to pay to have a new contractor come and bring item up tocode and repair damage. The company did not seem to care that I was taken for a ride.
All of the other negative reviews that you have read…they’re all true. I had my refrigerator diagnosed with a failed compressor on 12/18/2008 and AGAIN on 1/21/2009…today is 1/23/2009, and I’m still without a working appliance, and no closer to a solution. At this point, there has been mention of a possible THIRD need for a diagnosis!!! Customer service is awful. The claim reps are happy to give you their direct extension, what they don’t tell you is that they will NEVER answer your call and they will NEVER return your call. Not once have they contacted me to status with me…I have always had to be the one to make the call. They contacted the manufacturer a week ago and were told that the appliance was not covered under warranty…I even confirmed that they have this documented…today, I was told that I need to contact the manufacturer to see if the appliance is covered under warranty. THESE GUYS ARE ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIC!!!
All I got were excuses and delays. I filed three service requests and NONE were ‘approved’. Do not waste your money. This company is a fraud.
I have had this warranty for over 18 years and canceled this year. I have always had problems with the customer service and very rude managers that really dont care(just give me your money) is what they are really saying. I had a plumbing problem and had 4 companies come out that said it was improper,no coverage for it. They then sent out the last company c-home which fixed it right there and then. I decided then not to use the home warranty anymore. Now i call this company and they come out with a very resonable price and get the problem fixed,and I do not have to hear the rude customer service or managers.
Customer service is abysmal, multiple times we have been promised a First American rep would call back and they don’t. Attimes we have waited weeks for service to be completed. As I write this I have been on hold 45 minutes waiting for arepresentative
When I bought my condo, the heat went out immediately. I have gas heat. The contractor came out to look at it on a Thursday and said the part would be in on a Tuesday and he would be out to fix it. I heard nothing from him and I called repeatedly until I left so many messages that he finally called me back. Notice he didn’t take it upon himself to call me. Anyway, he said the part didn’t come in and it would be there on Wednesday and I said I had plans Wednesday but could he come on Thursday, he said there would be no problem with that. Thursday came and still no phone call, despite the fact I called him and left him messages. Then I had to call the home office on Friday and I told this lady that it was rude of him not to even call. She had the nerve to say “ma’am there is no need in him calling if the part wasn’t in.” In my mind it’s common courtesy to let people know that if you schedule a time to come out and can’t, you should call and tell them. SILLY ME! I think that is sort of a given. Most of us work and can’t lay around (in the cold) waiting on someone to stop by at their convenience. Anyway, I finally had to talk to her supervisor who promised me the contractor would go to the warehouse and get the part then would be out there Saturday. My feeling is, if you can just “go to the warehouse” how come you just don’t do it? Anyway, that never happened. Finally the lady offered to buy me a heater which I didn’t accept because I figured that would give them an excuse to take even longer, plus I had borrowed my cousin’s heater. Finally my realtor called
First American and said this company got plenty of business from them and if they didn’t fix it TODAY, that they would need to put me up in a hotel. Well wouldn’t you know it? IT GOT FIXED THAT DAY! This took 2 weeks! Anyway, same thing is happening with my mom she has been without heat since Dec 23.
Let me start by saying…I really wish I could give this company a rating of zero(0) because I think a one(1) is too high. When we bought our house, First American was the warranty company that the seller picked. I now wonder if they hated us…because I wouldn’t wish the quality of service this company provides on my worst enemy. ABSOLUTELY THE WORST SERVICE I HAVE EVER HAD!!! When you first call this company about a claim you’re so glad you have this warranty and you think the problem will be fixed right away. It doesn’t quite happen that way. My experience with First American lead me to believe…their policy it to deny, deny, deny…then, if you don’t go away because of the denial of your claim they place you on hold for a very long time every time you call…and I’m not talking 15 or 20 minutes…no, I’m talking 45 minutes to an hour waiting on ignore (with no one checking to see if you are still there)…I don’t even call it being on hold anymore…you are on IGNORE! (maybe they’re hoping you’ll just give up and hang up and they won’t have to deal with you anymore)! This all started with a simple pool/spa claim…the pump motor burned out..I called on a Friday and the next Tuesday they sent a contractor out to look at it…he confirmed the pump needed to be replaced. Well, here we are over 3 weeks later and many phone calls put in and hours waisted on ignore and not to mention out $55 for the deductible we paid and all we have now is a swamp in our back yard where our beautiful pool used to be. After being denied because they considered the pump required to get it to code was an upgrade, then being denied because the cost of the repair was over their $ limit so they didn’t want to cover it, and now being told they will cover it..several days ago they told me they’re just waiting on an authorization code to go ahead with the repair…I would think it would take only a minute to do this…think again! I’M STILL WAITING!
Two and a half weeks after our central heating went out during some of the coldest weather in recent history, we are still waiting for First American and the contractor they sent out to stop passing the buck back and forth about a part needed for the repairs and actually get the heater fixed. Their one year contract is non-refundable, even on a pro-rata basis. You can be sure that we will not be renewing with them when our current contract is up.
If you’ve read this far, then you shouldn’t even question going with this company. This warranty came with the home we purchased so we had no choice on which company to go with. I regret having to contact them for service.
Even though the contract with this company states what they will and will not replace, they still fight you and try to get away with not doing anything. If you finally get them to approve the repair like they should, they only cover a small portion of it and not the full scope of work. Anything else is out of your pocket. It is at this time that you have the same terrible contractor providing you with an outrageous quote to complete the work not covered by the warranty company. Your only other option to getting screwed is to do the work yourself or beg to have another contractor complete the work for you.
I.E.; We had the shower valve leak within our walls. We finally got them to approve replacement of the valve system as it stated in their contract but they are refusing to tear out and replace the ceramic tile and drywall as required to complete the replacement. It’s pathetic!
Every time you want to talk to them, expect to spend an hour on hold till the next rep is available.
This company seems to be all about not paying out a valid claim. We had to have two guys out here to before First American decided to pay out the claim. The contractors they usually have out are pretty pathetic. We have figured out which ones are decent to deal with and we have to make sure that we demand they send one of the good companies as opposed to the ones we have found out suck.
I’ve been with this company for 3 years and have had several repairs made. Downstairs furnance, Downstairs Air Conditioning, Attic Fan, garage door opener, Running toilets. Overall, I’m fairly satisfied with the service I’ve received and have even recommended FA to a friend. I pulled up this website to review for my friend who is looking for a home warrantee company. I suspect that these ratings are somewhat skewed because only the people who had problems seem to be rating the companies….even though anyone can post a comment. Basically these ratings are only based on “How Bad” was your experience.
I would be interested in seeing ratings which include the hundreds of positive experiences as well as the negative ones. The positive ones are just not here.
I still think that my $40 a month charge and $50 service call fee is fair and a good deal. Neither my husband nor I are the handy-man type and it gives us great piece of mind to know there’s someone we can call to help. I’ve called at 1am before and spoke to a live person when my attic fan was making a horribly loud noise. The repair man called on a Sunday and wanted to come out the next day (Memorial Day holiday)at 7am to fix it for me. Without hesitating and with no questions asked…he installed a brand new attic fan.
We also got good service on our replacement downstairs air conditioner even though we had to wait for a part to come in and some disposal/upgrade/modification work was not covered by the home warrantee.
We got great service on our garage door opener. The repair was booked (and served by) with Sears repair service. I saw from other reviews that poorly skilled repairmen (F grade?)were used by FA but the Sears repair man was very knowledgeable, friendly, prompt and I highly doubt that he was a F-grade repairman.
Maybe it’s just my area in TN that has a good FA department but I would bet that readers are just not hearing the other side of the story. There are happy, content customers out there. Am I crazy-in-love with FA?…No But I am a satisfied customer.
“If you have a choice – DON’T GO WITH FIRST AMERICAN. Our dishwasher leaked. They sent out a contractor who we later learned put in the wrong part. We had paid our $55 fee for the service call. The dishwasher continued to leak and we called for service again (after we had been out of town for several weeks) and we found it was still leaking. A second service man came out (we paid another $55). He told us the part the first guy replaced was not a water seal at all but a bumper and that he’d order the correct part, which he did and it now works properly. I called First American to ask for our first $55 back. They said no because it needed to have been reported within 30 days of the first call. I explained that the guy put in the wrong part but that made no difference. I further argued that it was First American who chose the service man, not me, and therefore they should bear the expense of his mistake. By this time I had been transferred to a “Supervisor”. The supervisor refused to refund my $55 so I asked to speak to a Manager. When I was transferred to the Manager’s Voice Mail, I was disconnected prior to having the opportunity to leave a message. The entire experience on the phone took 56 minutes – 29 of which were spent on-hold to speak with the first customer service agent. I have given up at this point and simply want to warn others about this company.
All in the span of 3 months…hot water heater went out and they said it was not installed correctly, so nothing was covered – $1100. Beginning of December (highs in the 20’s and 30’s), heater/AC unit goes out and after 2 days, my repair was still not approved. When finally approved, it would take 6-10 business days to receive the unit at the repair office. This means AT LEAST 2 weeks before it is replaced. Also, if I used their co., there were $1100 in uncovered expenses. I said forget it, send me the cash payout. The amount they approved for the payout is $1730 (2 independent estimates I got were $4600). Independent co. had it replaced the same day. I requested payout on 12/06/08 and as of 12/27/08 I am still waiting on the check. I would cancel this policy if I could. Absolutely the biggest scam I have ever been a participant in.
I used this company on an older home and had 5-6 service calls over a 3 year period. the customer service was good and follow up again pretty timely. We had one less than average experience w/the contractor but that is par for the course. All in all, the policy saved me thousands of dollars. I began shopping for another policy for a different (newer) home and after reviewing the other companies, decided to go back to first american.
READ the fine print with this company. Once done you will find they really do not cover anything. They are masters of the delay tactic. Company HQ is in Vannuyes California I strongly recommend a Better Business Bureau review. They are very prompt at taking your money but if you want to just give your money away I can be prompt at taking it as well. Hot water heater has now been out for 3 weeks while the plumber and the insurance company “play the game” at my expense. $600 in “mandatory” upgrades for still no hot water after 3 weeks.
READ ON TO LEARN HOW I GOT PNEUMONIA BECAUSE OF THESE PEOPLE
What a joke! I can only imagine these guys are in trouble on account of the housing market. And, like all other loser insurance companies, the first thing they do is cut back on service and claims fulfillment.
I filed a claim with these jokers two weeks ago about my upstairs heater and have slept in 40 degree temperature ever since. They sent out a heating contractor after a week, and he told us there was a problem with the circuit board.
Well, while waiting for the guy to return with the part, which took more than a week, I developed what I though was a cold and later learned was pneumonia, all due to sleeping in near-freezing temperatures. I tried a space heater, and it blew all the circuits in my house, so that wasn’t an option either.
When the guy ultimately returned he tried the new circuit board, to no avail. He tried to tell me that he needed yet another circuit board, and, of course, I blew up at him. How could it possibly be that they’re both bad?! I told him to take a circuit board out of my home’s other heather and see if that one worked in the broken heater. Sure enough, it didn’t. Clearly, not a circuit board problem.
The guy ends up throwing his hands up and telling me he can’t fix it and that his boss would need to come out. Well, I’m still waiting, and now I need to check into a hotel because sleeping here is no longer an option. So now I’ve got medical expenses and lodging expenses all due to these jerks.
Do you think those morons at American Home Warranty gave a crap? After 2.5 hours on hold waiting for various idiots there, they told me they were unable (more like unwilling) to call out another contractor. They’re talking to a guy with pneumonia, all due to their negligence, and still they refused to make a move.
I hope these guys go bankrupt along with the rest of these loser insurance companies that treat customers like crap. Stay away from them. Don’t be deceived by the name and logo that project an image of been-around-since-the-Mayflower. The truth under the hood is more like Mrs. Murphy’s Warranty Company.
In order not to repair or replace my heater. They claimed it was not maintained by a licensed professional Wanted proof. My maintenance was not good enough. I am a professional engineer!
The bank selling the forclosure we bought included a home warranty for the first year as part of our contract. Our escrow company happened to be First American – so I imagine that’s how we ended up with the First American Warranty. To keep things simple, I can attest to all the negative things said in this site as well as ripoffreport.com. My husband and I decided that we did not want to deal with them and the companies they send out and we are paying to replace our furnace on our own. They were going to send out a company with a BBB rating of F!! I called them to tell them about that and express my concerns and they didn’t care since the company was licensed, insured, and bonded. We decided that it’s not worth the stress and hassle to deal with them and their fraudulent excuses. Good luck to all who are financially forced to deal with them.
We had our air-conditioning unit go out and called for repair. The service contractors they sent were 2 hours away. They installed parts that would have cost us several thousand dollars.
All went well until a few days later when water started to come through the ceiling. Apparently when they put the tray in the attic to catch the water it was not level and so the shut off valve did not kick on and water came through the ceiling. We had to have them come out and do the repairs, of which the owner of the service was very apologetic. However they were often very late from the promised time and when the person came out to replaster the ceiling he did not come, did a very bad job and eventually we paid someone in town to complete the plaster work for us – it saved money in the long run but it caused months of disruption and the worse part – we were in the process of selling our house.
re: previous comments some of the claims representatives are polite and helpful; but once you get to their “claims evaluation department” or “legal dept.”, that’s when calls are not returned, issues are manipulated, and loopholes are creatively constructed.
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!
Recently filed a claim for malfunction of a well pump in a home we own remotely in Manatee County, FL covered under our First American Home Warranty plan. Denial of claim was communicated to me by claims department and confirmed by two supervisors, namely, Sergio Estrada and Kathy Cotton. I felt my claim was unfairly denied, so I subsequently filed a complaint with the Insurance Division of the Florida Department of Financial Services. We have tenants in the property with several children so I have a legal responsibility as a landlord and an ethical responsibility as the homeowner to restore running water in a timely manner. After First American denied my claim, I had to go ahead and authorize the drilling company to make the necessary repairs. First American now cites as part of their defense to the Florida Department of Financial Services that we attained these repairs without authorization from First American. I followed proper procedue by notifying First American of a problem. First American dispatched a contractor of their choosing and then denied the claim citing damage was caused due to well pump running dry due to lack of water. It is inherently unfair to deny the claim, force the homeowner to make the repair, and then defend your original denial based on the making the repairs without their permission. During the dispute process, Nahun Espino (a claims evaluation specialist) contacted the drilling company after we made the repair and requested copies of our receipts. I found this out because since we paid for the repairs, the drilling company called to ask me permission to send the information. Not sure what to do since claim is in dispute, I called Nahun Espino to ask if that meant First American would be proceeding with honoring our claim. He said he needed the information for possible reimbursement and he was working diligently with the contractor to try and determine what happened. I quote from our denial letter “Also, per your service agreement under Important, “The Company will not reimburse you for services performed without prior approval”. If my attainment of the necessary repairs subsequent to a preceding denial automatically precludes me from a rememdy, then why did the claims evaluation specialist continue to tell me they were pursuing possible reimbursement? If First American really wanted to know what happened to the well pump, they would have obtained a second opinion which is an option for them according to our contract. Citing our making the necessary repair as a primary reason for denial AFTER they already denied my claim is unethical and obtaining the documents to support this is deceptive. As far as the “lack of water” issue, a well pump is a physical mechanism that pulls the water out of the well; the pump itself does not run dry. Before the pump malfunctioned, we had adequate pressure in the home and immediately upon replacement of the pump, adequate pressure was restored. With the “lack of water” loophole in their contract, when is it possible then for a well pump to ever be covered? Obviously if the pump stops working you are going to temporarily have lack of water. Sorry for the ramble.
The crappiest service ever. I went two months without a refrigerator because they tried fixing it twice and finally had to replace it. My food spoiled and I was not reimbursed either!
It took over 2 weeks to get First American to set up a follow-up appointment to an initial claim. After 7 calls, where various customer service reps promised to ‘call me back’, ‘redispatch the claim’, ’set the appointment for me and call me back with confirmation’, nothing was ever accomplished. After all was said and done, the contractor bailed out and refunded my money and I had to start the process of setting the appointment for pest control all over again. I will never use this service again and from the looks of the rest of the reviews, home warranties seems like a scam in general. You’re probably better off contacting a contractor off Angie’s list, getting an estimate and working with them to set appointments, etc.
This company is keen for taking premiums and deviant in taking care of responsibilities when a claim is filed. For five years we have paid premiums to them and whenever there is a claim they take their time sending out a repair person. This time they sent a contractor that has 23 complaints with the Better Business Bureau of California, of all the complaints only one has been resolved. The company came out tore up our appliance, then claimed the appliance was already in the damaged state that they left it in. First American claims to do a thorough check on the contractors that they send into people’s homes, but if they do then why did they send a company to my home that was unqualified to do the repairs, the technicians smelled like garbage, and the company that they sent out had such complaints against them as “inappropriate behaviour toward customers”. The claim is over a month old and First American nor the contractor has made good on the repairs. First American’s only resolve is to send the faulty contractor back (Because no one else will work on the appliance that they broke) OR we pay a contractor of our choice to fix the appliance and they will reimburse us. Well as stated before, we checked. There are no legitimate contractors who will get involved in the claim because of the faulty work that the technician did. So they are forcing us to either use the “Shady contractors” who may blow up our home, or go with a gas appliance that is broken and may possibly risk our lives in our home. DO NOT USE FIRST AMERICAN HOME WARRANTY……FIVE YEARS CONSISTANT DISSERVICE TO CUSTOMERS .