Does Home Warranty Actually Protect Your Budget?

PUBLISHED: December 8, 2015 • 5 MINS READ

Considering that you are on a website devoted to home warranties, you may already know what a home warranty is. It is essentially a service contract that agrees to provide you with repair/replacement services for appliances or systems in your home. But can a Home warranty protect your budget? Read this post to know lots more about it.

Most homeowners wonder whether annual premiums are put to better use if they are set aside as emergency fund instead of being paid to warranty providers, hoping that they will come to the rescue if a breakdown happens.

The question here is, what if the annual premium is paid and no claim is raised in that year? This article will address the question in detail.

Home Warranty & Homeowner Budget Protection

How Does a Home Warranty Work?

A home warranty company maintains a network of technicians and service vendors, who are dispatched to a customer’s house as and when a claim is raised. The customer is often charged only a service call fee and not the entire expense of fixing damages. Here’s how home warranty benefits the homeowner–

The homeowner doesn’t have to step out of the home to look for a contractor.
The damaged appliance(s) does not need to be taken to a repair outlet.
The cost of repairing the damaged device is usually in hundreds if not thousands.
Some damages are irreparable, which would call for a replacement of the entire appliance, costing a lot.
Home warranties are known in many cases, to increase the sales price of a property.

What they fail to recognize is the very real potential that they will spend more than a few years’ home warranty premiums when a major appliance or system component breaks down without any service contract coverage. Don’t you think it’s worth?

How Does Home Warranty Protect Your Homeowner Budget?

Many homeowners have expressed concerns about the annual premium that is paid for a year in which no claim was made by them. However, what they fail to recognize is the very real potential that they will spend more than a few years’ worth of home warranty premiums when a major appliance or system component breaks down without any service contract coverage. Minus a warranty, an average repair cost would be around $500-$1000 for a typical household appliance. Replacing would definitely cost more, sometimes several years worth of annual premiums.

As you can see, annual premiums seem like a very small fee in comparison with the amount you would have to pay if an appliance breaks down.

Let’s take an example of a typical homeowner, we’ll call him Mr. Bond. Mr. Bond believed that setting aside $400 every year for emergency repairs would make more sense than purchasing a home warranty plan. Three years into this practice, his HVAC unit decided to call quits. Mr. Bond asks around and finds out (to his dismay) that a high end HVAC system would cost around $5,800. He had saved up around $1200 and all of that wouldn’t help him get a new one.

Had the story been different and if Mr. Bond had opted for a home warranty instead, he could’ve had the replacement done at a fraction of the cost.

When Is A Home Warranty Not Advisable?

The only time it doesn’t make sense to opt for a home warranty over saving that money is when your house and the appliances in it are new. As a rule, home warranty is only recommended for folks whose house and its contents are over four years old. If you belong to this category, then the chances of your appliances or systems breaking down are low. So paying annual premium to a home warranty provider may not make sense, especially when many of the appliances at your house are still under warranty.

The Final Word

If you meet any of the conditions mentioned below, buying a home warranty will likely provide you with homeowner budget protection, protect my budget reviews and not to mention, feeling of confidence. Here are the parameters-

If your house is 4+ years old.
If you are not great at DIY repairs.
If you cannot afford expensive repairs and replacements at frequent intervals.
If you do not have time to do a repair yourself or go around looking for a contractor.

If you meet any of the above-mentioned conditions, you will probably benefit from an appliance warranty. As long as you go with a company that is reputable, you should find yourself with nothing but pleasant outcomes.

If you are still unsure, we suggest that you look into our guide for home warranty buyers. Once you do that, you may want to look at some of the best home warranty companies in the country to get things started. Should you have any concerns, don’t hesitate to holler at us. Cheers!

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