Best Home Warranty Companies 2022
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Best in the Industry
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Most Practical Coverage
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Best Workmanship Guarantee
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Most Comprehensive Plan
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Best Add-On Coverage
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A home warranty can cover repair and replacement costs on major systems and appliances that break down due to normal wear and tear. In addition to saving you money on unexpected repairs, a home warranty can prevent you from having to find a reputable contractor to perform the necessary work, as most home warranty companies have a network of experienced technicians.
Our reviews team researched dozens of home warranty companies on a wide range of factors, including coverage plans and pricing, to help you find a home protection plan that's right for you and your home. From responsive customer support teams to comprehensive plans, these companies provide exceptional service and protection for your home's most important systems and appliances.
Top 5 Best Home Warranty Providers
Here are our top 5 picks for the best home warranty companies:
American Home Shield: Best in the Industry
Choice Home Warranty: Most Practical Coverage
AFC Home Club: Best Workmanship Guarantee
Cinch Home Services: Most Comprehensive Plan
Liberty Home Guard: Best Add-On Coverage
Note: All pricing information in this article is based on sample quotes for an 1,800-square-foot single-family home in Nashville, Tennessee. Since exact home warranty costs will vary depending on the size of your home and your ZIP code, we recommend getting quotes from a few companies to compare plan pricing.
American Home Shield: Best in the Industry
American Home Shield (AHS) has been in business for over 50 years and services more than 1.8 million homes throughout the country. We found it to be the best in the industry for its combination of impressive plan options, customizable pricing, high appliance coverage limit of $3,000 per item, unlimited coverage for systems, and 24/7 customer service and claims support.
Pros and Cons
Plans and Costs
American Home Shield offers three coverage plans: ShieldSilver, ShieldGold, and ShieldPlatinum. The ShieldSilver plan covers systems, such as your plumbing and heating, while the ShieldGold and ShieldPlatinum plans both cover a total of 23 items.
Here is what's included in each plan and how much each plan costs. Our quoted prices are based on a $100 service call fee:
ShieldSilver ($30 per month): This plan covers 14 major home systems, including your heating, air conditioning, ductwork, built-in exhaust fans, electrical lines, fuse box, doorbells, ceiling fans, toilets, faucets, water heater, plumbing lines, whirlpool tubs, and garage door openers with no per-item coverage limit.
ShieldGold ($40 per month): This plan includes everything in the ShieldSilver Plan plus nine appliances, including your refrigerator, oven, cooktop, built-in microwave, garbage disposal, instant water dispenser, dishwasher, and clothes washer and dryer. It comes with a $3,000 per-item coverage limit.
ShieldPlatinum ($60 per month): This plan includes everything in the ShieldGold Plan and also covers roof leak repairs; a discounted HVAC tune-up; unlimited refrigerant coverage (as opposed to $10 per pound in the other two plans); $1,000 for code violations, permits, and modifications; and a $6,000 per-item coverage limit for appliances.
AHS charges a $75, $100, or $125 service call fee, which is the amount you pay to the technician who comes to repair or replace your broken system or appliance. If you need to call American Home Shield and have a technician come back within 30 days of the initial visit, you won't be charged another service call fee.
For more details about what's included in each plan, review American Home Shield's sample contract.
Optional Coverage
Although American Home Shield offers fewer add-on options than many competitors, its choices can add considerable value to your home warranty and help you fine-tune your plan. Below are the available add-ons that can be added to any plan:
Systems: Septic pump and well pump
Other: Pool or spa, guest unit (up to 750 square feet), and the Electronics Protection Plan
Customers can add roof leak repair coverage to the ShieldGold or ShieldSilver plans for $10 per month, but this coverage comes included with the ShieldPlatinum plan.
Choice Home Warranty: Most Practical Coverage
As another top company in the home warranty industry, Choice Home Warranty stands out for its practical coverage. Rather than making customers choose between systems coverage or appliances coverage, Choice offers the Basic Plan, which covers essential systems and appliances, such as your dishwasher and electrical system.
Pros and Cons
Plans and Costs
Choice makes its plan options simple by offering two standard plans: the Basic Plan and the Total Plan. Both plans cover a combination of systems and appliances and each one comes with a $3,000 coverage limit, which is higher than many competitors.
Here are the items covered under each Choice Home Warranty plan and how much each plan costs:
Basic Plan ($47 per month or $532 per year*): This plan covers 14 systems and appliances, including your heating, electrical, plumbing, plumbing stoppages, whirlpool bathtub, garbage disposal, ductwork, garage door opener, ceiling and exhaust fans, water heater, cooktop, oven, built-in microwave, and dishwasher.
Total Plan ($55 per month or $627 per year*): This plan covers everything in the Basic Plan and also covers your air conditioning, refrigerator, clothes washer, and clothes dryer.
*Annual or up-front pricing includes a five percent discount.
Choice Home Warranty charges an $85 service call fee with both plans and won't charge you if another repair is needed on the same item within 30 days.
For more details about what's included in each plan, review Choice Home Warranty's sample contract.
Optional Coverage
Choice offers nine add-ons for extra coverage:
Appliances: Second refrigerator and stand-alone freezer
Systems: Central vacuum, well pump, septic system, sump pump, and septic tank pumping
Other: Pool or spa and limited roof leak coverage
AFC Home Club: Best Workmanship Guarantee
AFC Home Club stands out for guaranteeing its service repairs for the entirety of your home warranty contract. With this guarantee, a technician will return to your home to provide free repairs when your covered item breaks down again from the same issue. Most home warranty companies guarantee their service for only 30–60 days and will require you to pay an additional service fee if a technician has to return to make repairs.
Pros and Cons
Plans and Costs
Unlike most other home warranty providers, AFC Home Club offers four coverage plans along with three service call fee options of $75, $100, or $125. It also offers one- and three-year plans for even more pricing options.
Below are AFC Home Club's plan details and prices:
Systems Plan ($43 per month or $460 per year*): This plan covers six systems, including your water heater, air conditioning, heating system, electrical system, ductwork, and plumbing. There aren't any specified coverage limits for systems in AFC's sample contract.
Silver Plan ($36 per month or $374 per year*): This plan covers nine major home appliances, including your clothes washer and dryer, refrigerator, oven, cooktop, stove, garbage disposal, garage door opener, and dishwasher. It comes with a $2,000 coverage limit per item.
Gold Plan ($50 per month or $546 per year*): This plan includes everything in the Systems and Silver plans.
Platinum Plan ($55 per month or $604 per year*): This comprehensive plan covers all items in the Gold Plan plus plumbing stoppages, faucets, ice makers, and built-in microwaves.
*Annual or up-front pricing comes with a 9–14 percent discount, depending on the plan.
The prices above are based on the selected service call fee of $100, but you can choose a $125 service call fee to lower your premiums or a $75 service call fee for higher monthly plan prices. Similar to other home warranty companies, you won't have to pay a second service call fee if you need additional repairs on a covered item that broke down from its original issue.
For more details about what's included in each plan, review AFC Home Club's sample contract.
Optional Coverage
You can add coverage for up to 11 optional items with any AFC Home Club plan to maximize your home warranty. Here are the available add-ons:
Appliances: Tankless water heater, stand-alone freezer, double oven, ice maker, hot water dispenser, and built-in microwave
Systems: Central vacuum, sump pump, septic system, and well pump
Other: In-ground pool
Cinch Home Services: Most Comprehensive Plan
Cinch Home Services stands out for its comprehensive Complete Home Plan, which covers 28 systems and appliances, including a few unique items that aren't typically covered by other providers' standard plans, such as smoke detectors and sump pumps.
Cinch also includes a $500 homeowners insurance deductible reimbursement with the Complete Home Plan, which goes toward any claim you file with your home insurance provider during your home warranty contract's term.
Pros and Cons
Plans and Costs
Cinch Home Services provides three home warranty plans: the Appliances plan, Built-in Systems plan, and Complete Home plan. Each plan's pricing can be customized based on your preferred service call fee, and they all come with a free water sensor and a $25 air conditioner or water filter credit.
Here are more details about each plan and how much they cost:
Appliances ($40 per month): This plan covers 12 home appliances, including your clothes washer and dryer, food center, oven, cooktop, range, range exhaust hood, freestanding ice maker, built-in microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator, and built-in trash compactor. With this plan, Cinch will pay for repairs or replacements of up to $2,000 per item.
Built-in Systems ($46 per month): This plan covers 16 major systems, including your water heater, toilets, attic fans, electrical, instant hot or cold water dispenser, smoke detectors, sump pump, whirlpool bathtub, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, garbage disposal, central vacuum, ceiling fans, garage door opener, and doorbell. Cinch doesn't have specified coverage limits on its covered systems.
Complete Home ($56 per month): This plan covers everything in the other two plans plus a $500 homeowners insurance deductible reimbursement, which helps you pay your deductible when you file a claim with your home insurance provider.
Each of the prices above are based on the $125 service call fee option, but you can lower your monthly plan rates by selecting the higher service fee option of $150. If you want a more affordable service fee and higher monthly rates, consider the $100 service fee option. Cinch also guarantees each repair for 180 days after a repair.
For more details about what's included in each plan, review Cinch Home Services' sample contract.
Optional Coverage
Cinch Home Services offers only six add-ons, which is fewer options than other providers. However, its unique Premier Upgrade Package add-on offers coverage for up to $2,000 per year on permits, code violations, haul-away fees, and more. Below are all six additional coverage options:
Systems: Well pump and septic tank and pumping
Other: Pool (heater included), spa (heater included), pool with spa (heater included), and the Premier Upgrade Package
Liberty Home Guard: Best Add-On Coverage
For customized coverage tailored to your home's exact needs, we recommend Liberty Home Guard, which offers the most optional coverage add-ons out of all the providers we reviewed. From pest control and gutter cleaning services to coverage for your plumbing fixtures and salt water pool, Liberty Home Guard offers 30 optional coverage items.
Pros and Cons
Plans and Costs
Like many other home warranty providers, Liberty Home Guard provides three plan options. The Systems Guard and Appliance Guard plans cover systems and appliances, respectively, while the Total Home Guard plan provides coverage for both systems and appliances. All systems and appliances have a $1,600 coverage limit for one-year contracts.
Below are more details about each plan, how much they cost, and what items they cover:
Appliance Guard ($45 per month or $450 per year*): This plan covers nine appliances, including your clothes washer and dryer; refrigerator; built-in microwave; dishwasher; oven, cooktop, and range; ceiling and exhaust fans; garbage disposal; and garage door opener.
Systems Guard ($50 per month or $500 per year*): This plan covers six major home systems, including your air conditioning, heating, ductwork, plumbing, electrical, and water heater.
Total Home Guard ($55 per month or $550 per year*): This plan covers all of the items in the other two plans.
*Annual or up-front pricing includes two free months of coverage.
According to our sample quote from the company, the service call fee for these plans is $80 for one-year contracts or $70 for multi-year agreements. Each paid service call fee during a claim is good for 60 days, no matter how many times the technician has to return for more repairs on the item within that period.
For more details about what's included in each plan, review Liberty Home Guard's sample contract.
Optional Coverage
Liberty Home Guard stands out for its extensive list of 30 add-ons to help homeowners customize their coverage. Here are the available add-ons:
Appliances: Stand-alone freezer, swamp cooler, second refrigerator, in-fridge ice maker, wine cooler, instant hot water dispenser, water softener, trash compactor, freestanding ice maker, and a generator
Systems: Well pump, lighting fixtures, lawn sprinkler system, grinder pump, sump pump, central vacuum, septic system pumping, ejector pump, plumbing fixtures, water dispenser water line, and a reverse osmosis system
Services: Gutter cleaning, carpet cleaning, pest control, re-key, and limited roof leak repairs
Other: Pool and spa, additional spa, electronics protection, and a salt water pool
Compare Home Warranty Companies
*Better Business Bureau (BBB) information is accurate as of August 12, 2021.
Our Recommendation
Of these providers, we recommend American Home Shield as the best home warranty company for its years of industry experience, customizable pricing, and impressive overall coverage. However, Choice Home Warranty is a good option for its comprehensive basic coverage plan, and AFC Home Club is great for those who want an unlimited workmanship guarantee.
No matter which company you're leaning toward, we recommend getting free quotes from multiple providers to compare plan pricing based on your home's size and location.
Best in the Industry
realsimple BUY IT
Most Practical Coverage
realsimple BUY IT
Best Workmanship Guarantee
realsimple BUY IT
Most Comprehensive Plan
realsimple BUY IT
Best Add-On Coverage
realsimple BUY IT
How Home Warranty Plans Work
A home warranty is a service agreement between a company and a homeowner. As a homeowner, you agree to pay a monthly or annual premium, while the company agrees to repair or replace covered items in the contract when they break down from normal wear and tear.
Although each company may cover different items, most home warranty providers will offer coverage on major systems, such as air conditioning and heating, and important appliances, such as your dishwasher, refrigerator, and clothes washer. Once you purchase a home warranty plan, your coverage begins 30 days after you sign a contract.
How Additional Coverage Works
To customize your plan, home warranty companies offer optional coverage items that can be added on to your plan for an additional monthly or annual fee. Here are some common add-ons that most companies provide:
Pumps: Additional coverage for sump pumps, well pumps, and septic pumps is often available for homeowners who want extra protection for common pumping systems on their property.
Pools and spas: Pools and spas come with filtration systems and pumping equipment that aren't typically covered by a standard home warranty plan, but most companies offer this coverage as an add-on.
Roof leaks: This add-on pays for necessary repairs to certain spots on your roof that cause leaks due to normal wear and tear. This coverage is usually limited to shingle roofing, and it often comes with a coverage limit of $500–$1,500.
Additional appliances: If you have two or more of the same appliance, you can typically purchase coverage for the extra appliances.
How Filing a Home Warranty Claim Works
To file a claim with your home warranty company, call the company's claims department, log in to your online account, or fill out a service request form on your home warranty company's website. Most providers, including American Home Shield and Choice Home Warranty, aim to initiate service within 48 hours of receiving a claim. With this guarantee, a home warranty company will contact a technician within 48 hours, who will then reach out to you to schedule an appointment for the repair.
When a technician arrives to repair your broken system or appliance, you'll pay the service call fee amount agreed upon in your contract. Then, the technician will perform a repair. If a repair can't be made and a replacement is necessary, the technician will schedule a follow-up appointment to perform the replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions About Home Warranties
Are home warranties a scam?
Although some companies have been known to scam homeowners with unreasonable home warranty contracts, the home warranty providers in this review offer solid protection for your home's systems and appliances. Before you buy a home warranty from any company, we recommend reading the sample contract to ensure you understand all that the provider agrees to cover.
Are home warranties worth the money?
A home warranty can add substantial value to your home, keeping your systems and appliances protected from unexpected breakdowns due to normal wear and tear and preventing you from paying expensive out-of-pocket costs for repairs. Whether you need a simple repair on your HVAC system or you want to ensure your dishwasher is protected as it ages, a home warranty can help protect you.
How long do home warranties last?
Home warranties typically last for one year. Some companies, such as AFC Home Club and Liberty Home Guard, offer multi-year home warranty plans and provide additional savings for each year you add to your policy.
Methodology for Reviewing Home Warranty Companies
To provide the most valuable recommendations and reviews to our readers, our reviews team spent hundreds of hours researching the home warranty industry and analyzed dozens of providers on key factors, such as coverage, pricing, customer service, and more.
We created a rating system that compares home warranty providers on a number of metrics to help us determine which companies are the best in the industry. Below are six factors we used to determine each provider's overall performance:
Available plans
Plan coverage
Customer support
Trustworthiness
Affordability
Additional features
Additionally, here are some steps we took during our research process to determine which companies are the best in the industry:
We called each company or used its online quote tool to simulate the quote process, taking note of the overall experience and offered prices.
We read the fine print of each home warranty contract to ensure all coverage is clear and consistent.
We assessed each company's reputation by reading more than 100 customer reviews, researching the company's standing with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and reviewing its years of experience in the industry.
We simulated the customer experience on the company's website, over the phone, and via email to ensure the provider offers quality and consistent customer service across multiple channels.
