Many homeowners have taken the smart step of securing a policy from one of today’s leading home warranty companies. There are many reasons to do so. The most commonly cited reasons for obtaining a home warranty include living in an older home or having older appliances, not having a fund set aside to cover costly repairs or the need to replace an HVAC system, and the convenience of knowing repairs will be handled by a qualified, competent contractor. What was your primary reason for purchasing a home warranty?

There are several home warranty companies that stand out in a somewhat crowded field. They have gained a solid reputation and earned the trust of their customers. These home warranty companies have achieved this in several ways. First, they offer affordable policies that are easy to understand – with no hidden details that come back to bite you. Secondly, they use only skilled, pre-screened contractors with proven ability to get jobs done right the first time. Thirdly, they are low-hassle when it comes to covering claims made by their customers. Which home warranty companies are the best? We hope you’ll contribute to the discussion!

While this isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list of the best home warranty companies, these are certainly among the highest-rated by consumers. While there are smaller regional companies, these are the ones that offer coverage in most or all of the United States. If we missed the company you use, be sure to let us know. Do you have a policy with any of these companies? If so, what has been your experience with them? We invite you to provide any feedback that might be helpful to others!

1. 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty: Nationwide.

2. Advantage Home Warranty: Nationwide.

3. American Home Shield: Nationwide.

4. American Residential Warranty: Available is all states except California, Idaho, Iowa and Virginia.

5. Buyers Protection Group: Nationwide.

6. Central Mass Home Warranty: Nationwide.

7. Choice Home Warranty: Nationwide.

8. Colonial Home Warranty: Nationwide.
Complete Appliance Protection: Available in all Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming. In Canada: Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island.

9. Empire Home Warranty: Nationwide.

10. Fortress Home Warranty: Available in Coverage Area: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Dist of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

11. First American Home Warranty: Nationwide.

12. GE Home Warranty: Nationwide.

13. Hi Tech Home Warranty: Nationwide.

14. HMS Home Warranty: Nationwide.

15. HSA Home Warranty: Nationwide.

16. Home Warranty of America: Nationwide.

17. LandAmerica: Nationwide.

18. Liberty Home Protection: Nationwide.

19. Mutual Home Warranty: Nationwide.

20. National Home Protection: Nationwide.

21. Nationwide Home Warranty: Nationwide.

22. Old Republic Home Warranty: Nationwide.

23. Residential Protection: Nationwide.

24. Sensible Home Warranty: Nationwide.

25. Shield Star Home Warranty: Nationwide.

26. Structure Home Warranty: Nationwide.

27. Total Protect: Nationwide.

28. The Warranty Group: Nationwide.

Conclusion
This list covers most of today’s leading home warranty companies.  Let the rest of our readers know what your experience has been with your home warranty company. It’s always helpful for potential customers to learn from the experience of others.

You’re away on vacation, enjoying the peace and quiet. Unknown to you, the compressor motor on your refrigerator at home suddenly burns out. Within hours everything in your refrigerator begins spoiling. Everything in your freezer melts. The refrigerator starts leaking a gooey mess all over the floor. You come home two weeks later to a horrible stench that can only be described as…indescribable. At least you have insurance that will pay for a new refrigerator…or do you?

If an appliance breaks down – no matter how expensive that appliance is to replace – your homeowner’s policy will not pay for its replacement. For that you need Home Warranty Insurance.

You may wish to purchase a Home Warranty policy for your own peace of mind. For many people it is simply comforting to know that no matter what happens, from a heater going bad to an air conditioner breaking down, everything in the house is always covered and will be replaced at a very nominal cost if anything should go wrong.

There’s another reason many people buy a Home Warranty policy and that has to do with selling a home. A potential buyer of a home is often swayed when vacillating between two or more home choices and will purchase a home that has a Home Warranty policy on all of its major appliances. In this way the new homeowner feels more secure.

How does a Home Warranty policy work? You decide which appliances and home systems you want covered and you pay a yearly fee, much as you would with any insurance policy. If an appliance or system that’s covered by the Home Protection Warranty should fail, there is a service charge to have a repair person come to your home and make a repair or replacement of the broken system. The service charge varies depending on choices you make when you purchase your policy, but a charge in the $50 to $60 range is common.

How is the best and least expensive way for you to buy a Home Warranty policy? That’s simple. I’ve done a great deal of research and there’s only one way you should buy a policy and that’s online.

Online brokers have no overhead to speak of and so they don’t need to make a huge commission on each sale. This means you save approximately 30% instantly just by buying your policy online.

Also, the decisions you need to make when buying a Home Warranty policy are simple and straightforward; you don’t need a live agent sitting across from you and talking you into buying a lot more policy than you need or can afford. When you buy online YOU are in complete control for once – and wouldn’t that be nice?

As I mentioned, I’ve done a great deal of research into online insurance and I’ve discovered where you can get the best deal – but I don’t want you to take my word for anything. I want you to get online yourself and discover for yourself just how much money you can save on your Home Warranty policy simply by purchasing it online.

Since your home is most likely one of your biggest investments, unexpected repair or replacement costs can easily strain your budget if you do not have a warranty.  Additionally, finding an approved and insured contractor to solve your problem can be stressful and inconvenient, especially at that crucial moment when a system breaks down.  While a home warranty cannot prevent systems or appliances from breaking down, it can help make covered repairs or replacement easier and less costly.

While not everything is covered, coverage for many of the most frequently occurring breakdowns of home system components and appliances is actually included.  Applicants should review their contracts or sample contracts carefully, to confirm covered items, terms and conditions, limitations and exclusions.  In some cases “supplemental” home warranty coverage may also be necessary, for items such as swimming pools and their filter / pump systems, garage door openers, secondary appliances (i.e. a deep freezer that is not the primary appliance), etc.

Whenever you apply for a mortgage loan, most lenders require that you have proof of insurance on your home before they will allow the closing to take place.  Very often, what homeowners feel is covered by their home owners insurance policy, is not included in their policy.  A home warranty can be very useful in this respect.  Carefully reviewing your homeowners insurance policy and comparing it to a home warranty, and then adjusting each to be complimentary to the other, can give a homeowner REAL peace of mind knowing that they are in fact fully covered for any event that may come their way.

If you have a seller’s home warranty (a type of home warranty provided by the seller to help promote the sale of the property), once the sale closes, any problems that may occur in the home will be covered.  Any expensive repair the home may require, will be taken care of by the home warranty.  A homeowners insurance policy will not likely cover many kinds of problems which will occur from time to time, nor will it cover wear and tear on home systems.

Unless you’re carpenter or contractor by trade, a home warranty is a great investment.  In most cases you will recover your modest investment in the home warranty plan via replacement of home systems and appliances, which will all eventually fail and need to be repaired or replaced.  The best advice is to check around and compare home warranty coverage and rates.  Both quarterly and monthly payment plans for are available, and the internet is a great resource to begin your home warranty search.

Troubleshooter: Long hot summer

WTDV Raleigh Durahm

FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) — Recently it was 80 degrees inside Lisa Williams’ home, and she considers that a cool temperature.

She says she’s been without a working home air conditioner unit since spring. She tells Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, “I was awful. I was miserable.”

She has a home warranty through American Home Shield and she says a technician was sent out to look at the unit. She adds, “They started taking the unit out and then stopped as they said they didn’t have approval to do the work.”

So Lisa waited for American Home Shield to approve the work. But Lisa says AHS didn’t approve the work instead she says, “They said they would not pay for everything. They would have to send me a check. I would have to take the cash out option which left me with nothing, as the unit is halfway pulled out, and no air no heat, no nothing.”

Lisa used ceiling fans and window units to keep cool. She also says she heard nothing from American Home Shield. She adds, “I kept calling in and said if you’re going to send me cash how much? When are you going to send it and they never even called me back.” So Lisa turned to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson.

Troubleshooter Diane Wilson got in touch with AHS and Lisa got some cool news. She says, “AHS contacted me immediately and they said they would pay for everything.” Lisa is sitting cool now as she has a whole new working unit and she’s very happy with the response from AHS.

In a statement a rep for American Home Shield added this: American Home Shield is committed to providing quality customer service. Ms. Williams’ recent experience was not representative of the normal AHS customer experience and we sincerely regret the delays in service she experienced.

As a result, AHS covered 100% of the expense related to the replacement and installation of her new furnace and evaporative coil, including $1,200 toward items that would not normally have been covered under the terms of her warranty.

The company also reimbursed Ms. Williams for her trade service fee and AC window units, used to cool the home in the interim. Ms. Williams has confirmed that she is pleased with the outcome.

As part of the company’s business model, AHS contracts with local trade professionals to handle our customers’ service requests. AHS prides itself in providing reliable service from pre-screened, insured contractors…..(more)

You’re away on vacation, enjoying the peace and quiet. Unknown to you, the compressor motor on your refrigerator at home suddenly burns out. Within hours everything in your refrigerator begins spoiling. Everything in your freezer melts. The refrigerator starts leaking a gooey mess all over the floor. You come home two weeks later to a horrible stench that can only be described as…indescribable. At least you have insurance that will pay for a new refrigerator…or do you?

If an appliance breaks down – no matter how expensive that appliance is to replace – your homeowner’s policy will not pay for its replacement. For that you need Home Warranty Insurance.

You may wish to purchase a Home Warranty policy for your own peace of mind. For many people it is simply comforting to know that no matter what happens, from a heater going bad to an air conditioner breaking down, everything in the house is always covered and will be replaced at a very nominal cost if anything should go wrong.

There’s another reason many people buy a Home Warranty policy and that has to do with selling a home. A potential buyer of a home is often swayed when vacillating between two or more home choices and will purchase a home that has a Home Warranty policy on all of its major appliances. In this way the new homeowner feels more secure.

How does a Home Warranty policy work?
You decide which appliances and home systems you want covered and you pay a yearly fee, much as you would with any insurance policy. If an appliance or system that’s covered by the Home Protection Warranty should fail, there is a service charge to have a repair person come to your home and make a repair or replacement of the broken system. The service charge varies depending on choices you make when you purchase your policy, but a charge in the $50 to $60 range is common.

How is the best and least expensive way for you to buy a Home Warranty policy?
That’s simple. I’ve done a great deal of research and there’s only one way you should buy a policy and that’s online.

Online brokers have no overhead to speak of and so they don’t need to make a huge commission on each sale. This means you save approximately 30% instantly just by buying your policy online.

Also, the decisions you need to make when buying a Home Warranty policy are simple and straightforward; you don’t need a live agent sitting across from you and talking you into buying a lot more policy than you need or can afford. When you buy online YOU are in complete control for once.

Get online and discover for yourself just how much money you can save on your Home Warranty policy simply by purchasing it online.

A home warranty is a policy that is used to pay for common, everyday repairs to things that can go wrong in your home. For example, a home warranty will cover the cost of repairing a central cooling system or a roof that develops a leak. A home warranty is not an insurance policy , rather a way to budget for the expenses of normal repairs.

When you purchase a home warranty, you will pay an annual premium. This may be due in one lump sum, or broken down into quarterly or monthly payments. This is the money that establishes your warranty, and guarantees coverage. When something breaks in your home, and you need to file a claim, you will be responsible for a service charge. The service charge is a predetermined amount, usually between 30 and 100 dollars. This covers the cost of repairs. These are the only two expenses involved in home repairs when you have a home warranty.

When something goes wrong in your home, you file a claim for service. You call the phone number of the home warranty company, and explain the situation. They will then send someone out to complete the repairs. The home warranty company does not have repairmen, but has established relationships with various repair people in the area that they cover. It is important to ask, before you buy a home warranty, whether the company has repair people in your area.

Why Should I Consider a Home Warranty When I Purchase a New Construction?

No one can argue that moving into a newly constructed home is a wonderful luxury. With the smell of new drywall, the sleek countertops and spotless floors, it is easy to feel like you will never have to do any repairs again. Of course, you know that this is not true, it will not be long before the first problem develops, the heating doesn’t kick on in the fall, or your dishwasher stops getting dishes clean. These problems are more stressful because they are coupled with a mortgage payment.

A home warranty is the perfect solution for a tight budget. Home warranties for new constructions are very affordable, and covering your home now ensures that you can budget effectively for whatever problems develop down the road. If you have a current home warranty, you know that you will never be blindsided by the cost of home repairs.

Is a Home Warranty a Waste of Money When Everything is New?

The traditional home warranty must be taken out when the home is new. Some companies are now writing plans for older homes, but the policies are more expensive and may have limitations or exclusions that make them not the best deal. A home warranty taken out on a new construction, and kept current, is the best way to get your money’s worth. While many things, like new appliances, may go a decade without any trouble, home warranties also cover the problems that crop up occasionally in a new construction, including leaky pipes and minor electrical problems. Some home warranty plans will also cover the cost of maintenance. What a home warranty will not cover is the cost of repairs due to improper installation or excessive wear. This means that whether or not maintenance is covered, it is important to stay current on your maintenance and make sure that all installations are properly installed, to avoid voiding your warranty.

Additional Benefits of Home Warranties

When choosing a home warranty company, shop carefully. To maintain the benefits of a home warranty, you must start the protection when your home is complete, and continue it uninterrupted. While some home warranty companies are beginning to add policies that allow you to pick up a policy at any time, traditional home warranties are coupled with the purchase of a new home.

It is important to purchase a home warranty that is transferable. Very few of us will live in one house for the rest of our lives, with people moving an average of every five years. When it comes time to sell your home, real estate agents have found that the homes that have home warranties sell much faster than the equivalent homes without these warranties. To get this benefit, the home warranty must be transferable. If not, when you move, the home warranty coverage ceases.