As a homeowner, you must purchase a home warranty plan to cover your home appliance repairs and replacements, such as cookers, cooling and heating systems, microwaves, refrigerators, etc. American residential warranties offer excellent protection against unforeseen risks that can damage your home appliances and dangers.
However, home warranty plans might be suitable for some homeowners and not ideal for others.
Importance of Home Warranty Plans
Home warranty plans are valuable because they:
- Protect Your Budget: Cover costly repairs or replacements, preventing financial strain.
- Simplify Repairs: Provide access to a network of vetted technicians.
- Enhance Home Value: Make homes more attractive to buyers when included in a sale.
- Offer Peace of Mind: Reduce stress about unexpected breakdowns of appliances or systems.
How Does a Home Warranty Plan Work?
Here’s how a home warranty plan works for you and helps you provide the maximum protection to your home appliances and other products:
- Choose a Plan: Select a warranty plan that suits your needs and budget.
- File a Claim: If a household appliance or system breaks down, contact the warranty provider to file a claim.
- Service Technician Visit: The provider assigns a technician to assess and fix the issue.
- Pay a Service Fee: Pay a small service call fee (usually $50–$125) for the repair or replacement.
- Repair or Replacement: The warranty company pays for repairs or replacement if the issue is covered.
Commonly Covered Items Under A Home Warranty Plan
If you are wondering about a home arrantly plan, let us share with you some of the plans that you can go over. Typically, home warranty plans cover the following household items and things:
- Appliances: Household appliances such as dishwashers, refrigerators, washers, ovens, dryers, and microwaves. These are used a lot and can be used as an additional warranty for better value for money.
- Systems: Household systems such as plumbing, ventilation, electrical, heating, and air conditioning (HVAC) can use the additional warranty for the best results.
- Optional Add-ons: There are flexible warranty plans (discussed shortly) that cover pools, roof leaks, spas, or septic systems. The cost can vary depending on the plan and the provider.
Types of Home Warranty Plans
There are several types of home warranty plans that can work well for you – consider your needs and warranty requirements before selecting one. Check out the following:
- Appliance Plans: Appliances such as stoves, refrigerators, and washers, among other things, can benefit from this plan.
- Systems Plans: These plans cover your home systems such as plumbing, HVAC, and electrical.
- Comprehensive Plans: These plans include both appliances and systems for all-around protection.
- Customized Plans: Such plans are flexible and can include warranties as per your requirements. It allows you to choose specific coverage based on their needs.
A home warranty plan can cost anywhere between $300 to $600 annually. However, it depends on the coverage and provider.
Service call fees for each repair visit can range from $50 to $125. In addition, some providers may not charge an additional rate for it.
Advantages of Home Warranty Plans
Here are a few advantages of using the home warranty plan, find your reason to make it work for you:
1. Offers You Peace of Mind
When you buy a home warranty policy, you will have peace of mind knowing that if any of your appliances and systems break down, you will have professionals fix it at any time of the day or night.
A home warranty plan can be helpful for homeowners who are not very handy. It can also benefit new homeowners who do not understand how some home systems work.
2. It saves money
A home warranty plan can help you to budget your money well. If you have a home warranty, you have fewer unforeseen costs to bother you. A warranty plan will help you cover the costs of repairing or replacing your home appliances and systems, saving you money.
You will also budget for your finances as you pay the premiums upfront, and you will know how much you need to pay for the deductible costs.
3. It Provides Valuable Maintenance
A home warranty policy helps you check your home systems and appliances for any faults twice per year. They provide services such as checking the electrical connections of your systems, cleaning the systems, and replacing filters.
Hiring a contractor might cost you more than the premiums you pay to the warranty company to maintain your home systems.
A home warranty company helps you save on preventive maintenance costs and discover any faults in your appliance while they are small and manageable.
4. It Saves Your Time
When you have a home warranty cover, you do not have to spend much time looking for contractors to repair your home appliances and systems.
If your home appliances or systems break down at any time, either during the day or night, you just need to call your home warranty company, and they will send a contractor immediately.
You will only pay for the service call costs; the home warranty company covers every other cost. You should explain the problem to the company and send the right professionals to repair the system or appliance to your house.
5. Home warranty service is available 24 hours
Primarily, home warranty companies operate during the day and at night. If you have any emergency at night, someone will always help you.
If your system breaks down at night, you have fewer worries as the home warranty company is there to help you.
Additionally, you only need to renew your contract after a year, meaning you have full coverage throughout the year.
Disadvantages of Home Warranty Plans
If you are thinking of purchasing a home warranty plan, it is crucial you know some of its disadvantages, such as:
1. Long Wait Times
After you have notified the home warranty company about your system or appliance breakdown, you might wait longer than expected before the warranty company can send a contractor to your house for the repairs.
The long waiting time can be disappointing in case you have emergency repairs.
2. Coverage
Most home warranty companies do not cover items that have pre-existing conditions. It is not easy to know the pre-existing conditions in your appliances or systems even by inspecting them.
You should read your contract carefully to know what items are covered and which are not covered to avoid disappointments on the day you want to file your claims.
3. Price
The home warranty plan is quite expensive. You might experience common home appliance repairs, which cost less than the premiums you pay to the home warranty company.
You need to pay for service call costs even after paying premiums for the coverage, which might be pretty expensive. If you expect fewer repairs in a year, buying a home warranty policy is unnecessary.
Sometimes, you might not even use the cover and risk losing the money you had paid for the premiums.
Bottom line
Home warranty plans have several advantages for homeowners as they help them spend less money to replace and repair home appliances and systems. The article helps illustrate all the different ways you can reap the benefits of such plans and save a lot in the long run.
Appliances and other systems in your home require frequent repairs that can bring the cost up – sometimes more than what was initially paid. You should consider its advantages and disadvantages and decide if you need the warranty to cover the repairs and replacements of your home appliances.
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