The 5 Best Home Warranty Companies In The Country
Whenever you buy a new home, it can be overwhelming trying to find out everything that you need to do. Especially if you are moving to a new state and have all sorts of stuff to do when it comes to that.
But one thing that is important is looking into home warranty companies that serve the area you are moving to. We have put together a few of the best and have made a list of ways to compare their benefits and prices.
What Are Home Warranty Companies?
According to Wikipedia, “a home warranty is a contract that agrees to provide a homeowner with discounted repair and replacement services.” This is a near necessary thing to get for any homeowner.
However, it is not to be confused with home insurance. Home insurance is usually to protect the home from the costs associated with natural disasters and accidents whereas a home warranty is more about repairs for appliances and such.
Top Home Warranty Companies
When you start to look for home warranty companies, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the number of companies available. Here are the top five home warranty companies we have researched and compiled just for you.
Choice Home Warranty
Choice Home Warranty is one of the best home warranty companies you can find. They have been rated the “best overall” and “best service” of any home warranty company in America time and time again.
One thing that brings customers in is the fact that you can get your first month free so you can get service without paying a penny for an entire month. It takes a confident company to allow this to happen.
Choice Home Warranty Pros And Cons
Choice Home Warranty has a decent amount of pros and cons that may help you make your decision. Their main focus is on people, their customers, which is what you’ll hear about the most from them.
Pros
- People-Focused – this is definitely the best thing about Choice Home Warranty. They are focused on their customers. Although they have other priorities too, you’ll notice everything comes back to this.
- Quick Response – yes, the customers! Choice Home Warranty offers quick responses with a guaranteed response in 48 hours. So you don’t have to sit by your phone or e-mail for days on end.
- 24/7 Service – again, they really want to make their customers happy. So they offer service any time of day any day of the week. So if you have an emergency at 3 am then they can get to you in a jiffy.
- Over 15,000 Contractors – because they have over 15,000 contractors working, often remotely, you likely have someone near you that is available to serve you. So contact them to find out just how close.
- Set Maximums – you won’t be overcharged for services because they have binding limits. This ensures great coverage without you overpaying for something that was unexpected which can really let you rest.
- Multiple Reps – Let’s face it, even the best company can hire a rep that you just do not jive with. But with Choice, there are multiple representatives assigned to each case. So you can always have another option.
Cons
- Basic Plan Isn’t Perfect – now here is the big con. The total plan is amazing but the basic plan leaves out a few appliances that may break down, so it is recommended to pay the extra for the total plan.
- Only 48 States – if you live in Washington or California, then you are out of luck. Choice Home Warranty isn’t available in these two states. Since the population here is so high, this si a real bummer.
Company Home Warranty Plans
Choice Home Warranty has great plan options. There are two major plans to choose from and an average service fee of $85. This is a great price and is usually set rather than having a range that can be confusing.
Basic Plan – $45.81/month or $495/year
The basic plan won’t cover everything but it does cover the basics. It is quite affordable too. If you get a yearly plan you will pay just over $41/mo or just over $45 for a monthly plan. So the price is good either way.
Total Plan -$55/month or $600/year
If you want to make sure everything is covered then a total plan is probably better. You can pay just $50/mo for the yearly plan so it’s usually worth the extra five dollars to get this plan to feel like you are completely covered.
Company Home Warranty Reviews
The reviews for Choice Home Warranty are nearly unanimous. People are pleased with the prices and service that Choice Home Warranty offers. Here are a few reviews out of over 25,000 reviews on Consumer Affairs.
Quick Responses
“I contacted Choice Home Warranty about my Heat Pump not heating during low temps. They responded within 2 hours to let me know that they had contacted a repair tech to come and check on my heating unit. The repair tech came within a timely manner and looked over my heating system and came up with a solution to the problem. I thank Choice Home Warranty for their quick response to my problem.” – Rickey Of West Monroe, LA
Help Through The Storm
“Major winter storm hit DFW and all plumbers were naturally super busy. 1 call to Choice and within 72 hours, they had a contractor come to hour home. Great service. Very prompt and courteous all the way around. I highly recommend CHW. Be patient and they will take care of it.” – Hemant Of Keller, TX
2-10 Home Buyers Warranty
Now this company has some great reviews. We’ll talk more about that later because what you need to know is that 2-10 Home Buyers isn’t just for private homes and homeowners. It’s for almost everyone.
Even if you are a realtor or contractor, you can get 2-10 Home Buyers to cover the homes that you work on. This is a huge plus and is what they’re known for. Their website makes all of this easy to understand.
Company Pros And Cons
If you think that 2-10 Home Buyers is all good then you are mostly right. But every home warranty company has pros and cons. So let’s go ahead and brush up on what you need to know about 2-10’s.
Pros
- Low-Cost Plans – this company has plans starting as low as $19 a month. You won’t find a price for this good anywhere else. So if this is your main concern and you have minimal repairs needed, this can be perfect.
- Great Website – 2-10’s website is easy to use and offers a lot of info. You can use their system to find the right warranty for you depending on if you are a homeowner, realtor, company, or contractor.
- High Payout Rate – 2-10 Home Buyers will accept and cover almost 98% of claims, big or small. That is saying a lot considering the number of claims that they receive each day. So you should never be rejected.
- Trust Company – this company has been working for over 40 years so you don’t have to worry about a fresh company that you need to experiment on. They’ve been through it all and have gained the trust of America.
Cons
- Only Serves 42 States – if you live in one of the eight states not covered by 2-10 Home Buyers then you are out of luck. They serve most states but there is a handful that they don’t cover…yet. Keep an eye out!
- Minimal Plans – though they have a lot of choices it can be hard to decide which plan to choose. After all, you don’t want to choose one of their minimal plans and leave something important out.
Company Home Warranty Plans
This company, 2-10 Home Buyers is known for having a lot of plan options for their customers. You can change your plan or renew it anytime. Here are the options you can choose from and what they usually cost.
Simply Kitchen – $22/month
Simply Kitchen offers multiple plans that you can customize, but the basic package will be around $20 a month. So if you are only worried about kitchen appliances then this is a wonderful and affordable deal.
Complete Home – $50/month
Complete Home offers coverage of both the kitchen and HVAC systems but doesn’t stop there. There is also coverage for your plumbing and electrical systems so you don’t have to worry about anything else.
Pinnacle Home – $60/month
Want the best of the best? The Pinnacle Home deal offers you the best coverage that you can find. It offers everything that the Complete Home plan offers only has upgrades and new services that the others do not include.
Company Home Warranty Reviews
Although 2-10 Home Buyers does have their fair share of negative feedback, so does every other company in the world. It is best to look at the masses and where other people have found the most useful information.
Always Coming Back
“2-10 Home Buyers Warranty was okay when I tried them back then. Somewhere in between, I tried two other companies and since I came back to 2-10 many years ago, it has been good. I had some issues with my water heater. We had it checked out and it was found that it needed to be replaced. The contractor sent somebody to check it out and then the same company sent some other folks to replace it ’cause they have to order a new one. Dealing with both of them was awesome.” – Adewale of Glen Allen, VA
Always There
“I’m happy with 2-10. They were more responsive than the previous company that we were with. We had a water leak and they responded right away. They got the name of a contractor for us right away too. When the contractor didn’t respond, we reached out to 2-10 and they kinda got on them rather quickly and said, “Hey, you better follow these clients back.” They did within a couple hours on that time. They’re an advocate which is nice.” – Rachel of Raleigh, NC
First American
First American is another reliable company with a great team of representatives ready to lend a hand. They are owned by the company First American Corporation which specializes in financial services.
This company has been around since the 1980s. If a company can do that without getting a bad reputation then there’s a good chance that you can trust them. First American is counting on that reliability.
Company Pros And Cons
First American makes their own cause and methods clear, giving them an amount of transparency that is rare to see. You don’t need to provide your e-mail to see all of their prices, pros, and cons.
Pros
- No Coverage Cap – when it comes to HVAC stuff, there is no coverage cap. That’s because First American knows that they needn’t put a price cap on something so crucial to your family, so they will cover it all.
- Flexible Payments – First American is known for offering a lot of different payment plans and accepting many different payment methods. So you can rest assured that you will be able to pay them.
- Replace Not Just Repair – if First American can’t repair your appliances then they will replace them instead. Yes! Your plan can cover the cost of replacing the appliances with one of equal value.
- Never Take A Holiday – you can get service not just seven days a week or twenty-four hours a day but you can get service on holidays too. If you need someone there on Christmas Day, then someone can be.
- Prescreen Technicians – a lot of home warranty companies will hire almost anyone, which is great for inclusivity, but not that great for those who need good repairs done. By First American only hires the qualified.
Cons
- Only Covered In 34 States – yep, if you are lucky enough to live in one of these 34 states then you are good to go. But that’s just over half the states in America, so if you live anywhere else then you need to find a different company.
Company Home Warranty Plans
First American offers two primary plans. One is basic and one is advanced. You’ll notice this pattern a lot with home warranty companies. They want to offer something affordable as well as something with full coverage.
Basic Plan – $37/month
This is First American’s basic plan and it is quite affordable. It covers garbage disposals, dishwashers, oven ranges, cooktops, microwaves, trash compactors, refrigerators, and washer-dryers but is ever-changing.
Premier Plan – $50/month
This plan covers everything aside from air conditioning, though there isn’t anything to say that they won’t cover AC in the future. Since it covers everything else for a great price this is still an amazing plan.
Company Home Warranty Reviews
First American Home Warranty is always sharing its best reviews. But unlike other companies, they don’t hide the bad ones. They might if bad ones existed but there are only good things said about them.
First And Only Choice
“First American is one of the things that I’ve been extremely pleased with when I bought a house. Every single time, they send people who know what they’re doing, fix what’s wrong right away and they have a wide variety of items that they were willing to fix. The contractors fixed my ceiling fan and they also fixed the dryer three times because there were different things that went out, a gas valve and there were some wheels where the bearings went out.” – John of San Diego, CA
Available Anytime
“Always there when I need help. Plenty of contractors to choose from. Service is done within a reasonable amount of time. A ton of support with all my concerns and during the claims process. FAHW also does follow up on how the contractors performed and quality of workmanship.” – Matthew of Nolanville, TX
American Home Shield
American Home Shield is one of the best home warranties companies in the world. Just ask anyone who has done any research on home warranty companies. If you have, then you already know this to be true.
They have some of the best feedback and are constantly being named the best of the best. Their name does them well as they act as a shield to protect your home from unexpected costs with their monthly plan.
Company Pros And Cons
Since the company American Home Shield has such great reviews, it’s only fair that we outlay some pros and cons. We went deep and found plenty to say about this amazing company, both good and bad.
Pros
- Custom Plans – American Home Shield offers custom plans and combo plans so you can pay what you want for what you want, so to speak. They know that one size doesn’t fit all, and they make up for that.
- Every State Except Alaska – American Home Shield covers more states than any other home warranty company. The only state that they don’t cover is Alaska which is a small amount of the USA by population.
- Helpful Website – their website can guide you through their plans, get you quotes, and over useful information on each appliance separately. So take a look at it before you call to get all the info you need.
Cons
- Does Have Limits – some companies have very few limits, some even offering no limits on some appliances. But American Home Shield does cover their bases so there are limits on how much they cover.
Company Home Warranty Plans
There are three main plans for American Home Shield. We would normally call them Bronze, Silver, and Gold. But American Home Shield prefers to skip the bronze plan and start things off with Silver.
Shield Silver – $50/month
This plan covers fourteen different appliances and doesn’t have any HVAC limits. It is the basic plan for American Home Warranty yet it is comparative to the premium plans on most other warranty companies.
Shield Gold – $55/month
The Shield Gold plan covers twenty-three systems and appliances. If you can’t even name twenty-three appliances then this will probably be more than enough for you. But there is still a better plan.
Shield Platinum – $70/month
This is the best coverage plan from American Home Shield. Not only does it cover all twenty-three appliances but it also has one free pre-season HVAC tune-up. And the coverage limit? About $6,000.
Company Home Warranty Reviews
Though there are a few negative things floating around about American Home Shield, the positive ones are so sure of themselves that you want to believe in them too. These reviews really stand out.
Memorial Day Woes
“The switch was cycling over and over again. It was Memorial Day weekend, so it sat in pending for a couple of days. But as soon as they assigned someone, I called and the guy came out the very next day. The tech from DC Jenkins Well Service came over and fixed it. He was great. Very informative, very fair, and he was very complimentary of the home warranty service. He told me I had the best home warranty that was available and that he would only do work for American Home Shield because they’ve been good”. – Dustin of Sante Fe, TX
Even Plumbing
“The plumber did a wonderful job. He came out to do the kitchen faucet. He also did both of my toilets and my master bedroom shower. I had to recall one of the toilets because it was shooting water out of the side. Had I thought of lifting the tank, I would’ve realized that one of the little pipes came undone and it was squirting water every time we would flush. It was not the fault of the plumber but he came out and put the little thing back”. – Niki of Hemet, CA
AFC Home Club
AFC Home Club is another very reliable and unanimously trusted home warranty company. They are talked about every year when home warranty companies are compared and rated, so you can always check them out.
The company is known as America’s First Choice home warranty company and serves 46 states. So it is in-between those with the most coverage and those with the least amount of coverage.
Company Pros And Cons
AFC Home Club has a lot of pros, but we are just going to skim the surface of the pros and cons you need to look out for. This is what separates them from the other home warranty companies to keep an eye on.
Pros
- Any Contractor – one of the most unique things about AFC is that you can choose your own contractor or technician even if you are related to them. They don’t need to be approved, just licensed in your state.
- Lots Of Plan Options – there are more plan options with AFC than most other companies. They do combo plans as well with their best plans being better than almost any other company’s plan.
- Free Quick Quotes – you can get a quote for yourself in under 30 minutes or even instantly with AFC. Just enter your info and you can get a quote that is fairly accurate for your needs because the company has set prices.
Cons
- Only New Problems – the only downfall is that you can’t have a problem with an appliance and then get coverage afterward. You can only get coverage for appliances if the problems appear after you sign up.
Company Home Warranty Plans
There are more plan options with America’s First Choice Home Warranty than with almost any other home warranty company. So if you aren’t sure what you need then they are a good choice to help you find the right coverage.
Systems Plan -$42.33/month
If you only want the basic plan, this is it. It only covers a few appliances which are water heaters, ductwork, air conditioning, heating, electrical, and plumbing. These are the most common repairs so the choice is a good one.
Silver Plan – $40.17/ month
This plan will cover primarily your kitchen with a few add-ons which will be your refrigerator, washer, dryer, oven, range, stove, dishwasher, garbage disposal, and garage door opener. It’s the cheapest option.
Gold Plan- $49.08/month
This plan includes coverage for both the Systems Plan and the Silver Plan. So it combines the two but gives you a good price, adding just 20% to the price of either of them without doubling the cost.
Platinum Plan -$53.50/month
The Platinum Plan covers almost twenty items and counting. It covers everything in the other two plans but adds things like faucets and microwaves, so it is the highest coverage plan that is usually worth the cost.
Company Home Warranty Reviews
America’s First Choice doesn’t have as many reviews as other companies that have been around longer than this one but they do have a good amount of good reviews compared to negative reviews.
Deep Fix
“Love the company and tech that was sent out to solve my problem. He did an awesome job; didn’t just put a bandage on the problem. He diagnosed it and fix it. Would definitely recommend to family and or friends.” – Khaleelah of Drexel Hill, PA
Forever Company
“I have been with AFC for almost 4 years now. They have been good with taking care of issues with appliances. When they were not able to find a technician, they let me get my own handyman and took care of the charges. I intend to stay with them.” – Mira of Cupertino, CA
Finding The Right Home Warranty Company
There are a few ways to make sure that the company you are interested in is right for you. First of all, you need to read reviews. Reviews are generally very reliable so take a look at reviews on multiple sites.
The other two things to look at your the prices of the plans and what they cover. If one covers everything but HVAC and you have central air, then choose a different plan. Make sure your necessities are covered.
Aside from that, it’s all personal preference. Call and talk to someone if you want to check the vibes of the company. Try a couple of different types to get different reps to give you a better idea of what the company is made of.