What To Look For In A Home Warranty
A home warranty can make a massive difference to the life of any homeowner, helping to cover the costs of repairs and replacements you might need when systems and appliances break down. A good warranty can save you a lot of money in the long-term, as well as providing some much-needed peace of mind as well, but you have to choose your plan with care.
There are a lot of different warranty providers and plans out there, and they’re not all made equal. They can vary in many different ways, such as the reputation of the provider, the amount of coverage offered by each plan, service costs and deductibles, customer service quality, flexibility, optional extras, and so on.
This is why it’s strongly recommended for homeowners to read reviews, check out detailed comparisons, and take their time before deciding which home warranty to buy. If you get the wrong plan, you might regret it, but the right home warranty can help you sleep more easily each night. Here are some top factors to look out for.
Cost
Of course, one of the most important factors to think about when it comes to choosing a home warranty plan is the cost of it. For any home warranty, you’ll need to pay an annual premium for the privilege of having your systems and appliances protected, and the cost of this premium can vary wildly, depending on which provider and plan you choose.
Some plans are much more budget-friendly than others but may have less coverage and lower limits, so you might not get the best value from them. Other plans can be quite expensive, but could still save you a lot of money in the long run if your home springs a leak, suffers an electrical problem, or has a major appliance breakdown.
Coverage
Another one of the most important factors to think about when choosing a home warranty plan is the level of coverage it’s able to offer. This is where many plans differ, with some of them being quite basic in their coverage and purely covering the costs of your electrical, plumbing, and heating/cooling systems, and others being much more comprehensive.
The all-around plans will cover all major systems and appliances too, and there are even more advanced plans that offer various optional extras like coverage for pools, spas, sump pumps, and wells. Think about the systems and appliances in your home and consider what kind of coverage level you really need.
Speed and Efficiency
When something goes wrong with your home, like an issue with the plumbing or a problem with your HVAC system, you’ll want to have it fixed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Again, this is an area in which home warranty providers and plans can vary quite a lot, as some will be far more efficient and rapid to respond than others.
If you encounter an issue, some providers will be ready to respond immediately and have a contractor at your home within a matter of hours, ready to resolve the issue. Others may have downtime hours, like at weekends or in the evenings, and might not respond to you right away. Try and find a provider who can offer round-the-clock service requests.
Fine Print
You also need to consider the fine print of your home warranty plan, as this is where you can sometimes find gaps and issues that could come back to bite you later on. Some plans, for example, only offer to cover the costs of repairs and won’t pay for full replacements of your appliances, if you need them.
There are also some plans that have limited service requests, meaning that the provider may be able to refuse to help you out if you have recurring issues in a certain period of time. Some warranties might only apply for relatively new items too, refusing to cover those that are older than 10 years, for instance. All of these pieces of fine print can give you a clearer picture of the full value of your plan, so make sure to be thorough and do your research.
Final Word
These are just some of the main factors to think about when it comes to buying the best home warranty. You’ll also want to consider the ratings of each provider, how much the service calls are when you need repair work, what sort of deductibles you can choose from, and how easily adjustable your plan is if you need to change it. Reading our in-depth reviews will help you find the right warranty for you.