[Brandigirl]

I have used American Home Shield living in California, Wisconsin and WPB, Florida. Great for older homes. About 500/year. Worth every penny and always recouped our money and then some. . Brand new hot water heater, garbage disposal repair, furnace repair, microwave repaired and then replaced when they couldn't fix it, refrigerator repairs, electrical, garage door motor replaced with brand new one, pipe burst in ceiling repaired (this would have been very expensive). All for just a $70.00 deductible. Very easy to submit work order. Doesn't matter how old appliances are. If they can't repair it , they will replace it.

[jerseyvillager]

Broward Factory Service. Great service and great piece of mind.

[PoolBrews]

I have never had good experiences with home warranty companies. My last two homes (not my current home - it's brand new ) each came with a seller purchased home warranty. The 1st was with Choice - the first time we had to use the warranty I was asked to produce records showing that the furnace had been serviced EVERY YEAR. Of course I didn't have any receipts for this - I had just bought the home. They wouldn't pay. If you read the fine print, it states that you need to have all appliances serviced and inspected every year and keep records - otherwise they can deny any claim. At this point it depends on how hardball your local rep is.

My next home came with American Home Shield (I told them in the purchase agreement I didn't want Choice). Same issue arose again. After 2 years the A/C unit went out. Do you have records showing inspections and regular maintenance since the units were put in? No? So sorry, that is not covered.

It will cost you more to have everything inspected and maintained every year than the warranty itself to ensure coverage.

Put the money in a separate account, and use the money when something does actually break - you're better off.

[EdFNJ]

Problem here is, since we are "sort of" in the sticks the warranty company only has one company willing to deal with them and the drive from wherever to here. We had a warranty and around 40 days in we had an A/C problem. They sent out some jamoke from Ocala who didn't know his butt from his elbow. When he failed TWICE to fix the problem just throwing all but the correct part at it (A/C randomly not cooling) I called the warranty company and asked for someone else. They said there was no one else covering this area so I cancelled my policy as 99% of what I cared about was A/C coverage. I went on Google and googled "a/c randomly not cooling." $12 overnight from Amazon later I fixed it myself ... a simple fix ..... contactor relay. He says they only get paid for the initial call and if they have to go back they are on their own and they aren't happy about that.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by EdFNJ

Problem here is, since we are "sort of" in the sticks the warranty company only has one company willing to deal with them and the drive from wherever to here. We had a warranty and around 40 days in we had an A/C problem. They sent out some jamoke from Ocala who didn't know his butt from his elbow. When he failed TWICE to fix the problem just throwing all but the correct part at it (A/C randomly not cooling) I called the warranty company and asked for someone else. They said there was no one else covering this area so I cancelled my policy as 99% of what I cared about was A/C coverage. I went on Google and googled "a/c randomly not cooling." $12 overnight from Amazon later I fixed it myself ... a simple fix ..... contactor relay. He says they only get paid for the initial call and if they have to go back they are on their own and they aren't happy about that.

That is the problem with home warranties. If you were paying out of pocket for the repair, there are at least five A/C companies who would have come to your house within a few hours and fixed the problem.

[Chellybean]

Originally Posted by EdFNJ

Problem here is, since we are "sort of" in the sticks the warranty company only has one company willing to deal with them and the drive from wherever to here. We had a warranty and around 40 days in we had an A/C problem. They sent out some jamoke from Ocala who didn't know his butt from his elbow. When he failed TWICE to fix the problem just throwing all but the correct part at it (A/C randomly not cooling) I called the warranty company and asked for someone else. They said there was no one else covering this area so I cancelled my policy as 99% of what I cared about was A/C coverage. I went on Google and googled "a/c randomly not cooling." $12 overnight from Amazon later I fixed it myself ... a simple fix ..... contactor relay. He says they only get paid for the initial call and if they have to go back they are on their own and they aren't happy about that.

Just a FYI my husband was a HVAC contractor for 40 years and had an impeccable reputation and would never work for any of the warranty company's you folks are speaking of.
They pay a cut rate hourly rate and if the problem is intermittent they will not pay for a return call, The only contractors that will work for them are the ones that are starting off and couldn't find there fanny in a room full of mirrors.
STAY AWAY!!!! MHO

[Challenger]

Originally Posted by Chellybean

Just a FYI my husband was a HVAC contractor for 40 years and had an impeccable reputation and would never work for any of the warranty company's you folks are speaking of.
They pay a cut rate hourly rate and if the problem is intermittent they will not pay for a return call, The only contractors that will work for them are the ones that are starting off and couldn't find there fanny in a room full of mirrors.
STAY AWAY!!!! MHO

This type of insurance is a bad idea for homeowners. Almost no corporation buys insurance on small appliances or household type systems. Bank the $450+ per year (don't forget that there are deductibles usually). Insurance should be considered for catastrophic losses not everyday type maintenance or foreseeable wear and tear. JMHO ( and the opinion of most small business managers.)

[EdFNJ]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

How does that prove your point? We never had a problem with a claim nor did our son. It might make a difference where you live. Our repair people were all local to the town in which we lived, quality people in all cases.

That is exactly the problem around here. The service people these warranty companies usually contract with and dispatch are often in Ocala, Orlando or even further away. They get very ****y when they have to drive an hour on a re-call and not get paid for it. Back up north it was different as there were many locals doing the service.

The Villages is a large place in itself it's pretty much isolated for these folks out in "the big cities."

[Kfrgolf]

Verry happy with Choice. I'm a big believer. **** happens..plumbing, garbage disposals, water heaters, appliances etc.