Anyone use HomeServe or HomeShield for added insurance?

[LineSkiCat14]

I've heard horror stories about plumbing systems breaking, and costing tens of thousands, even though the lines are on city/town property. I guess for some, the town has to excavate your property for something that's out of your control like a tree root hitting piping. (I admit to not knowing all the details on this, so correct me if I'm wrong).

Apparently your home insurance only covers so much, and to add additional coverage through HomeServe or HomeShield, is a good idea.. Both sites offer lots of different coverage, with HomeShield being a bit more streamlined. I'm interested in the plumbing coverage, but even the appliance coverage is intriguing for multiple units (my house technical has two of everything, so the chance something goes is double).

Anyone use these? Are they just a ripoff, and it's hard to get things reimbursed? Any stories using them?

 

[birdforbogey]

We use service guard through our gas company and the few times we have had to use it with no issues. I think it runs 30 to 40 dollars per month and covers everything except for the dish washer and maybe the hot water heater.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

We use service guard through our gas company and the few times we have had to use it with no issues. I think it runs 30 to 40 dollars per month and covers everything except for the dish washer and maybe the hot water heater.

Nice, yeah I just saw that American Home Shield is upwards of $100/month for their plans, seemingly double what HomeServe is. Hard to justify $100/month, seems that it would be very rare that pays for itself.

Once thing I need to figure out, is if these companies want one plan for one unit, or for one house. Technically my address is two numbers instead of just one house number with two units. So that might get me.

 

[Laparkafan]

Think I had Home Shield the first year I had a house - if I remember the max coverage was $1000 per incident but that could be depending on the plan.

 

[Spica Orbit]

I've heard horror stories about plumbing systems breaking, and costing tens of thousands, even though the lines are on city/town property. I guess for some, the town has to excavate your property for something that's out of your control like a tree root hitting piping. (I admit to not knowing all the details on this, so correct me if I'm wrong).

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In most all instances, you're responsible for plumbing from your home to the sewer tap & from your home to the water meter. Those are your lines, not the city's. If there's a problem from the water meter out or along the sewer main, that's the city's responsibility.

 

[birdforbogey]

Nice, yeah I just saw that American Home Shield is upwards of $100/month for their plans, seemingly double what HomeServe is. Hard to justify $100/month, seems that it would be very rare that pays for itself.

Once thing I need to figure out, is if these companies want one plan for one unit, or for one house. Technically my address is two numbers instead of just one house number with two units. So that might get me.

Another feature with service guard, is if they can’t fix it they replace it at equal value of what we have.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Another feature with service guard, is if they can’t fix it they replace it at equal value of what we have.

Is Service Guard also Black Hills Energy? Not finding much on them, and what I did find, might not be available where I am, New York State.

 

[birdforbogey]

Is Service Guard also Black Hills Energy? Not finding much on them, and what I did find, might not be available where I am, New York State.

Yes, we have Black Hills Energy where we live in Iowa

 

[CrittendenWildcat]

Had a 1 year home warranty when I purchased my current house. Found it to be pretty much useless. Both times I called to address an issue I fixed the problem myself before they even called back.

Expect to be without your appliances for a week or two before they can even get someone out. If you are even a little bit handy, you'll probably take care of it long before they get someone out to address it.

 

[JumperJack]

I had HomeShield. Under mount microwave went kaput. It took 4 weeks for them to send a tech, verify that a new one was needed, order a replacement, and come back to install. Didn’t pay a thing, but no microwave for a month when I could have done in in a couple days.

Obviously it would be great for a larger system failure.

 

[awf]

I usually am able to repair about anything around the house......$100 a month sounds high to me......especially with YouTube.......you can find a video to repair just about anything......if someone else is smart enough to fix something...............then I am too............not many real repair persons out there any more........when we renovated we replaced our appliances with Frigidaire Professional line of appliances.......it was a nightmare......38 repair visits total on a fridge, freezer, dishwasher and stove......Charlie Wilson finally gave us our money back after they had to replace the fridge, stove and dishwasher a couple of times.......when the service men came all they would do is call the factory tech and tell them what was going on.......he would tell them which part to replace.....

 

[CatOfDaVille]

We have Home Serve through the Louisville Water Co to cover our external water line. I think it's like $5/mo or something. Not expensive.

I signed up for it because a couple of neighbors had leaks over the last year (the houses in my neighborhood are about 20-25 years old and have copper exterior water lines). Less than 3 months after adding the insurance, I noticed my water bill was triple what it normally was. The water co. came to inspect and found a leak.

Because I had the insurance they arranged everything to fix it at $0 cost to me. They had to get a backhoe and dig up my flower bed next to the house. I asked the guy working on it how much all of that work would cost out-of-pocket without the insurance, and he said about $2k.

So yes, in my case it was more than worth it.

 

[Deeeefense]

I had HomeShield. Under mount microwave went kaput. It took 4 weeks for them to send a tech, verify that a new one was needed, order a replacement, and come back to install. Didn’t pay a thing, but no microwave for a month when I could have done in in a couple days.

Obviously it would be great for a larger system failure.

I'm willing to bet that those lengthy delays are done on purpose, hoping you will get the repairs done yourself. They don't want people that file claims, they want to get rid of them.

My take on all types of extended warranties and service contracts that people are always trying to sell you is simply this. Take the money you would have spent on the premiums for all these things and put it in a jug. Any time you need to repair or replace something, take money out of the jug. At the end of the day you will still have a lot of money left in the jug.

 

[Hank Camacho_rivals115797]

No. I'm not a woman.

 

[kyboy1998_rivals34276]

We use service guard through our gas company and the few times we have had to use it with no issues. I think it runs 30 to 40 dollars per month and covers everything except for the dish washer and maybe the hot water heater.

Why are you heating the hot water?

 

[Beatle Bum]

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In most all instances, you're responsible for plumbing from your home to the sewer tap & from your home to the water meter. Those are your lines, not the city's. If there's a problem from the water meter out or along the sewer main, that's the city's responsibility.

Yeah, the lines in the easement should be the utility’s responsibility. On your property, it is your responsibility. If you put $100 per month into an account, you could probably insure most of these items yourself.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

In ended up grabbing a basic waterline/sewage plan for $15/month from HomeServ. I do agree that these companies are just there to profit, but living in the Northeast, houses and infrastructure are generally older, and if you're in a city/suburb, you aren't going to have the tools and equipment to dig up lines and do it yourself. I know a few people personally, who got hit with massive bills to fix this upwards of 5 figures..

 

[CB3UK]

In ended up grabbing a basic waterline/sewage plan for $15/month from HomeServ. I do agree that these companies are just there to profit, but living in the Northeast, houses and infrastructure are generally older, and if you're in a city/suburb, you aren't going to have the tools and equipment to dig up lines and do it yourself. I know a few people personally, who got hit with massive bills to fix this upwards of 5 figures..

When me and my now ex fiance bought our house together, her sister's best friend is a realtor and so we used her.

As a housewarming gift she gave us a year of Homestead, which was nice. This was 2015. Just a way to say thanks for the commissions and to cover anything that may come up, etc.

Anyway, when our water heater went down, literally the same day they had someone in my basement putting a brand new one in. All I paid was the $75 service fee you have to pay every time you make a claim.

We hung on to them for a while because my house was built in 2003 and the HVAC units were original to the house. So I knew they were close to needing to be replaced. In the contract it says they'll replace anything that can't be fixed.

Well, long story short, they won't. They consistently played a back and forth cat and mouse game with me, different HVAC companies here just trying to put a bandaid on a gunshot wound so to speak.

In fairness, they would replace whatever parts needed to be replaced, but it was a patch job. Upstairs might go down but first floor and basement are fine. Or vice versa. It was like every 6 months this crap would happen and Homeshield would never approve new units. Because they'd be out an arm and a leg for new ones.

Unlike other items their different policies cover, when you fool with those furnaces, you've got to reclaim the refrigerant and pump new in there. Those units, as I said were approaching 20 yrs, so they obviously ran on R22. Well, that stuff is no longer allowed or manufactured meaning HVAC companies can charge whatever they want to replace it, and your policy doesn't cover that stuff. So every repair was between $600-$1000 depending on which parts (coil, motor, whatever)

It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out after just a few of those calls, you've made a significant down payment on brand new high efficiency units, which is what I did last year. 16 SEER with 10 yr parts and labor warranty.

For me, I'm pretty handy. There's nothing they cover besides the HVAC stuff that I can't just do myself. For people who are older, or aren't handy, I could see the benefit.

Reality is you're better off just taking the money you spend each month with them into a savings account and have yourself an emergency fund for home repairs.

 

[birdforbogey]

Why are you heating the hot water?

Moonshine