OT Home Warranties

[doobeeadawg]

Disclaimer - Im in the insurance business and totally understand risk. expectations, loss ratios and corporate profit margins as well as anyone. However, i purchased a home warranty because my present house has numerous appliances and stand along icemakers. Expected life of ice makes in my experience is 3-5 years tops. My present insurer has now replaced all my ice makers and are excluding them from future coverage. They been a good company to work with and have replaced large fridges, freezers, ice makers and a A/C unit in the past. Im looking to change companies to a new company that will cover my house top to bottom. Anyone got any suggestions or thoughts? FYI - i have been with AHS and have been please but as expected the rate over time has tripled and it no longer makes sense to keep the policy active. Looking to start over with a clean slate (which comes with a waiting period, i get that). I don't have anything that needs repair or replacing at present fortunately.

 

[Bulldog45]

I’ve used First American Home Warranty for a few years and had pretty good luck with them. Biggest ticket items they’ve replaced were both my tankless hot water heaters at different times but have had some other things handled as well.

I also found out a few years ago my true homeowners insurance policy includes a home systems protection plan that will cover things and not count against me in terms of claims on the policy itself. It has a $500 deductible though. Since you are in insurance you probably know to look for that but I had no clue about that.

I will add that on FAHW they don’t necessarily replace with the same brand, so that does present an issue if you want to keep everything the same. I took the payout on a microwave and then had to provide them with the receipt where I actually purchased a replacement for it to be covered in the future.

 

[doobeeadawg]

Reed

I’ve used First American Home Warranty for a few years and had pretty good luck with them. Biggest ticket items they’ve replaced were both my tankless hot water heaters at different times but have had some other things handled as well.

I also found out a few years ago my true homeowners insurance policy includes a home systems protection plan that will cover things and not count against me in terms of claims on the policy itself. It has a $500 deductible though. Since you are in insurance you probably know to look for that but I had no clue about that.

I will add that on FAHW they don’t necessarily replace with the same brand, so that does present an issue if you want to keep everything the same. I took the payout on a microwave and then had to provide them with the receipt where I actually purchased a replacement for it to be covered in the future.

I get that. I am anal about same brands and have avenues for good pricing. Cash payout is king.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

My experience is that they pay for the bare minimum. They always honor them, always had luck there, but they won't make wholesale repairs. @Bulldog45 surprised they replaced a whole water heater, but I guess there's really no way to 'fix' those.

Kinda funny when a warranty company comes out to service an AC and can always fix it, whereas if an AC company comes out they always say you need to replace everything.

 

[scdog1]

I’ve used First American Home Warranty for a few years and had pretty good luck with them. Biggest ticket items they’ve replaced were both my tankless hot water heaters at different times but have had some other things handled as well.

I also found out a few years ago my true homeowners insurance policy includes a home systems protection plan that will cover things and not count against me in terms of claims on the policy itself. It has a $500 deductible though. Since you are in insurance you probably know to look for that but I had no clue about that.

I will add that on FAHW they don’t necessarily replace with the same brand, so that does present an issue if you want to keep everything the same. I took the payout on a microwave and then had to provide them with the receipt where I actually purchased a replacement for it to be covered in the future.

My I'm doing it wrong, but I found the home warranties really delayed the time it took to get approved for a repair. If my AC goes out in the summer, I want it fixed in the next 24 hours.

 

[The Peeper]

My only experience w/ a home warranty has come w/ the 3 houses I've bought over the years and all came with it. I've only used it one time on those 3 houses and it was worth it, my present house.

Shortly after buying the house I put a hose on the gas water heater to drain it and get all the sediment out of the bottom of the tank (assuming there was some) After draining it I couldn't get it to relight for anything. I called the warranty company and they sent a truck out to Starkville from a plumbing company in Tupelo. He looked at it and said he would have to put a new something or another on it and would come back. He couldn't find the part in Starkville so he said he'd order it or get it in Tupelo. He came back a couple days later and had the wrong one. He came back the next day and said that didn't fix it and had to order a thermo coupler, thermostat, and something else. He made 3 trips from Tupelo to Starkville and he gave me the final bill that he was sending to the warranty company and it was $855. I paid him the $125 deductible I don't know why they didn't just put a new water heater in and be done w/ it but they basically re-built the important stuff. I let it ride a few years and then put an on demand heater in and haven't looked back at all.

 

[dawgstudent]

Speaking of warranties - are extended car warranties becoming the norm now?

 

[dawgman42]

These companies are all brilliant grifters at excluding "non-Code" repairs and arranging service about 80% of the time with the worst local contractors you can find. You're better off taking money and putting it aside. Most service call fees are not much different than the ever-so-increasing service call prices they keep charging (used to be $45 and now can be approach $100). I've had very poor experiences with AHS, First American, etc. Too many exclusions and fine-print interpretations.

 

[40 acres and a mule]

My philosophy on appliances: If I can't fix it with a you tube video and parts from Parts Dr., then I buy a new one. New appliances are built to wear out in 5 to 7 years. I have Kitchenaid, so not cheap stuff. I had to replace a 7 year old dishwasher and refrigerator. Refrigerator was crap from brand new; the biggest lemon of anything I ever bought. Stand alone icemaker is still pretty strong but recirculation pump is starting to make occasional weird noises, so I figure I will replace that pump soon. I already replaced the drain pump which was no big deal. Stand alone ice makers are very simple machines.

Repair clinic is good too.

 

[MSUDC11-2.0]

I had one when I was a first time homeowner for the first few years. Mixed feelings on it. Felt like a hassle, occasionally had a hard time getting someone to come out to look at things. Ended up cancelling and did not get one when we purchased our next house.

If I can DIY I try to DIY, if not I’m not opposed to outright replacing an appliance.

 

[FormerBully]

Speaking of warranties - are extended car warranties becoming the norm now?

My brother had extended warranty on his truck until 100,000 miles. Transmission went out at 104,000. Tried everything to get it covered. He finally admitted they build them to last until 101 haha

 

[Bulldog45]

My experience is that they pay for the bare minimum. They always honor them, always had luck there, but they won't make wholesale repairs. @Bulldog45 surprised they replaced a whole water heater, but I guess there's really no way to 'fix' those.

Both were >15 years old so you couldn’t get parts for them anymore. I get the argument against the warranties, but rough estimates I’ve made out pretty well with it all things considered. I first bought the warranty a few years ago once the house reached 12 years old and the odds of things going out started increasing.

 

[Yeti]

Speaking of warranties - are extended car warranties becoming the norm now?

Yes for most brands. Mazda, most Toyota, Lexus, don’t need them. I have that straight from largest underwriter in USA Korean brands need them

 

[MagicDawg]

I’ve used First American Home Warranty for a few years and had pretty good luck with them. Biggest ticket items they’ve replaced were both my tankless hot water heaters at different times but have had some other things handled as well.

FAHW -- It took me over six months of arguing with barely English-speaking reps to get a dishwasher replaced. After making enough of a stink about it on social media and getting a little inside help, I got a direct phone number to someone who can automatically escalate and personally handle things. Now that I've got an "in" I've been pretty happy, but it was a God-awful nightmare to try to get a dishwasher replaced and installed correctly. And the cash payout was, of course, not going to be enough to replace with the same brand/model I would get if I went through them.

Now that I have a direct contact I am happy to renew.

 

[dawgman42]

Both were >15 years old so you couldn’t get parts for them anymore. I get the argument against the warranties, but rough estimates I’ve made out pretty well with it all things considered. I first bought the warranty a few years ago once the house reached 12 years old and the odds of things going out started increasing.

And when they get that age, the contractors that work with the warranty companies are equally shrewd to bring up the "extra" and hidden costs needed to bring the install up to today's code with the parts or equipment they are replacing.

 

[HotMop]

I worked at an appliance company that tracked how much service $ they got post warranty, they made sure that at the 5 year mark something would fail, it felt criminal. Oddly enough they reported it out and bragged about it to all hands.

 

[DerHntr]

I was ready to drive to the corporate office of the home warranty company my elderly parents had a few years ago. Their AC went out in late July. The company strung them along until the first week of September trying not to pay. They finally took some bullshite $2k payment just to be done with the company. Their annual premium was due Oct 1. So they took the money.

Fortunately, we were able to use a better AC company of our choosing once they took the money. It ended up being less than $500 to fix. The horrible company the warranty folks sent out told them it was a total replacement. No one would answer the phone. Emails took days to get a response. The AC company stopped answering calls.

I’m glad the corporate office wasn’t in Jackson. I’d be posting from jail.

 

[bully12]

I took out a home warranty some six years ago; at that time, Choice Home Warranty was the most highly rated and recommended of the warranty companies. I've not had that many claims over the years, but Choice has been extremely helpful and responsive with each claim.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Speaking of warranties - are extended car warranties becoming the norm now?

If buying any type of Jeep product, first just don't, but if you do - buy every extended warranty available.

 

[HWY51dog]

They used to be good to have but that has changed the last few years. It’s not worth it anymore.

 

[Puppers]

My philosophy on appliances: If I can't fix it with a you tube video and parts from Parts Dr., then I buy a new one. New appliances are built to wear out in 5 to 7 years. I have Kitchenaid, so not cheap stuff. I had to replace a 7 year old dishwasher and refrigerator. Refrigerator was crap from brand new; the biggest lemon of anything I ever bought. Stand alone icemaker is still pretty strong but recirculation pump is starting to make occasional weird noises, so I figure I will replace that pump soon. I already replaced the drain pump which was no big deal. Stand alone ice makers are very simple machines.

Repair clinic is good too.

I bought a nice Maytag refrigerator when I got married and it ran for about 4.5 years when the freezer quit working right. Repair man came and looked and it could have been any of 3 motherboards. Each cost about ~$250. They only way to know which one was to put them on one at a time and hope we guessed right. Since they were electrical parts we couldn't return them after they had been put on.

The repairman advised me to just go buy a new fridge and get the most plain Jane one I could find.

 

[ckDOG]

Home warranty business beyond manufacturer provided warranty have never computed for me. If someone wants to toss one in for me on a home purchase, cool. Beyond that...how much do I have to pay to get a 3rd party to warranty something for longer? Feels like they are going to beat me in that transaction bc I know they aren't doing any PM to manage costs on both of our behalf's. They are playing a numbers game that they are better at than me.

 

[patdog]

One thing to consider with home warranties. I've know people who have had to wait a week or more to get a new air conditioner in the summer when temps were over 90 degrees every day. And I had to wait a few days to get a new refrigerator fixed because LG used a repair guy out of Monroe. It ultimately got fixed fine, but took about a week. Had to wait till he was in the Jackson area to diagnose it, then he had to order a fan and replaced the original one when he was back in Jackson again. So, you're going to take what you get as far as repairmen or what the replacement appliance will be. Which you may like just fine, or you may not.

 

[Drebin]

Speaking of warranties - are extended car warranties becoming the norm now?

I think they're a scam. I can see the value in some cases, but for the most part it's money shoveled in a black hole.

 

[patdog]

I think they're a scam. I can see the value in some cases, but for the most part it's money shoveled in a black hole.

If you need an extended car warranty, you bought the wrong car.

 

[SanfordRJones]

They're all terrible, but in my experience, Old Republic was a good bit less terrible than the others.

 

[dorndawg]

I think they're a scam. I can see the value in some cases, but for the most part it's money shoveled in a black hole.

I don't think they're a scam per se but like every other insurance company they don't stay in business by paying out on claims. When it comes to things there WILL be claims on (home appliances, cars), it's literally impossible to make everyone whole. Which leads me to health insurance...

I want to say the average home warranty is about $600? Most homeowners would be far better off escrowing $50/month in a savings account.

 

[Drebin]

I don't think they're a scam per se but like every other insurance company they don't stay in business by paying out on claims. When it comes to things there WILL be claims on (home appliances, cars), it's literally impossible to make everyone whole. Which leads me to health insurance...

I want to say the average home warranty is about $600? Most homeowners would be far better off escrowing $50/month in a savings account.

My comment was exclusive to extended warranties on cars. Like pat said, if you need to buy an extended warranty for your vehicle, you're probably buying the wrong vehicle.

I can see the benefit to home warranties as so many people just can't afford to replace something like an AC unit or a tankless water heater out of nowhere. But the fleas come with the dog - delays, piecemeal fixes, coverage gaps, etc. Folks are likely better off putting that money away somewhere and letting it draw interest, as you suggest.

 

[patdog]

I can see the benefit to home warranties as so many people just can't afford to replace something like an AC unit or a tankless water heater out of nowhere. But the fleas come with the dog - delays, piecemeal fixes, coverage gaps, etc. Folks are likely better off putting that money away somewhere and letting it draw interest, as you suggest.

That's a very good point. If you have to wait a week for a new AC when you could afford to have paid it yourself that's one thing. But if you can't afford it, suddenly waiting a week starts to look like a pretty good deal.