When it comes to protecting your home, you may wonder why you’d need a home warranty if you already have homeowners insurance. Despite seeming similar, these two types of coverage serve different purposes and complement each other rather than overlap.
What Does Home Insurance Cover?
Homeowners insurance protects against sudden and accidental damage stemming from events such as fires, storms, vandalism, and theft. If a tree falls on your roof during a storm, for example, insurance typically helps cover the cost of repairs. It can also protect against liability claims if someone is injured on your property. Essentially, homeowners insurance focuses on unexpected and potentially catastrophic scenarios.
- Examples: Hail-damaged roof, burst pipe flooding your home, storm-related window breakage.
What Does a Home Warranty Cover?
A home warranty, on the other hand, addresses normal wear and tear on your home’s major systems and appliances. Typical warranties cover items like your HVAC system, water heater, oven, and refrigerator. If your air conditioner stops working simply because it’s old, a warranty could pay for the repair or replacement. Without a warranty, you’d be responsible for 100% of those costs out of pocket.
- Examples: A refrigerator that stops cooling due to age, a furnace that fails from years of normal use, a dishwasher motor burning out.
Why They’re Complementary
- Home Insurance handles unexpected, large-scale issues—such as natural disasters, major accidents, or theft—that can cost thousands (or more) to repair.
- Home Warranties protect you from routine breakdowns of essential home systems and appliances due to ordinary wear and tear.
By having both insurance and a warranty, you get a well-rounded safety net. Insurance helps you recover financially from big, unforeseen losses, while a warranty covers everyday failures that homeowners insurance doesn’t address.
