Should You Buy a Home Appliance Warranty

When you become a homeowner, you are inundated with all kinds of different insurance policies. First, you have your homeowner’s insurance policy, which is required by your lender. Then there is the home warranty plan, which is often offered by the seller for the first year. As we have discussed here before, they are totally two different things.

And then there are home appliance insurance and home appliance warranty policies. But what exactly is the difference between home appliance warranties and homeowners appliance insurance? The biggest difference is that your home warranty will cover the cost of repairs and replacements of the appliances and systems within your home, thus becoming somewhat of a homeowner’s appliance insurance policy.

A home appliance warranty coverage comes with the appliance when you purchase it. There is the manufacturer’s warranty and then there is extended coverage, referred to as a home appliance protection plan that is offered by the retail store, at an additional cost.

Do You Need A Home Appliance Warranty Plan?

The Home Warranty Plan will cover the cost of repairs and replacement of your appliances and systems for a service call cost or deductible, that is usually $50 to $75 per service call. This is a plan that is often paid by monthly premium or one annual payment that can range from $250 to $500, depending on the amount of coverage you have, and the age of the appliances and system covered.

A home warranty plan can cover all or part of the following items:

Appliances: clothes washer and dryer, dishwasher, oven/range/stove, refrigerator, clothes washer and dryer, built-in microwave, free-standing ice maker, garage door opener, trash compactor.

Systems: electrical, doorbell, HVAC, plumbing, water heater, garbage disposal, central vacuums, smoke detectors.

Keep in mind, that upon filing a claim for any of these things, the home warranty company will have a service technician check and investigate the item. If it is determined the damage or problem is caused by the owner’s neglect, the claim can be denied, and you are still responsible for the deductible/service call fee.

How Do You Know If A Home Warranty Is Worthwhile?

The life of an appliance and the systems of your home can make the deciding factor if they are worth the cost of a home warranty plan. Meaning, that if an appliance or system is at a certain age, the company you’re considering using for a home warranty plan, may see it as not worth the expense. Here are some suggested life spans that the company will consider:

Central HVAC system – 15 years; Window AC unit – 10 years; Water heaters – 11 to 14 years; Furnaces – 15 to 18 years; Dishwashers and trash compactors – 10 years; Clothes washer and dryer – 10 to 14 years; Garbage disposal and microwaves – 10 years; Deep freezer – 15 years; Ranges – 15 to 20 years; Refrigerators – 15 years.

So, in determining if a home warranty plan is worth the expense, review the age of those trusted appliances you have and determine the age of them. Then shop the prices of replacing them. Once an item has reached the 10-year mark, it is usually cheaper to replace them and if they are 15 years or older, there is a good chance that parts aren’t available anymore, or if they are, they cost more than replacing the whole unit. These are the factors that home warranty companies consider as well as to whether they will offer you a home warranty plan as well as how much they will charge for a plan.

What You Should Know About Home Warranty Plans

As with anything in life, there are hiccups in the well best-laid plans. While a home warranty plan offers you peace of mind by ensuring reduce maintenance costs, they do not provide blanket coverage, and do they do not pay for pre-existing issues. As such, they will send a service technician to check the items to be covered and make sure they are up to standards before determining if they will provide coverage. Be sure to read and review the contract you’re offered so that there are not any issues later.

Give us a call at Liberty Home Guard today, we welcome the opportunity to provide you a quote for protecting your home’s appliances and systems. Our expert team will be glad to answer any questions and explain our different policies to you.