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Updated Jan 13, 2023
Updated Jan 13, 2023
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Home Warranty Inc., also known as Home Warranty of the Midwest, has been providing home warranty services for 20 years. What once started as a small midwestern company has now grown to a warranty provider for 30 states.
In this House Method 2023 review of Home Warranty Inc., we provide you with information on plans, prices, pros and cons, comparisons to our top home warranty companies, and more. We understand how difficult it can be to find the right home warranty, so we did the research for you to help you choose the best option.
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of Home Warranty Inc. below:
Pros
Cons
Home Warranty Inc. offers three home warranty plans. The company has limited pricing information on its plans, but all three seem to fall within the average cost of a home warranty, which is between $300–$600 a year. Home Warranty Inc. also provides optional coverage options for two of the plans.
Home Protection Plan: ($550 per year). This plan covers all of your home’s major systems and appliances.
Appliance Protection Plan: This plan takes an a la carte approach, allowing you to select the appliances to protect.
Supplemental Home Protection Plan: ($25 per month). This plan offers coverage to 14 systems and appliances. It’s best for long-time homeowners who want a warranty to complement their insurance policy.
Optional add-ons: The Appliance Protection Plan doesn’t offer add-ons, but the Home Protection Plan and Supplemental Home Protection Plan do.
Note: The service fee for the Home Protection and Supplemental Home Protection Plans is $75, but the Appliance Protection Plan doesn’t have a service fee.
To get a better idea of what comprehensive home warranty coverage truly looks like, our team surveyed 1,000 homeowners and asked which home systems and appliances were most valuable to them. Once the results were in, we took the responses and compared them to what each home warranty provider covers.
From our findings, we gathered that the top three appliances most important to a homeowner are the refrigerator, the oven/stove/range, and the clothes washer and dryer. The top three systems that hold the most importance are the electrical, plumbing, and air conditioning.
Refrigerator
You can get refrigerator coverage under all three Home Warranty Inc plans. Coverage includes most parts, except ice makers, ice crushers, beverage dispensers, handles and knobs, interior thermal shells or liners, food spoilage, and inaccessible refrigerant leaks. With the Home Protection and Supplemental Home Protection Plans, you have the option to buy add-on coverage for the icemaker.
The Home Protection and Appliance Protection plans don’t list a coverage cap for refrigerators, but the cap for the Supplemental Appliance Plan is $1,000 per contract term.
Oven/range/stovetop
This appliance is protected by all three plans—protection exclusions include clocks, meat probe assemblies or rotisseries, glass, magnetic induction, racks, self-cleaning function, handles and knobs, and convection function. There’s no coverage cap for this appliance.
Clothes washer and dryer
You have the option of protecting your washer and dryer with any of the plans. The only excluded components are fabric softener dispensers, filter screens, knobs and dials, damage to clothing, and venting. There’s no coverage cap for the washer or dryer.
Electrical
The only plan that protects the electrical system is the Home Protection Plan. It covers interior wiring, including the main breaker panel or fuse box, general wiring, receptacles, and standard light switches. This system doesn’t have a coverage cap.
Plumbing
Plumbing is only included in the Home Protection Plan. Coverage includes leaks and breaks; drain, waste, vent, or gas lines; toilet wax ring seals; angle stops; and risers. Like the electrical system, there’s no coverage cap for plumbing.
Air conditioning
Air conditioning is covered in all three Home Warranty Inc plans. You get coverage for blower fan motors, controls, fan blades, thermostats, damper or zone control systems, internal system controls, wiring and relays, motors and switches, air handlers, capacitors, compressors, condenser fan motors, condenser coils, evaporator coils, pumps, refrigerant piping, and reversing valves.
The coverage cap for air conditioning and heating systems under the Home Protection Plan is $2,500, but you can double that cap by purchasing the Enhanced HVAC Plus add-on. The cap for the Appliance Protection Plan is $1,000, and the Supplemental Home Protection Plan doesn’t specify a cap.
Coverage starts on the date you sign up for coverage, as long as you make a payment within the first 15 business days. The standard coverage length for the Home Protection Plan is 14 months, but the coverage length for the other two plans is one year.
If you choose to renew any of the plans, including the Home Protection Plan, the coverage length for the second term and any following terms is one year. Plans with monthly payments will auto-renew once the term is up, but if you paid for your plan in full at the beginning of the contract term, you have to renew your plan before the term expiration. If you wait until after the term is over, your coverage won’t start again for 30 days.
Home Warranty Inc. will only repair items that are deemed essential for the operation of systems and appliances. If a replacement is needed, the company will cover a replacement with the same efficiency and capacity, but it’s not guaranteed that it will have the same brand, color, dimensions, or non-essential features.
Here are a few of the items that have coverage caps:
Add-on options for the Home Protection and Supplemental Home Protection Plans also have coverage caps. To read about those and other contract limitations, review the sample contracts for each plan on the company’s website.
Home Warranty Inc. protects 30 states:
Home Warranty Inc. has a lot of experience serving customers. The company has been in business for 20 years and has serviced customers across more than half the country.
Home Warranty Inc.’s Home Protection Plan is perfect for homeowners looking for comprehensive coverage. The plan gives you protection for all major systems and appliances like your heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, refrigerator, washer, dryer, and dishwasher for about $550 a year, which fits within the industry average annual premium cost of $300–$600.
Customers can add more onto their coverage with the long list of add-on options provided by the company. Most of the covered items don’t have coverage caps, or the coverage caps are higher than average, resulting in more coverage and less out-of-pocket payouts. This is a nice advantage over competitors like Acclaimed Home Warranty and American Residential Warranty, which have stricter caps.
Another benefit of Home Warranty Inc is its speedy service. As soon as you fill out an application, coverage starts. You can call any time of day to request service, and you get to choose your own repair technician.
Our biggest complaint is the lack of pricing information available to prospective customers. A customer should be able to get an idea of what a plan will cost them before having to call the company for a quote for their specific home.
Home Warranty Inc.’s lack of pricing information means that customers have to deal with a company representative at the start of the process, which only makes the search process for a home warranty longer if the customer calls, finds out the prices don’t fit in their budget, and has to continue searching.
In sum, we think Home Warranty Inc. provides comprehensive coverage with flexible terms. Although pricing information is difficult to find, it may be worth it to call and get an estimate if you live in one of the covered 30 states.
As a consumer, you probably don’t have the time to sit around and sift through the hundreds of reviews left by customers. That’s where we come in. At House Method, we go through user complaints, reviews, and ratings of each home warranty company and compile that information in a chart that’s easy for you to understand.
Below, we’ve included Home Warranty Inc ratings compared to the industry average.
PLATINUM HOME WARRANTY RATINGS | INDUSTRY AVERAGE RATINGS | ||
BBB | 4.1 / 5 (out of 52 reviews) | 2.0 / 5 (out of reviews 956) |
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gave Home Warranty Inc. an A rating, which is slightly lower than competitors such as Fidelity National Home Warranty, Blue Ribbon Home Warranty, and Platinum Home Warranty.
However, the company does have a 4.1 out of 5-star customer rating based on over 50 reviews. Here’s a sampling of BBB reviews from Home Warranty Inc. customers:
“Our water heater went out and had to be replaced. I called Home Warranty Inc. on Monday morning, and before noon, the repairman was at our house to diagnose the problem, bought a new water heater and replaced the old one, and we had hot water! The claim went off without a hitch, and we only had to pay the small service fee. We are very pleased with the service!”
— Jodi F. on 5/18/2020
“As a real estate agent I cannot express how much I believe in and trust this home warranty company. Not only do they have one of the most comprehensive plans out there, but my assigned district contact, Jamie H., is the absolute greatest when it comes to customer and account support!”
— Carolyn D. on 1/27/2020
With any of the three plans, you can file a claim online at any time. If you have a Home Protection Plan or Appliance Protection Plan and would prefer to talk to a customer representative, the customer service line—877-977-4949—is available to you 24/7.
However, the availability for over-the-phone service is more limited with the Supplemental Home Protection Plan. You must call during regular business hours for non-emergency repairs. For emergency repairs, you can call at any time.
If you filed a claim online, expect to hear back from a representative within four hours of the claim if it’s a business day. If you file a claim during weekends or holidays, it may take up to 48 hours to hear back.
Yes. Home Warranty Inc. has a 30-day repair guarantee. That means if an item breaks down within the 30 days following a technician visit for that same item, the company will send another technician out to refix the item free of charge.
House Method gave Home Warranty Inc. a score of 4 stars out of 5. You can receive comprehensive and customizable coverage through Home Warranty Inc., in addition to benefits like immediate coverage and your choice of repair technician. Not to mention, this company will provide peace of mind if a major system or appliance needs an important repair or replacement.
Home Warranty Inc. may be a good option if…
Home Warranty Inc. may not be your first choice if…
Although Home Warranty Inc. received a high score from us, there are other highly rated companies out there. Compare Home Warranty Inc. to the competition.
Looking for information on more home warranty companies? Check out some of our other expert reviews to get all the details you need. Remember, each of these companies gives a free quote.
At House Method, transparency and trust are our most important values for the reader. That’s why we took the time to create an objective rating system and score each home warranty provider according to our methodology. Our team spent hours on the phone speaking to representatives from each home warranty company to get information right from the source.
Our rating system involves a weighted, 100-point scale that scores home warranty companies on plans offered, coverage, state availability, cost, trustworthiness, customer service, and unique benefits.
For more details, check out our affiliate disclosure and rating methodology.
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