Best Home Warranty Companies in North Carolina (2022)

With over 300 miles of barrier-island beaches, access to the quaint foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, and bustling major metropolitan areas, all in one place, it’s no surprise that homeowners are relocating to North Carolina in droves.

Regardless of where you live in the Tarheel State, however, the unknowns of homeownership remain the same. Having a home warranty in place ensures you won’t be saddled by a four-figure bill when it comes time to repair or replace any of your home’s systems or appliances. 

With the exception of high elevation areas along the Appalachian Mountains, the state of North Carolina is prone to long spells of extreme summer heat that sometimes dance around the 100-degree mark. Higher outside temperatures can place strain on your household systems and appliances, particularly on your home’s HVAC features. We’ve curated this guide of the best home warranty companies in North Carolina to help connect you with the most comprehensive home protection plan down south.

North Carolina’s Best Home Warranty Companies in 2022

1. Choice Home Warranty: Best overall
2. Select Home Warranty: Most cost-effective plans
3. American Home Shield: Best customizable plans
4. The Home Service Club: Quickest service
5. Liberty Home Guard: Most trustworthy

Quick Comparison of Home Warranty Providers

Choice Home Warranty

• Our Take: Best overall
• Average Annual Cost: $560 – $660
• Response Time: Up to 48 hours

Choice Home Warranty (CHW) is the best overall home warranty available in North Carolina. With more than 14 years in the business and two simple plan choices, CHW keeps the home warranty buying process relatively easy. Choice maintains a B rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and, as of last year, approved 90% of the 1.1 million total claims it received. Its combination of fair pricing and quick claim turnarounds makes Choice Home Warranty one of the best providers on the market, let alone in NC.

Pros and Cons

✓ Doesn’t require an initial home inspection or previous maintenance records for sign-up

✓ Includes a 90-day guarantee on all repairs 

✓ Allows the 30-day waiting period to be waived if proof of a previous home warranty is provided with no coverage lapses

✓ Offers 24/7/365 claims processing and customer service

X Standard plans are not customizable

Plans and Pricing

There are two home warranty plans for North Carolina homeowners to choose from — the Basic Plan and the Total Plan. Each of these home warranty plans offer a mix of system and appliance coverage, ensuring that homeowners have exactly what they need when they experience an issue or a breakdown. Choice Home Warranty also has some of the highest coverage caps industry-wide, with most being around $3,000 per item. CHW customers will be responsible for an $85 service fee each time a technician is dispatched to their home for a new issue. 

Here’s a detailed look at Choice Home Warranty’s coverage: 

• Basic Plan ($45 per month): The most straightforward policy level from Choice Home Warranty is the Basic Plan. This plan covers 13 items, including plumbing systems, heating systems, electrical systems, ductwork, ceiling fans, cooktop exhaust fans, garbage disposals, built-in microwaves, dishwashers, ovens/stoves, toilets, hot water heaters, and garage door openers. For those new to home warranties, the Basic Plan is an excellent option to consider. 
• Total Plan ($53.33 per month): The Total Plan is the more comprehensive coverage option offered by Choice Home Warranty. This plan variation includes all 13 items in the Basic Plan plus four additional items — air conditioning, refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers. North Carolina homeowners who are interested in prioritizing HVAC coverage for their home will need to ensure that they select the Total Plan at sign-up. 

Coverage

You can take your coverage one step further with any of the following optional plan add-ons:

• Roof leak repairs (above common household spaces only)
• Pool and spa (for in-ground set-ups only)
• Sprinkler systems
• Septic systems  (does not include leach lines, field lines, or lateral lines)
• Septic tank pumping
• Sump pumps
• Well pumps
• Central vacuum

To get a free quote from Choice Home Warranty, fill out this online form or call 929-400-6164.

For more information, read our Choice Home Warranty Review.

Select Home Warranty

• Our Take: Most cost-effective
• Average Annual Cost:  $630 – $699.99
• Response Time: Up to 48 hours

Select Home Warranty (SHW) is the most cost-effective home warranty option for North Carolina homeowners. With over a decade of home protection expertise, SHW offers a wide selection of seasonal discounts on top of already affordable plan prices. New joiners will receive an additional $150 off their premium plus two months of free bonus coverage and complimentary roof leak repairs. All Select customers are entitled to a 30-day money-back guarantee as well. 

Pros and Cons

✓ Over a decade of experience in the home warranty industry

✓ Up to $400 in annual roof coverage included for free with any plan level

✓ Policyholders who pay annually rather than monthly will receive two free months of coverage

X Lower coverage caps on some appliances and systems

X 30-day workmanship guarantee is significantly less than competing providers

Plans and Pricing

Select Home Warranty divides its coverage into three plan types — Bronze Care, Gold Care, and Platinum Care. The best overall option for North Carolina homeowners is the Platinum Care plan, as it’s just a few dollars more than the Bronze or Gold Care plan and offers double the coverage. As for coverage limits, Select caps its payouts at anywhere between $500 and $2,000 per item. The service fee from Select Home Warranty is only $60 — one of the lowest you’ll find across top providers.

Here’s a detailed look at Select Home Warranty’s coverage: 

• Bronze Care ($58 per month): The Bronze Care plan covers seven major appliances, including refrigerators, built-in microwaves, clothes washers and dryers, ovens, garbage disposals, and cooktops. This is an affordable starter plan for many North Carolina homeowners. 
• Gold Care ($57.67 per month): The Gold Care plan covers six systems; plumbing, air conditioning, heating, water heaters, electrical, and ductwork. As A/C, electrical, and water heater maintenance are among the most expensive, the plan could pay for itself in just one or two repairs. 
• Platinum Care ($62.08 per month): The Platinum Care plan is just a few dollars more per month than the Bronze Care or Gold Care, but it offers two times the coverage. 

Coverage

To enhance your standard coverage, Select offers several optional policy add-ons, including:

• Pools and spas
• Septic systems
• Sprinkler systems
• Sump pumps
• Well pumps
• Central vacuum
• Light fixtures
• Plumbing fixtures
• Standalone freezers and second refrigerators
• Built-in ice-makers
• Roof leak coverage (free of charge for all North Carolina home warranty customers)

To get a free quote from Select Home Warranty, fill out this online form or call 888-370-3953.

For more information, read our Select Home Warranty Review.

American Home Shield

• Our Take: Best customizable plans
• Average Annual Cost: $527.88 – $711.88
• Response Time: Up to 48 hours

American Home Shield (AHS) offers the most customizable home warranty plans in North Carolina. Founded in 1971, AHS has spent over 50 years working with homeowners to create made-to-order home warranty policies that fit the unique coverage needs of their homes. Unlike many competing providers, AHS allows its customers to choose their service call fee of either $75, $100, or $125. Freedom to select how much you’ll pay out-of-pocket will also allow you to have more control over your main premium. The higher the service fee amount you select, the lower your monthly or annual payment, and vice versa. 

Pros and Cons

✓ Customers can choose from three service call fees ($75, $100, or $125)

✓ The oldest home warranty provider with over 50 years of experience

✓ Covers appliances and systems damaged by improper installation and undetected pre-existing conditions

X Higher premiums than competing providers

X Customers can’t choose their own contractor

Plans and Pricing

There are three home warranty plans from American Home Shield available in North Carolina — ShieldSilver, ShieldGold, and ShieldPlatinum. Whereas ShieldSilver is strictly a systems plan, ShieldGold and ShieldPlatinum both offer combined system and appliance coverage but at different levels. Most coverage caps from AHS sit around $2,500 per item, however, ShieldPlatinum customers have access to boosted limits of $6,000 per item. 

Here’s a detailed look at American Home Shield’s coverage (based on a $100 service fee): 

• ShieldSilver ($34.27 per month): ShieldSilver is the most basic option from American Home Shield. This plan covers 14 home systems, including air conditioning, electrical, smoke alarms, water heaters, doorbells, garage door openers, heating, plumbing, and ductwork. Homeowners new to American Home Shield often start with this plan to see if it is the right match for their home. 
• ShieldGold ($44.27 per month): The ShieldGold plan is the next most comprehensive option. This plan covers 23 home systems and appliances, including many offered on the ShieldSilver plan, plus clothes washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers, built-in microwaves, ovens, and refrigerators. 
• ShieldPlatinum ($64.27  per month): ShieldPlatinum is the premier option offered by AHS as it offers a total of 27 systems and appliances. In addition to $6,000 per-item coverage caps, ShieldPlatinum also includes one free HVAC tune-up per year, unlimited A/C refrigerant, roof leak protection, and $1,500 per year in coverage for code violations and permit coverage. Though it may be one of the more expensive home warranty plans on the market, its deluxe coverage makes it a savvy investment. 

Coverage

To personalize your policy even more, you can tack the following additional coverage riders onto your AHS plan:

• Roof leak repairs
• Pools and spas (does not include above-ground or portable pools)
• Electronic extended warranty (includes an unlimited number of devices including TVs, tablets, laptops, home theater systems, smart home features, and more)
• Guest units (up to 750 square feet)
• Well pumps
• Septic pumps (only includes sewage ejector pumps and mainline stoppages)

To get a free quote from American Home Shield, fill out this online form or call 888-365-2839.

For more information, read our American Home Shield Review.

The Home Service Club

• Our Take: Quickest service
• Average Annual Cost: $650 – $800
• Response Time: Within 24 hours

The Home Service Club (HSC) offers the quickest home warranty coverage in North Carolina. When you sign up with HSC, your home warranty plan will start just ten days after paying your first policy premium. Most home warranty companies have a 30-day waiting period before activating your benefits. The Home Service Club also does not require an initial home inspection or any previous maintenance records in order for you to be eligible for coverage. With more than 14 years in the home warranty industry, HSC understands that most home repairs are time-sensitive, which is why it prioritizes prompt coverage for its customers.

Pros and Cons

✓ Covers major appliances and systems of all ages, makes, and models

✓ Offers real estate home warranty plans specifically for homebuyers and sellers

✓ Gives customers an additional $125 plus one month of free coverage when they opt to pay annually

X No basic or cheap plan option

X Has a minimal selection of only five add-on coverage options

Plans and Pricing

The Home Service Club has two standard policies available to North Carolina homeowners — the Standard Coverage plan and the Comprehensive Coverage plan. Both base plan options offer combined coverage for systems and appliances, just at varying degrees. The Comprehensive Coverage plan is just over $12 more per month than the Standard Coverage level, which ultimately buys you 15 more inclusions. HSC’s per-item coverage caps range between $300 and $2,500. The service fee is the customer’s choice of $65, $75, or $95. 

• Standard Coverage ($50 per month): The Standard Coverage plan features coverage for 18 items, including air conditioning units, ceiling fans, water leaks, water heaters, electrical systems, central vacuum, dishwashers, refrigerators, trash compactors, ovens, and more. This is a solid basic plan that still spans a wide range of systems and appliances. 
• Comprehensive Coverage ($62.90 per month): The Comprehensive Coverage plan covers 15 more systems and appliances than the Standard Coverage plan, for a total of 33 inclusions. These added items include gas leaks, ductwork, sump pumps, pest control, doorbells, plumbing stoppages, attic fans, whole house exhaust, etc. 

Coverage

You can also add the following coverage riders to your HSC policy as you see fit:

• Pool and spa (for in-ground units only)
• Lawn sprinkler systems
• Roof coverage
• Freestanding freezers 
• Refrigerator built-in units with dual compressors 
• Sewage ejector pumps 
• Water softener

To get a free quote from The Home Service Club, fill out this online form.

For more information, read our The Home Service Club Review

Liberty Home Guard

• Our Take: Most trustworthy
• Average Annual Cost: $700 – $799.99
• Response Time: Within 24 hours

Liberty Home Guard (LHG) is the most trustworthy home warranty provider in North Carolina. Even though the Liberty Home Guard has only been on the home warranty market for just over four years, the company has processed at least $6 million in claims per year since 2019. LHG is also the only leading home warranty provider to receive an A rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). With any AHS policy, you’ll have access to over 41 optional coverage riders — the longest list of plan add-ons in the industry — featuring several unique items like window washing, gutter cleaning, saltwater pool protection, and more.

Pros and Cons

✓ Only leading home warranty company with an A rating from the Better Business Bureau

✓ Over 41 add-ons options including coverage for unique home services like carpet and gutter cleaning

✓ All repairs are covered by a 60-day guarantee

X Lower-than-average annual coverage caps

X Multiple add-ons can get expensive quickly

Plans and Pricing

There are three home warranty plans available through Liberty Home Guard — Appliance Guard, Systems Guard, and Total Home Guard. Appliance Guard is designed to only cover essential household appliances whereas Systems Guard only covers built-in systems. Total Home Guard is LHG’s comprehensive plan option which combines all items in the two basic plans for just $5 more per month than Systems Guard. Liberty Home Guard’s coverage caps sit at around $2,000 per item for most appliances and systems. It charges a service fee of $75 per new service request, which is slightly below industry average.

Here’s a detailed look at Liberty Home Guard’s coverage: 

• Appliance Guard ($70.00 per month): Appliance Guard will cover 11 major appliances, including garage door opener, ceiling fans, cooktop exhaust fan, oven, refrigerator, garbage disposal, dishwasher, microwave, clothes washer, clothes dryer, and refrigerator ice-maker. 
• Systems Guard ($74.99 per month): There are nine systems included in Systems Guard. The electrical system, air conditioner, bath exhaust fan, heating system, toilet, ductwork, plumbing and plumbing stoppages, and water heater are included. This policy is expensive, but when you look at the systems covered, you will see that those are also quite expensive to repair and replace.  
• Total Home Guard ($79.99 per month): Total Home Guard covers 20 home systems and appliances. Comparing the Total Home Guard to the Systems Guard, you will see why this is the best value that Liberty Home Guard offers. It’s just a few dollars more per month, and your entire home will be covered. 

Coverage

Liberty has one of the most extensive lists of items offered as add-ons featuring over 41 policy riders to choose from, including: 

• Carpet and gutter cleaning
• Central vacuum
• Electronic protection
• Grinder pumps
• Guest unit coverage (up to 750 square feet)
• Gutter cleaning
• Instant hot water dispensers
• Light fixtures
• Limited roof leak coverage (only applies to patching over occupied areas of single-family homes)
• Pest control
• Plumbing fixtures
• Pools and spas (includes chlorine and saltwater set-ups)
• Power washing for exterior flooring (includes driveways, walkways, decks, patios, etc.)
• Pro-series kitchen and laundry appliances (exclusively for professional-grade appliances with luxury features)
• Re-keying (cover re-keys for two lock cylinders per contract term)
• Reverse osmosis filter systems
• Septic system pumping
• Sewage ejector pumps
• Sprinkler systems
• Standalone freezers, ice-makers, second refrigerators, and wine coolers
• Sump pumps
• TV mounting (for up to 65-inch or 85-inch TVs)
• Water softener
• Well pumps
• Window washing (does not include interior cleaning)

To get a free quote from Liberty Home Guard, fill out this online form or call 866-451-2281.

Read our Liberty Home Guard review for more information.

Home Warranties in North Carolina Cities

Find the best home warranty company in your NC city below:

• Charlotte, NC
• Raleigh, NC 
• Asheville, NC
• Fayetteville, NC
• Greensboro, NC
• Durham, NC
• Winston-Salem, NC
• Wilmington, NC
• Chapel Hill, NC

How Much Does a Home Warranty in North Carolina Cost?

The average home warranty plan in North Carolina costs between $45 and $65 per month. If you opt to pay annually, that translates to around $480 to $780 per year. Most home warranty companies also offer several optional plan add-ons featuring coverage for items not typically included in standard coverage like in-ground pools, spas, septic systems, etc.

Beyond what you’ll pay for standard coverage alone, you’ll also be responsible for a set service fee. As a deductible, you’ll be required to pay the amount specified in your contract — usually ranging between $60 and $125 — each time a technician is dispatched to your home for a new service request. Depending on your provider, the amount due will either be non-adjustable or customizable with three or so different price options. The higher the fee you select, the lower your annual or monthly premium will be, and vice versa.

Compare the Best Home Warranty Companies in North Carolina

Final Thoughts

Unexpected home repairs can quickly turn into a money pit, especially if you hire a professional with no prior understanding of what a fair rate for the job might be, and even more so if you go the DIY-route. Protecting your home in North Carolina with a home warranty is a proven effective way to ensure you’re not blindsided by repair or replacement costs whenever they do occur. 

After evaluating dozens of top-rated home warranty providers, we stand by Choice Home Warranty as the best overall option for North Carolina residents. Choosing a home warranty with a prominent reputation, versatile coverage, flexible pricing, and solution-oriented customer service representatives is essential. You’ll benefit from all those attributes and more with CHW. 

How to Choose the Best Home Warranty in North Carolina

Even though we’ve identified the top five best home warranty providers in North Carolina, you’ll still have to ultimately settle on one. Here are a few of the most important factors to consider when deciding on a home warranty for your home in North Carolina:

• Plan Structure: Some companies offer combo policies, while others will split their coverage for systems and appliances into separate plans. A systems-only plan might be ideal if you’ve just renovated your kitchen and don’t yet need a warranty on your new refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, etc. However, if you just replaced your HVAC system, but have older kitchen or laundry appliances, an appliance-only plan might be more suitable for you. Prioritize finding a company that provides you with the most critical coverage for the best possible value.  
• Optional Add-ons: Choosing a plan that will give you a wide range of additional or optional coverages ensures that your home warranty can adequately protect your entire home beyond standard inclusions. If you have a swimming pool, a second refrigerator, a wine cooler, or want pest control, optional add-ons are a great way to roll all the coverage you need into one policy.
• BBB Reputation: Using BBB ratings, time in the industry, and customer reviews, you can get a pretty good idea of what a home warranty company has to offer and how they’re performing. Online reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as most people use popular review platforms as a space to express grievances. Read through a couple of reviews on both ends of the spectrum to get a sense of how the company treats its current and previous customers.

What is a Home Warranty?

A home warranty is a service contract designed to help homeowners access affordable and immediate maintenance for their home appliances and systems. When covered items around the home breakdown due to normal wear and tear, homeowners with a home warranty in place can file a claim with their provider to have a repair scheduled soon thereafter. Most home warranty companies will activate your coverage about 30 days after initial sign-up. 

Home Warranty vs. Homeowners Insurance

Though home warranties and homeowners insurance are both home protection products, they don’t cover the same things. A home insurance policy covers damage and losses caused by catastrophic events like extreme weather, theft, vandalism, etc. For example, if a hurricane were to destroy a portion of your home, your homeowner’s insurance would help you finance related repairs and replacements. 

A home warranty policy, on the other hand, covers damages around the home caused by age-related deterioration. Household systems and appliances will inevitably require tune-ups and eventual replacements year after year. Because breakdowns can happen at any time, a home warranty safeguards your budget against expensive maintenance costs when items do need servicing. 

How Does a Home Warranty in North Carolina Work?

Once you’ve locked in a home warranty policy and the initial waiting period required by your service provider has passed, putting your coverage benefits to use is relatively simple.

Open a Claim 

To initiate a service request, you’ll first need to notify your home warranty provider of the issues by filing a claim. This can usually be done online via your customer portal or directly through a customer service representative over the phone. It can take anywhere from 24-48 business hours for a claims decision to be returned to you. 

Diagnostic Home Visit

If your initial claim is approved, your provider will then dispatch one of its in-network contractors out to your home to inspect the issue in person. At this first home visit, no repairs will be made. This appointment is merely an opportunity to have a professional assess the problem and draft up a repair quote to report back to your home warranty company with. 

You’ll be required to pay your technician the pre-set service fee at the time of this visit. In some cases, your home warranty provider may even collect this payment prior to the technician’s arrival. 

Repair or Replacement

Once your provider receives an official estimate from the technician, it’ll decide on the best course of action for fixing the problem at hand. Then, another contractor will be sent out to your property to perform the repair or replacement, based on direct instructions from your provider.

At this point in the process, you won’t owe anything out-of-pocket unless the total maintenance cost exceeds the coverage limit disclosed in your contract. If so, you’ll be liable to pay for any remaining balance. 

What Does a Home Warranty Cover?

By paying a pre-set premium ahead of time, your home warranty guarantees you access to expedited, affordable professional maintenance for your home’s major systems and appliances. 

You’ll find that home warranty companies in North Carolina have policies that are either appliance-only plans, systems-only plans, or a combination of both appliance and system coverage. The items included in your home warranty contract will vary depending on your specific provider and the level of coverage you select at sign-up.

Still, most home warranty providers generally include the following items in their standard coverage: 

What is Not Covered by a Home Warranty?

A home warranty will only cover specified appliances and systems that have gradually failed due to regular wear and tear over time. Every home warranty company has its own unique set of exclusions, but most won’t approve claims for damage related to:

• Known or detectable pre-existing conditions
• Natural disasters or other issues that overlap with home insurance coverage
• Blatant misuse of an item
• Improper installation
• Factory or cosmetic defects
• Lack of routine upkeep
• Invasive wildlife, pests, or vermin
• Corrosion, rust, or sediment
• Mold or mildew

Biggest Complaints about Home Warranty Companies in North Carolina

House Method reviewed 60+ verified testimonials from current home warranty policyholders across North Carolina and highlighted reviews that we felt best reflected both sides of customer experience.

To provide an impartial summary of the most common customer complaints in NC, we’ve curated feedback from each of our top three provider recommendations: Choice Home Warranty, Select Home Warranty, and American Home Shield. 

One recurring gripe we saw among NC homeowners with home warranties concerned lapses in communication between their service provider and the technicians dispatched to their homes. 

“The technician did a great job. Not sure what happened about our part being shipped out to Tennessee, but glad our technician was in Charlotte, NC to pick [another] up. Very please that the technician went out of his way to come late to install so our family could be warm and comfortable. Communication needs to be much better going forward [between] Choice and [their] technicians.” – David L., TrustPilot, Choice Home Warranty Customer

“I have only been with SHW for a very short time and have had to call them twice for two different problems, but so far I am pleased with the service. I had a slight communication problem with the technician who came to check my dryer … but he sure knows his trade.” – Cheri M., TrustPilot, Select Home Warranty Customer

“ …Each contractor assigned was courteous, responsive, professional, and competent. Except for the initial acknowledgement of the service request by AHS, most communication was between the contractor and me, which I preferred.” – Chris A., Trustpilot, American Home Shield Customer

One of the primary perks of a home warranty is the time it’ll save you. Most home warranty companies support their own established networks of licensed local contractors to ensure that recruiting a technician for an issue in your home is as efficient as possible. Not only will this allow you to be automatically connected with high-quality professional maintenance, but it also ensures you’re prioritized at the top of any technicians schedule. 

It’s important to remember that, because your home warranty company acts as a middleman between you and your contractor, there naturally tends a bit of back and forth as step-by-step approval is needed during the repair process. 

Though your technician might be performing a fix on behalf of your home warranty company, they’re still just as much bound to a contract as you are. In order to ensure that you’ll get the most coverage out of your policy for any given issue, your contractor should frequently circle back with your provider from start to finish. 

Are Home Warranties Worth it?

Homeownership comes with uncertainties. No matter how diligent you are with proper maintenance and routine tune-ups for the items around your home, appliances and systems, like any other product, have shelf-lives. The true value of a home warranty is that it cuts out the guesswork in trying to calculate how much you’ll spend per year on out-of-the-blue repair needs. Even by earmarking any emergency fund, you may come up short. Home warranties help homeowners nationwide steer clear of debt and access prompt repairs with minimal wait time. 

A common worry among homeowners who’ve been thinking about purchasing a home warranty but have yet to sign any dotted lines is the concern that they’re investing money into something that won’t reciprocate the same cash value of coverage benefits in return. 

It’s important to remember that, like any other form of insurance, a home warranty is a risk management product. By investing in the likelihood that age-related failures around your home will happen at some point (and they will), you’re trading a significantly smaller payment for the peace of mind that you won’t owe thousands to fix a future breakdown.

House Method Home Warranty Ranking Methodology

At House Method, transparency and trust are our most important values for the reader. 

To create this rating system, our team spent hours researching over 60 companies, analyzing 2500+ key data points, getting the thoughts and opinions of 1000+ homeowners, and speaking to home warranty company representatives directly. We also dug into the fine print on each company’s service agreement to ensure no detail was left out.

We developed an objective home warranty review and rating methodology to score each home warranty company based on several criteria. We used a five-point scale with a point index ranging from 0.00 to 1.00. The minimum awardable value is 0.0, whereas 1.00 is the maximum. These numeric points are translated into star ratings, using whole star increments between one and five. 

Here is a quick breakdown of our five core scoring categories: 

• Coverage (0.4): This category evaluates the scope of protection offered by a home warranty provider. We clearly distinguished between limited or broad coverage to help homeowners identify their own home protection needs. We also factor in claim turnaround times, average waiting period lengths, plan types, annual coverage limits, policy exclusions, etc.
• Cost (0.3): This category considers what home warranty companies charge homeowners monthly, annual, and out-of-pocket. We urge homeowners also to consider the cost-to-value ratio of a home warranty plan.
• Transparency and Trustworthiness (0.15): This category evaluates home warranty providers based on pending or past legal action, hidden fees, lack of information readily available on the website, exclusions, and more. We consider how upfront a company is to its potential policyholders, which says a lot about its products and services.
• Customer Support and Satisfaction (.09): This category evaluates the efficacy of a home warranty company’s effort to provide supportive guidance to inquiring customers and how policyholders are satisfied with the assistance they receive. 
• Customization (.06): This category evaluates the ability of homeowners to adjust and choose their policy details, such as pricing variation, optional add-ons, and the number of plans available.