Best Home Warranty Companies

American Home Shield has excellent reviews from reviewers on ConsumerAffairs and some of the most comprehensive coverage on the market. AHS does not require a home inspection, and you can get a plan at any time, regardless of the age of your home’s systems and appliances. For the price, it's one of the better options.

Choice Home Warranty is known for its network of professional technicians and customer support. The company works with more than 25,000 contractors across the country and says it has covered more than a million homes and processed more than 4 million service requests. Choice starts a service response within four hours of a request.

Liberty Home Guard has three plans: One that specializes in systems coverage, one that specializes in appliance coverage and a third that combines systems and appliance coverage. The company offers month-to-month plans, which makes it a good option for those wary of entering a long-term commitment.

The company gives customers two months free if they choose to make one annual payment instead of monthly payments.

Cinch Home Services offers three plans that can be customized by choosing a $100, $125 or $150 deductible. The company also states it has a quick turnaround on claims: You can expect Cinch Home Services to contact an independent contractor within two hours after you request service.

We like that Cinch repairs have a 180-day workmanship guarantee, which is longer than the industry average. Customers can get discounts when they buy new brand-name appliances.

America’s 1st Choice Home Club has the longest service guarantee of any company on our list. In addition, you can request service as often as you need. Requesting frequent service also doesn’t affect your rate, either, and new customers get a five-year guaranteed rate on coverage.

The company has two plans, Gold and Platinum, and lets you choose between a $75, $100 or $125 deductible — plans with higher deductibles are less expensive. You can also choose a one-year or three-year contract.

ARW Home has four plans and is one of the few companies we’ve seen that offers a standalone electronics plan. The company also has a $55 service fee, which is the lowest among our picks. We like that the company is transparent about rates and fees, but some plan options vary slightly by state.

The company’s annual caps for appliance coverage are relatively low (between $300 and $500 for certain items), however, which means this plan works best if you tend to shop for budget appliances. Be sure to contact the company for the most accurate pricing and coverage information in your area.

First Premier Home Warranty offers two plans, Premier and Platinum, that include a combination of systems and appliances. You can choose to pay monthly or annually, and the company offers two free months and adds limited roof coverage if you choose to pay annually.

Of the home warranty companies on ConsumerAffairs.com that offer roof leak coverage, Select Home Warranty has the highest percentage of 5-star reviews that mention roofs.

Select Home Warranty’s roof leak coverage pays out if there is a leak in any occupied area of your home. It has some exclusions, including metal roofs, chimney components, shingles, tiles and patios.

The roof coverage add-on is $99 annually, but the company often runs specials for free roof coverage when you buy any plan. You can also get a discount for signing up for multiple years of protection.

HomeServe offers a wide variety of low-cost plans that you can purchase a la carte to customize your coverage. The number of plans available varies based on where you live, but most locations can choose between 15 to 20 plans. The company focuses on systems rather than appliances, but it does offer electronics protection in some areas.

With a plan, homeowners don’t have to worry about finding a contractor, getting multiple bids or paying the final bill. Some plans come with a 90-day repair guarantee. Other repairs are guaranteed for a full year.

On average, home warranty costs are between $36 and $68 a month, or $264 to $1,425 annually. Combo plans average about $60 per month. Depending on where you live and the coverage you choose, you may pay a little more or a little less, and some companies offer discounts if you pay upfront or opt for a multiyear plan.

In addition to your premium, you pay a service call fee (also called a deductible by some companies) any time you make a claim and the company sends a service technician to your home. Service call fees range from $55 to $150 per visit, and some companies let you choose your deductible — choosing a higher deductible typically lowers the cost of your plan.

Choosing the best home warranty company for you requires you to look for a provider you trust that offers coverage for the home systems and appliances you consider essential. The price — whether you pay monthly or annually — also needs to be in your budget.

Here are three tips for comparing coverage and finding the right plan when shopping for a home warranty.

1. Take inventory to determine coverage needs

Many home warranty providers offer three primary types of plans: appliance plans, home system plans and combination plans. An appliance plan covers items like your dishwasher and refrigerator. A home system plan covers a home’s plumbing, electrical and other systems. A combination plan covers your home appliances and systems.

Some companies have add-on options for things that don’t typically fall under the appliance and system categories, such as swimming pools, roofs or home electronics.

There are different types of home warranties for buyers and sellers. For example, homebuilders warranties are designed for newly constructed homes and cover more than typical plans. If most of your home appliances are new and still covered under a manufacturer’s warranty, you may want to opt for a systems-only plan.

2. Compare quotes to find a plan in your budget

Providers generally charge from $36 to $68 a month for a home warranty. When shopping for the best deal, consider choosing less coverage or a higher service call fee to reduce the price. You can also save money if you get a warranty that only has coverage for the items that need it.

Be sure to get quotes from multiple companies — some home warranty companies may offer price matching. As you research, you should compare:

• Monthly and yearly costs
• Service call fee options
• Plan options
• Number of covered systems and appliances
• Available add-on coverages
• Waiting periods
• Service recall period (the length of time a warranty company guarantees a repair)
• Coverage limits

Warranty plans come with a cost, but paying a monthly premium could be much less expensive than paying hundreds or thousands of dollars out of pocket for a system or appliance repair or replacement.

3. Read reviews and sample contracts.

The sample contract explains what your plan covers, what is excluded and how much you can be reimbursed for each claim. Be sure to read the contract carefully and resolve any questions you have before making a commitment, although most companies have a trial period during which you can cancel without paying a fee.

After analyzing 1-star reviews about multiple providers, we noticed some commonalities between many of the poorly rated companies, including patterns of denying claims, misleading or aggressive marketing tactics, hidden fees and service delays.

Systems and appliances of any age qualify for coverage.

Always read a home warranty contract thoroughly before you sign. Look for details about coverage, exclusions and limits.

• Understand what’s covered: Your contract should list what items and parts it covers and when coverage applies. It should also explain how to request service and how long it takes before the company sets up service with a technician.
• Look for exclusions: A “covered” appliance or system may only be covered for certain parts. A contract will list exclusions under each covered item or under a separate section. Make sure you understand what components of each system or appliance qualify for repair and replacement after a breakdown. Also examine the circumstances when you can be denied coverage (e.g., an appliance is still under manufacturer warranty; a system was improperly installed).
• Check coverage limits: Providers have annual payout limits or per-item caps. Check the contract for these maximum amounts. You are expected to pay out of pocket for expenses that exceed the dollar limit listed in the contract. There may also be limits regarding matching brands or colors if an item needs to be replaced.

For more advice, read about questions to ask a provider before purchasing a plan.

ConsumerAffairs carefully collects in-depth, verified reviews to tell each customer’s experience with a company. We believe customer experiences are a crucial indicator when evaluating companies, so these reviews are a significant factor when selecting our top picks.

To choose our nine top home warranty companies, we started with the 26 popular providers listed on our site. To ensure we considered experiences from a diverse range of customers, we eliminated any company that had less than five reviews between Dec. 15, 2021, and Dec. 15, 2022, leaving us with a list of 20 brands.

We then analyzed more than 197,000 reviews for those 26 home warranty providers provided by customers over the same time period and compared multiple key features to ensure all eight met our standards for consumer-friendly offerings and to more deeply understand each of their strengths. That analysis informed the highlighted headline for each brand plus our write-ups of them guiding consumers’ choice based on their specific situation. These features were:

• Coverage options We broke down each company’s home warranty plans to ensure they offered multiple coverage options to fit a variety of needs.
• Plan flexibility: Customizing a plan can tailor it to your needs and help you save money by not paying for coverage you don’t need. We checked to see what customization options each company chose, including the ability to select a service fee and the number and cost of add-on coverage.
• Availability: We checked each company’s coverage area to ensure our top picks offer coverage in most states and are available to most readers.
• Cost: Costs for home warranty plans vary based on the size of the home and the coverage selected, but we confirmed our top picks’ prices were competitive in the home warranty industry.
• Service fee: We looked at the service fee each company charges to send a technician to your house to ensure our top picks were in line with industry standards.