My wife and I bought our very first property 2 years ago, a lovely little townhouse in our home state of California, and of course, we made sure that we had home insurance to give us the protection that we needed. I started hearing people ask me about the home warranty, and I figured that it was an optional extra which I probably didn’t need… but boy was I wrong.
When the wildfires hit a few years ago, the first since we had lived there, our home and a very small chance of being at risk. Naturally, I made sure to check how covered I was and I realized that the home warranty was most certainly something that I needed. I did my research and after reading the First American Home Warranty Reviews, decided that those were my guys. Thankfully the fires didn’t reach us but I am still over the moon that I found out about home warranty before it was too late. If you are in the same boat that I was, here is what you need to know.
What it Protects
Most people who I speak to about this appear to be in the same mindset that I was, assuming that home insurance was enough to cover everything that we need. The truth, however, is that home insurance will only cover the structural integrity of the property and the contents inside the property. What your home insurance will not protect is the systems inside the property such as your plumbing, gas, electric and even your AC or heating. This means that if a pipe bursts and floods your home, all of your flooring and your possessions will be covered by the home warranty policy, but the pipe which burst and the rest of the plumbing system which is now damaged, will either get covered by your home warranty or if you don’t have it, you’ll be footing the bill.
As you can see there is a very real difference between a home warranty and home insurance, and having both is the best idea that I can give you, and the experts agree.
Benefits
As I mentioned above, this is very much an optional extra and there is nothing to say that you must have a home warranty policy. With this being said I believe that there are just so many benefits of having a home warranty policy that you’d be crazy to miss out. The first clear benefit is that it provides you with the peace of mind that your property is going to be covered against every possible eventuality, no matter what happens, you are not going to be impacted financially. Another benefit is that home warranty companies work with the very best companies in your area so that they can provide you with instant relief when something goes wrong, one call to customer service and they will do the legwork for you in getting someone out to fix any issues which you may have. Check out the reviews by House Method in order to get the very best home warranty coverage.
Financially this can also benefit you and whilst you are paying for the home warranty plans, this may very well save you a large amount of money if something does go awry. Do you know how much a new plumbing system would cost? A rewiring job? Prices vary from property to property but you can bet your bottom dollar that they cost way more than a home warranty policy will set you back. It really does make financial sense for you to get a policy like this and give your home the protection that it needs.
What to Look For
If you have decided that you do in fact wish to buy a policy then you will have to make sure that you shop around in order to get the right policy for you and to get the best price. There are many providers out there and they all offer slightly different plans and different features and benefits to go alongside them. Some places may also offer a combination deal on home warranty and home insurance, so this is always worth checking out.
When looking for the right policy, be sure to compare the different companies and offer online, and pay particular attention to the reviews which have been left by others. Specifically, try to look for reviews that have been left by people who have had to use their policy when something has gone wrong. Once you are confident that you have found the right company to use, give them a call and talk through your options in order to find the right policy for your specific needs and coverage. This will also give you a clearer idea of what the company’s customer service is like, which is going to be very important. Choose well and go get the cover that your property needs.