An appliance extended warranty can help protect you if an important appliance or system breaks down unexpectedly. This type of warranty extends protection on your manufacturer’s warranty, offering you more coverage for the expensive new appliance you just bought.
It helps pay for repairs at a lower price than you’d pay per incident without the warranty. Keep reading to learn more about appliance extended warranties and how they stack up against home appliance insurance. We’ve compared the best home warranties to help you protect your appliances.
Appliance Extended Warranty vs. Home Warranty
There are two types of warranties that cover home appliances after the original manufacturer’s warranty expires: extended warranties and home warranties.
- Extended warranties offer home appliance insurance for specific appliances within the home and are purchased before the expiry of the original warranty. The terms and conditions for these warranties typically resemble those in the original manufacturer’s warranty, though they may be purchased from other providers, such as the dealer where you purchased the appliance or from a third party.
- A home warranty is a separate policy that offers bundled coverage for major home systems and appliances. For example, a home warranty policy will typically include coverage for your dishwasher, refrigerator, heating system, and other items. Compared to an appliance extended warranty, a home appliance warranty is more comprehensive and covers expensive repair and replacement costs.
Pros and Cons
In general, the benefits of a home warranty are their convenience (multiple items covered under one contract) and their comprehensive coverage for the many appliances within your home.
One downside of home appliance warranties is the cost, though this can vary considerably based on the coverage you choose, the square footage of your home, and where you live. Some home warranties cost as little as $36 a month.
Extended warranties are cheaper, but they don’t provide coverage to home systems. Because these warranties apply to individual appliances, homeowners pay for exactly the coverage they want on the appliances they want covered. These warranties are typically offered through the manufacturer or dealer, meaning the technician who comes to your service call will be intimately familiar with the appliance being serviced.
Both extended warranties and home warranties have their pros and cons, and homeowners should carefully evaluate their needs before choosing one or the other. With so much variability among warranty providers, reading the terms and conditions within the policy is critical to ensuring homeowners get the level of coverage they’re looking for.
What Do They Cover?
In general, extended warranties cover damage caused by general wear and tear to mechanical and electric components of your home. They don’t cover non-mechanical items such as windows, doors, or the house’s structural components. An appliance extended warranty only applies to specific devices, which means a separate policy must be purchased for each appliance you want covered.
In comparison, home warranties cover many types of appliances within your home system with just one policy. While one appliance extended warranty will cover just one appliance, a home warranty covers some of the following:
- Air conditioner
- Water heater
- Electrical and plumbing systems
- Dishwasher
- Built-in microwave
- Pool, well pumps, or septic systems
Some home warranties are structured so you can build your own home warranty plan and customize the coverage you want. The warranty provider will work with you to determine which appliances within your home are covered, and you can then decide what items to include in your plan.
How Much Do They Cost?
Warranty prices will vary depending on several factors, including the type of appliances being covered, the type of coverage you want, your warranty provider, and where you live. In general, a home warranty can range anywhere between $300 and 600 a year, or $25–$50 a month.
An extended warranty is usually less expensive because it covers only one appliance. They can cost around $20 for smaller appliances and upward of $120 for larger appliances.
How to Buy an Extended Warranty?
You may be able to purchase an appliance extended warranty from the original appliance manufacturer, the dealer where you purchased the appliance, or a third-party provider. Generally speaking, appliance extended warranties can be purchased from retailers and manufacturers, whereas a home appliance warranty always comes from a third-party home warranty company.
When buying a home warranty, homeowners should read the warranty’s terms and conditions very carefully to ensure they understand the levels of coverage provided, which appliances are covered items, and what types of repair and replacement services are available.
Best Home Warranty Providers
While appliance warranties may be useful in select circumstances, we recommend choosing a home warranty policy for more comprehensive coverage. Here are our picks for the best home warranties in the industry.
American Home Shield
Our top recommended home warranty provider is American Home Shield. It provides three comprehensive coverage plans, including ShieldPlatinum, ShieldGold, and ShieldSilver, personalized service call fees, and generous coverage caps on major appliances and systems. It’s also a veteran in the home warranty industry and has decades of experience tending to customer claims.
Get a free quote from AHS by calling 844-529-9298 or by filling out AHS’s online form with your ZIP code.
Liberty Home Guard
Liberty Home Guard (LHG) is another top pick due to its flexible coverage and lengthy workmanship guarantee. LHG extends a 60-day workmanship guarantee, which is double the industry standard of 30 days. It provides coverage for 38 unique add-on options, such as wine coolers and water softeners. It offers three plans priced between $50 and $60, and its service call fees range from $65 to $125 per filed claim. LHG emphasizes customer service, and it holds an A- rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Get a free quote from Liberty Home Guard by calling 866-452-9107 or by filling out the Liberty Home Guard quote form.
*BBB ratings are accurate as of March 2023.
Select Home Warranty
Select Home Warranty is ideal for those looking for affordable coverage. It has three plans that cost between $36 and $38 a month and service fees that cost between $60 and $75. Unlike most home warranty companies, Select offers free roof-leak coverage and optional septic system coverage to customers. It also provides discounts for customers who enroll in multi-year plans.
Get a free quote from Select by calling 888-370-3956 or by filling out an Select’s online form.
First American Home Warranty
First American Home Warranty is a solid provider for your home’s appliances, offering comprehensive appliance coverage in each plan. All covered appliances are subject to a generous $3,500 coverage cap in its Starter and Essential plans and a $7,000 limit in its Premium Plan. Additionally, its Essential and Premium plans include coverage for your appliance’s knobs, dials, and hinges. First American’s three plans fall between $47 and $87 per month.
Get a free quote by filling out First American Home Warranty’ quote form or calling 800-891-9778.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Rating Methodology
The This Old House Reviews Team backs up our home warranty ratings and recommendations with a detailed rating methodology to objectively score each provider. We conduct research by speaking with company representatives, requesting quotes, analyzing sample contracts from each company, and conducting focus groups and consumer surveys. We then score each provider against our review standards for coverage, value, trustworthiness and transparency, availability, and customer service to arrive at a final score out of 100.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.