With a home warranty, you don’t need to worry about paying full price for any repairs or replacements to covered appliances or systems that break down in the course of normal use. Many Chicago homeowners find that these warranties provide peace of mind for the cost of a low monthly premium and a reasonable service fee.

Finding a home warranty in Chicago, IL isn’t a problem, with many major providers serving the area, but it can be hard to compare these companies properly without a spreadsheet and a good deal of research. We’ve done the legwork for you, and we’re prepared to offer our recommendations for the best home warranty companies in the Windy City.

Top 4 Home Warranty Companies in Chicago

The highest-rated home warranty companies in Chicago include:

• American Home Shield: Best for Comprehensive Coverage
• Liberty Home Guard: Best Customer Ratings
• Select Home Warranty: Best Value
• America’s First Choice Home Club: Best for Customization

American Home Shield

Our top overall pick is American Home Shield, a home warranty provider with nearly 50 years in the business and a solid reputation in the industry.

American Home Shield Plans

American Home Shield offers a plan to cover your home’s systems, a plan to cover appliances and systems, and a plan to cover both with extra perks including coverage boosts. Its ShieldPlatinum™ plan offers the best value for what’s covered.

For an additional fee each month, you can receive coverage for pools, spas, well pumps, septic pumps, and guest units, as well.

American Home Shield Prices

Every time you file a claim with your home warranty company and receive a visit from a contractor, you’ll pay what’s called a service call fee. American Home Shield actually allows you to choose your own fee: $75, $100, or $125. The advantage of going with a higher fee is that you’ll pay a lower premium each month. Here are the premiums for each plan with a $75 service call fee.

Call American Home Shield at 844-529-9298 or fill out this online form to get a quote for your preferred service call fee.

Liberty Home Guard

Liberty Home Guard is best suited for Chicago homeowners who need custom-tailored protection for their homes. Liberty Home Guard is known for its extensive list of unique add-on options (38 total), which you can add to an appliances-only, systems-only, or combination plan.

Liberty Home Guard Plans

The Appliance Guard covers nine appliances. The Systems Guard covers six home systems, and the Total Home Guard bundles every system and appliance coverage option into one plan.

Each of Liberty’s plans has the option to add the following add-ons:

Liberty Home Guard Prices

Liberty Home Guard pairs its plan options with a service call fee range of $65 to $125 per claim. Our team spoke with several Liberty representatives to gain clarity on how the fee is assigned; your service call fee is determined based on your home’s size, type, and location, as well as the plan and add-ons you select.

Please note that your actual premium will vary based on your location, home type and size, and your plan selection.

Get a free quote by calling 866-452-9107 or by filling out Liberty’s quote form.

Select Home Warranty

Being on a tight budget doesn’t mean you have to forgo home warranty coverage. For homeowners whose primary concern is price, we recommend Select Home Warranty.

Select Home Warranty Plans

Bronze Care is Select Home Warranty’s appliance plan, Gold Care is its systems plan, and Platinum Care is its combo plan.

Although Select Home Warranty doesn’t offer additional coverage options, all plans come with limited roof leak coverage.

Select Home Warranty Prices

The Bronze and Gold Care Plans have the lowest monthly premiums of any home warranties on our list, and the Platinum Care is less than $2 a month more, making Select Home Warranty the most affordable option on our list.

Additionally, the service call fee is between $60 and $75 depending on your exact location.

For specific pricing, fill out this quick form or call 888-370-3956.

AFC Home Club

A provider with a decade in the industry, AFC Home Club offers four plans and variable service call fees to allow you to customize your own home warranty plan.

AFC Home Club Plans

AFC offers its customers four plans to choose from. Note that only the Platinum Plan offers coverage for plumbing stoppages, ice makers, and built-in microwaves.

Additional coverage is available for the following appliances and systems.

• Sump pump
• Septic system
• Hot water dispenser
• Pool and spa
• Standalone freezer
• Tankless water heater

AFC Home Club Prices

As with American Home Shield, AFC customers can customize their service call fee relative to their premium. You can choose a fee between $75 and $125. Here are the premiums that come with the $75 fee.

To learn what an AFC Home Club plan will cost you, call 877-755-1115 or fill out this form.

Our Conclusion

The best home warranty company for you will depend on exactly what you’re looking for in a provider, but American Home Shield earned our recommendation for best overall. Liberty Home Guard works best for those who want to add unique coverage items, such as pro-series appliances, a generator, a freestanding ice maker, or an additional spa. Budget shoppers will find the prices offered by Select Home Warranty to be the most enticing, and those looking for customizability will likely prefer AFC Home Club.

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.