Tips for buying the right home warranty plan

Maintaining individual warranty plans to protect different appliances in your home can be tedious. What’s simpler, of course, is getting a home warranty protection plan. These plans are tailored to cover the costs of service, repair, and replacement in your home in exchange for a monthly or annual fee. For those seeking the perfect home protection plan, here are some tips that can help:

Get your research right
Before you get to the part of actually getting home warranty protection, you need to do some research to know which plan suits your needs. Start by asking your realtor about the kind of home warranty protection plans that are available, which ones suit your real estate needs, and the top brands in the area. You need to do some research on your own apart from getting this information, like going online to find the top brands in your locality and reading customer reviews to help you gauge the company response times, quality of service, etc. Doing such research can help you choose a home protection company that provides top-notch services.

Understand the needs of your home
Now that you know the top home warranty protection companies and their plans, you need to figure out the needs of your house. There is no simple and straightforward way of doing this. You simply need to understand and know the amount that you have invested in your home and do your best to protect those assets. The primary factors to consider are the wear and tear of your appliances, their age, costs of repairs, and the possibility of appliance replacement. Knowing the basic cost of the essential components in various appliances also helps. Once you have answered these questions, it’s time to pick a plan. These answers will also help you decide the budget and expense for any home protection warranty services.

Choose the plan that suits your house
Once you’ve done your research and settled on your needs and budget, you need to actually pick the plan. This step involves getting quotations from different companies and thoroughly reading brochures and contract plans. Quotations can help you understand if the plans are within your budget and avoid any extra costs at the time of repair or replacement. The contracts, on the other hand, will help you know the range of appliances covered under different plans, exclusions, total coverage, and even limits. Contracts will also help you obtain a deeper understanding of the claims and reimbursement process.

Once you’ve gone through these processes, you simply need to purchase the home warranty protection plan of your choice. You can do this through your real estate agent or simply go to the company’s website.

Here are two of the top home warranty brands in the country:

• American Home Shield®
  American Home Shield offers three separate home protection plans that cover both appliances and systems in your home. Their plans can typically cost between $50 and $60 per month and their service fees can vary from $70 to $125. You can even opt for optional add-on coverages for certain appliances in their home as well as on individual items.
• Liberty Home Guard
  Liberty Home Guard provides three basic plans: the Application Guard plans allow you to cover different appliances in your home; the Systems Guard provides coverage from systems such as air conditioning, heating, and plumbing; and the Total Home Guard plans allow homeowners to get coverage for both appliances and systems in their homes. Their plans are fully customizable and affordable starting at merely $1 a day.