Which is a Better Company? AHS Home Warranty "OR" Total Protect Home Warranty? (Home Depot, window)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I wish we had read your posts before signing up. To answer the initial question: We've had both AHS and Total Protect, and AHS is a better responsive company. Our policy with AHS has paid for itself: we moved in to a very neglected house and had the DW, Oven, MW, Water Heater (2x-we've been here now 20 years), dryer, washer and two heat pumps replaced over the years. They were most likely happy to see us change companies. Still, now we have Total Protect and the DW needs repair. I called them two months ago, got a repair company and left three messages-no response. Called again, got a repair company here, they entered our repair to Total Protect and it's been a week with no response regarding the repair. SO...after Total Protect pays us to replace the DW, we are cancelling our policy and not getting any new warranty.
As far as offering it when you sell a house-buyer beware! Let the new buyers figure it out. Why leave them with the impression that you didn't take care of your mechanical facilities?
I agree with everyone who says, keep the money in your pocket, or better, put it in a household repair fund for emergencies. It's the responsible thing to do anyway.
A piece of advice from one who works in HVAC with a company who is an AHS "lapdog". Take the monthly fee and bank it in an interest bearing bank account.
I would like to know which is a better Home Warranty? AHS Home Warranty or Total Home Protect Home Warranty?
Any information you give will be appreciated..
I just don't want to be scammed. AHS I can get on my own. Total Protect Home Warranty is offered by my mortgage company.
If you decide to go with total protect be prepared to total protect your wallet. Been with them 6yrs and made 3 claims. A/C unit , dryer , and washer in that order. A/C unit and washer claim was turned down from my understanding because of old age but paying that $19.95 a month never gets old to them. Even though I was turned down twice, I was still out of pocket paying $150 at $75 A piece for the two turn downs. I did manage to get the dryer fixed at $75 out of pocket but it took the repairman a month to half fixed so the second time it failed I would be better off fixing it myself at a cheaper price than the $75 . $225 for the 3 claims plus $20 x 72 months ($1440)=$1665 for practically nothing. Total Protect your wallet. Make up your own warranty company, you are better off. Maybe the mortage company is getting a percentage too.
I don't know what the negative people are saying here, but we had American HomeShield for 1 year, and YES we are re-newing it again this year because they are simply AWESOME....the deductible is $90 per visit, but we have used them up for an estimate of $2500 this year alone in plumbing, and HVAC work, they also fixed out appliances and offered to replace our stove...they are VERY easy to work with, and they pay without any issues.....I strongly recommend this company, they are well worth the money. we pay $555/yr and $90 copay for a visit. this year we had 3 visits for $270 total plus the $555/yrs for a total of $825, and fixed $2500 worth of stuff....also when our heater goes next year, they will replace the whole thing ($12k worth!)
If you are looking for a home warranty to cover everything, you will not find it. However, if you are looking for a way to decrease your out of pocket expenses when it comes to your major home appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing, and electrical; a home warranty is the way to go. You can opt out and just put back money every month but who is to say when you will actually experience a failure. There is a big difference with coming up with $4,000 to replace an HVAC system verses have to come up with a small deductible and maybe a small out of pocket cost when it comes to permits etc..that your state may require. The out of pocket cost can vary but will definately be lower than $4,000. A home warranty is just like any type of warranty or insurance; there are terms and conditions, exclusions, your best bet is to do your research understand what is covered and not covered and utilize the warranty to your benefit. Total Protect is a great warranty they repair or replace, I have had a great experience with them and even when they cannot cover a failure they provide referrals and I still get an discount for any out of pocket expense. BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE....JUST READ YOUR WARRANTY.
AHS is better I think. When I bought the house I had AHS. I had a leak and they fixed it. I now have Totoa Protect because i got it through Bank of America when I refinanced my house. My water heater is leaking and Total protect sent a plumber out to fix it. they didn't like that he said i needed a new water heater, so they wanted to send another plumber out for a second opinion. it has been almost 24 hours and I haven't seen a second plumber. I had to drain my overflow pan, shut off the gas to my water heater, and drain it because it was leaking so bad. DO NOT USE TOTAL PROTECT....the customer service is horrible!!! I called Bank of America to help me with them because they pushed this company when i refinaced. BOA can't even get them to respond in a timely manner. Go with AHS.
AHS so far has been great. Super nice customer service, and no gripes about having to replace the water heater. Also had them snake the plumbing twice, about ready for that again due to tree roots. My personal opinion on the workers, is it depends on your area. I feel better knowing I can get help with just a phone call, since I'm a female alone. I just re-upped today in fact. I am worried if the HVAC goes, its very old. That will be a huge test and could change my mind about this company.
Along with many of the folks posting replies, you'd be better off just by setting aside some money and paying for repairs as as they occur. These warranty companies are like insurance companies-very good at collecting payments but as soon a substantial claim is made they start looking for ways to jump ship. My experience was with Total Protect and a washing machine. After about 23 days and 2 technicians of, let's say, less than optimum quality, it is still down. They finally decided I broke the machine myself and disallowed the claim. I canceled their contract and am doing what I should have done in the beginning-going to the manufacturer and paying for it. I have no experience with the other company but doubt seriously if they are any better.
If you are looking for a home warranty to cover everything, you will not find it. However, if you are looking for a way to decrease your out of pocket expenses when it comes to your major home appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing, and electrical; a home warranty is the way to go. You can opt out and just put back money every month but who is to say when you will actually experience a failure. There is a big difference with coming up with $4,000 to replace an HVAC system verses have to come up with a small deductible and maybe a small out of pocket cost when it comes to permits etc..that your state may require. The out of pocket cost can vary but will definately be lower than $4,000. A home warranty is just like any type of warranty or insurance; there are terms and conditions, exclusions, your best bet is to do your research understand what is covered and not covered and utilize the warranty to your benefit. Total Protect is a great warranty they repair or replace, I have had a great experience with them and even when they cannot cover a failure they provide referrals and I still get an discount for any out of pocket expense. BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE....JUST READ YOUR WARRANTY.
I am a licensed contractor in the state of Texas. There are a lot of people with your view. However, this line of thinking isn't nearly as sound as you think it is.
To run your HVAC system requires electricity. The AC can consume up to 65% or more of your annual electricity costs. Which means by replacing the AC to a more efficient model will pay for itself over time.
I had a neighbor that asked me what I thought of a home warranty for the ac system. I told them think about the following one little weakness: When does your AC break? When it's hot. I don't get AC calls when it's 70 degrees out side. So this means you have to wait and wait and wait. Then after all that waiting find out they are going to deny the claim... not always, but more often than you think.
If you look at it in terms of doing the job right and paying for it the normal way, you could save thousands of dollars in electricity costs alone. This never comes up in discussions with the warranty company. It's just patch and repair, patch and repair.
If you had great success with a home warranty company: Let me remind you it is a numbers game. They know the numbers. You do not. If a house is so many years old, they know what the odds are of breakage. If these odds ever get too far skewed out based on your own repair records they can easily just start denying claims. You won't get your premiums back if they start doing this.
Read the numbers game mentality I posted a page back, if you're just reading this for the first time.
I pay at most $33 a month in electricity costs to cool my home. To do this required more than just changing the air conditioner. Something a home warranty tech would most likely never be able to pull off. Some of you I will never convince and that's ok. You pay the price one way or the other... why do you think the utility company can afford to pay naming rights to a football stadium? [IE Reliant Stadium]
1-year of AHS came with my house when I bought it and I was happy with their service. The co-pay makes it not really worth it for small things but the two times I did call them, they sent someone promptly and fixed it right with absolutely no hassle. That said, I decided not to renew, ran the numbers and it just didn't make sense, especially because I have mostly new systems in the house. If I had a house with a lot of old appliances and systems I'd probably buy one.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Home Warranties
