First American Home Warranty Review

First American Home Warranty stands out for its complete plans, particularly its starter plan which covers key home equipment and programs at a aggressive worth, which makes it considered one of our greatest residence guarantee firms.

Below, we evaluate First American Home Warranty, together with its protection, pricing, availability and customary buyer complaints. We additionally embody side-by-side comparisons with different firms so you can also make an knowledgeable choice when selecting a house guarantee.

Table of Contents

First American Home Warranty overview

Founded in 1984, First American Home Warranty (FAHW) has over 35 years of expertise within the residence guarantee business, offering plans that cowl the price of repairing or changing residence programs and home equipment of any age. Although the corporate is out there in solely 35 states, it options an intensive community of service suppliers.

First American Home Warranty plans

A house guarantee supplies protection for lined home equipment and residential programs once they break as a consequence of regular put on and tear. This kind of service contract can prevent cash in out-of-pocket bills and supplies peace of thoughts in opposition to unexpected malfunctions involving main residence objects like fridges or air conditioners.

First American Home Warranty gives three residence guarantee plans and allows you to select a service charge of $75, $100 or $125. The plans are:

• Starter Plan
• Essential Plan
• Premium Plan

The Starter Plan is probably the most fundamental plan, with protection for less than three main residence programs (plumbing, electrical and heating) and some kitchen home equipment. The Essential Plan covers the identical objects because the Starter Plan plus garments washers and dryers, water heaters, air con programs and storage door openers. The Premium Plan is probably the most complete plan and the one one that features protection for luxurious home equipment, water dispensers and central vacuums.

Plans can be found for single-family residential properties (owned or rented), multi-units, and visitor homes. As with most residence warranties, First American doesn’t cowl pre-existing circumstances and has a 30-day ready interval for protection to start out. You might, nonetheless, select a unique begin date to your coverage as much as 60 days from the acquisition date.

First American Home Warranty protection

Below are all three First American plans and the objects that every cowl:

Optional add ons

First American Home Warranty gives non-obligatory protection for the next objects:

• Well pump
• Spa gear
• Pool gear
• HVAC tune-up
• Septic system
• Septic tank pumping
• Additional fridges
• Water softener
• Limited roof leak
• Central air con

First American Home Warranty additionally gives merchandise for landlords, actual property buyers and owners within the course of of shopping for or promoting a house.

First American Home Warranty protection limits

Coverage limits, or protection caps, are the utmost quantity a house guarantee firm can pay you for repairing or changing a selected residence equipment or system.

First American Home Warranty’s protection caps can range relying on the bought service contract and the kind of guarantee declare you make. For occasion, First American covers as much as $3,500 per equipment with the Starter Plan and Essential Plan, whereas the Premium Plan has a $7,000 restrict.

If your equipment’s alternative or restore exceeds the protection cap, you‘d should pay the distinction out of pocket.

First American Home Warranty protection limits embody:

What First American Home Warranty doesn’t cowl

Not every part is roofed below the First American Home Warranty plans. The firm does have exclusions for:

• Cosmetic points, identified pre-existing circumstances or manufacturing facility defects

• Routine tune-ups or upkeep

• Damage from pure disasters — hearth, flood, smoke, lighting, earthquake or storms

• Replacement of things with poisonous supplies like mildew, mildew, and asbestos

• Repairs or alternative because of lacking components

• Issues introduced by neglect, misuse, or poor upkeep

• Damage as a consequence of wooden rot (i.e. from a damaged pipe below the sink)

• Stoppages brought on by roots, collapsed or damaged traces outdoors the property basis

For extra data on what objects will not be lined you possibly can verify First American Home Warranty pattern contract.

First American Home Warranty availability

State availability

First American Home Warranty is out there in 35 states within the US, excluding:

• Alaska
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• New York
• North Dakota
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Wisconsin

Contact data

To request a guaranty service you possibly can sign up via the net buyer portal and fill out a service request or you possibly can contact a First American Home Warranty consultant by calling 800-992-3400.

All cancellations have to be submitted by e-mail to cancellationsupport@firstam.com or requested by cellphone at 800-327-9292 ext. 7521.

For different providers you possibly can name the next cellphone numbers:

User expertise

First American’s web site gives complete details about its plans and protection choices. Like most residence guarantee firms, it permits you to request a free quote on-line and evaluate its plans aspect by aspect.

Once you grow to be a shopper, you possibly can place a declare and handle it on-line via the shopper portal, the place you possibly can maintain monitor of your declare standing and historical past.

First American’s response time is mostly 48 hours. This is the time it might take for a service supplier to contact you after submitting a declare. According to the corporate, claims ought to be dispatched inside 4 hours after affirmation of protection if obtained throughout working hours Monday via Friday.

If no service supplier is instantly out there after you contact customer support, First American might authorize the usage of an out-of-network supplier and reimburse you the fee as much as the licensed quantity. Information on the reimbursement course of might be discovered in your service contract.

First American Home Warranty’s credentials

Regulatory or authorized actions

As of this writing, we discovered a lawsuit filed in July 2022 alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

We additionally discovered a category motion grievance filed in opposition to First American residence Warranty in October 2013 claiming the corporate refused to make well timed repairs, wrongfully denied claims and contracted substandard service suppliers. However, the claims have been dismissed.

Although we at all times attempt to embody correct and up-to-date data on regulatory and authorized actions, this data might not be full or absolutely updated. We advocate you do your individual analysis as nicely.

First American Home Warranty’s buyer satisfaction

Third-party scores

• Better Business Bureau (BBB): 1.78 out of 5 star score common primarily based on 1,890 buyer critiques.

Customer complaints

First American Home Warranty has been accredited by the BBB because the 12 months 2000, and presently holds a B score.

At the time of publishing, the corporate had a complete of 4,444 complaints closed within the final three years, out of which 1,231 have been closed within the final 12 months.

Some widespread complaints we discovered in opposition to First American Home Warranty should do with:

• Delayed responses for service requests
• Issues with fulfilling claims or getting authorization for replacements
• Uncomplete repairs
• Being unable to succeed in out or observe up service standing with contractors
• Issues getting reimbursements

The analysis above is predicated on information that was out there on the time of publication.

First American Home Warranty comparisons

First American Home Warranty plans supply complete protection and pretty excessive protection caps, nonetheless it isn’t out there in all 50 states. In addition, First American solely gives roof leak protection as an add-on, which means it’s a must to pay additional for a service that some firms usually embody of their plans.

Read on to see how First American compares to different residence guarantee firms within the business: American Home Shield and Old Republic Home Protection.

First American Home Warranty vs. American Home Shield

American Home Shield (AHS) supplies related residence guarantee providers to First American Home Warranty. Both firms’ plans cowl a mixture of programs and home equipment with some variations in protection limits.

For occasion, American Home Shield gives larger protection caps as much as $5,000 for HVAC programs, whereas First American covers a most of $1,500. The AHS premium plan, ShieldPlatinum, additionally contains protection for roof leak as much as $1,000. This service is just out there with First American when you add it to your contract at an extra month-to-month cost.

However, First American gives larger protection limits for home equipment than American Home Shield. First American’s lower-tier plans — the Starter Plan and Essential Plan— cowl as much as $3,500 per equipment and as much as $7,000 when you select the Premium Plan. AHS, however, covers a most of $2,000 for its two lower-tier plans, and as much as $4,000 for premium clients.

A consideration about First American is that it’s solely out there in 35 states, whereas American Home Shield serves all states besides Hawaii and Alaska.

Read the complete American Home Shield evaluate

First American Home Warranty vs. Old Republic Home Protection

Similar to First American Home Warranty, Old Republic Home Protection gives three totally different plans that cowl a mixture of each home equipment and residential programs. Old Republic additionally options significantly larger protection limits, particularly for patrons who buy its Elite plan which doubles the protection quantity for kitchen home equipment and garments washers and dryers.

Old Republic Home Protection plans are: Basic, Deluxe and Elite.

The Basic plan contains protection for heating, electrical, plumbing, kitchen home equipment, storage door opener, central vacuum and rekeying providers.

The Deluxe plan covers the identical objects because the Basic plan plus air con, washer and dryer, and full storage door system, together with springs, hinges, key pads and transmitters.

The Elite plan contains all objects plus protection for improper installations, code violations, haul away and permits; as well as, it doubles protection for home equipment to as much as $7,000 per equipment and per plan time period.

Customers with the Basic and Deluxe plan get a most protection restrict of $3,500 per equipment along with the utmost protection of $6,500 for heating programs and air conditioners.

However, Old Republic is out there in fewer states than First American, servicing solely 32 states. Additionally, its plans are considerably costlier and have larger service charges of $100 and $125, whereas First American’s service charge begins at $75.

Read the complete Old Republic Home Protection evaluate

Explore different residence guarantee choices

Check out our critiques for different residence guarantee firms you possibly can take into account:

How we evaluated First American Home Warranty

We evaluated First American Home Warranty primarily based on publicly out there data. Our evaluate was primarily based on the next components:

• Services provided: We evaluated the corporate’s plans, protection caps and limitations, and in contrast them with these from comparable firms.

• Cost: We in contrast pricing with the protection provided to find out cost-effectiveness, and in contrast it to different residence guarantee suppliers.

• Legal actions: We researched any authorized or regulatory actions filed in opposition to First American Home Warranty to evaluate the corporate’s status and conduct.

• Customer service: We reviewed buyer complaints and critiques on websites just like the BBB, and out there data from client advocacy businesses just like the Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Summary of Money’s First American Home Warranty Review

First American Home Warranty gives three tiers of residence guarantee plans with aggressive pricing when in comparison with different firms. Its plans can be found for single-family models in addition to for rental and actual property properties.

First American additionally stands out due to its pretty excessive protection limits for home equipment, together with as much as $3,500 for patrons with the Starter Plan and Essential Plan and as much as $7,000 with its Premium Plan. However, the corporate is presently out there in solely 35 states.

Make certain to do your individual analysis and evaluate between residence guarantee suppliers earlier than deciding whether or not First American Home Warranty gives the protection you want.