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Home Warranty

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Home Warranty
  2. Home Warranty Benefits
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What are the Benefits of a Home Warranty?

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A home warranty is a smart way to avoid unexpected and expensive repair costs. With American Home Shield, you also have the convenience of having one company to contact to when your covered home systems and appliances break. We help handle the hard stuff and you get to relax.

Think of having a home warranty as peace of mind for your home and lifestyle.

As a homeowner, you want to be prepared when the unexpected happens. Your systems and appliances will eventually succumb to normal wear and tear. The problem is you never know when. A home warranty is a budget-friendly way to plan ahead.

Home warranties are also beneficial because you know exactly who to call when vital appliances fail. With an American Home Shield® Home Warranty, you know you’ll be getting an experienced contractor sent to your home promptly. 

American Home Shield has three plans with varying levels of coverage for homeowners. You’ll get access to home warranty benefits no matter which plan you choose, but our most comprehensive plan is ShieldPlatinum™. 

  • ShieldSilver Plan™: This plan covers 14 major systems that are vital to your household, like plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling systems.

  • ShieldGold Plan™: This plan protects all of the major systems in ShieldSilver™, with an added nine appliances that are instrumental to your home, including items like kitchen and laundry appliances.

  • ShieldPlatinum Plan™: This plan is protection with a capital P, covering 23 essential systems and appliances. Plus, it has lifesavers like roof leak repair, unlimited A/C refrigerant, coverage for code violations and permits, and even a free HVAC tune-up. 

It’s a good idea to weigh home warranty benefits against the potential disadvantages (though we don’t think there are many). Here are some pros and cons of a home warranty.

Buying a Home Warranty: Pros and Cons

Though we highly recommend getting a home warranty, there are some things to consider when deciding to purchase a plan.

  • You may end up paying for something you don’t have to use. Throughout your year-long contract, there is a chance that you may not need to submit a service request. But think of an American Home Shield warranty like a warranty for your car or other expensive items—it’s your protection when one of your appliances decides to break down. Our maintenance programs (like seasonal HVAC tune-ups) and service plans are great ways to ensure everything is running smoothly. 

  • You have no control over who the warranty company sends. This is typically true of most home warranty companies. But what sets American Home Shield apart is that we have a network of 17,000 locally licensed contractors to service and diagnose any issue you may have. Our members routinely review them to make sure they’re qualified for the job, so you know your home item is in good hands. We also have a 30-day workmanship guarantee—if you have an issue with your completed repair within 30 days of service, we’ll send a contractor back out at no extra cost to you. 

Here’s what you get to look forward to with the benefits of an American Home Shield® home warranty:

  • You get to choose your service call fee. When purchasing your one-year plan, you get to select the amount of the service call fee—$75, $100, or $125, plus applicable sales tax—giving you the freedom to decide whether you’d rather pay less monthly for the plan or less for service requests. 

  • Experience shorter wait times for service calls. Being an American Home Shield® member saves you the hassle of finding someone to repair your home system or appliance. Simply submit a service request online—24 hours a day, seven days a week—or pick up the phone and give us a call. We make sure to address your issue as soon as possible. 

  • No maintenance inspection or record of maintenance is required. If you have an appliance or system breakdown that's covered, we repair or replace it. The age or physical appearance doesn’t matter. Since American Home Shield covers items with undetectable pre-existing conditions, things that are improperly installed, and breakdowns caused by lack of maintenance, you can purchase or sell a home knowing we have your back.

Extended Home Warranty Benefits

Every home is unique, which is why we offer add-ons for extending your home warranty benefits to protect the extra items your house may have: pools and in-ground spas, guest units, electronics, and septic and well pumps. You know your home best, so we make sure you can customize your coverage to suit your needs. 


An American Home Shield® home warranty is more than just a backup plan. It’s a coverage plan that works just as hard as you do to protect your home. Shop plans and see how easily our home service plans can fit in your budget. 

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Find your happy place with a home warranty

American Home Shield makes home life that much easier 

  • Peace of mind: We’ve got your back when stuff goes wrong in your home. It’s nice to simply place a service request to help make things right.
  • Budget protection: You don’t have to break the bank when covered systems or appliances inevitably break down.
  • Convenience: No more endless searching for a repair Pro—we do that for you.

30-day workmanship guarantee: If you have an issue with your completed repair or replacement within 30 days of service, we’ll send a Pro back out for free.

View Sample Agreement

See the plan agreement for coverage details, including service fees, limitations and exclusions. Coverage limits and charges for non-covered items may apply.

Thinking about coverage?

Sounds like a plan. Find the warranty that fits you best.

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We sweat the small stuff for you

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Rest easy. With our Shield Assurances, we take care of things other home warranty companies might not, like:

  • Breakdowns caused by normal wear-and-tear, no matter the age of a covered item
  • Unknown, pre-existing breakdowns
  • Items without maintenance records
  • Duplicates of the same item, like that extra AC unit
  • Removal of defective equipment
  • Refrigerant recapture, reclaim and disposal
  • Breakdowns caused by improper installations or repairs, insufficient maintenance, rust, corrosion and sediment and mismatched HVAC systems

See the plan agreement for coverage details, including service fees, limitations and exclusions. Coverage limits and charges for non-covered items may apply.

Hear from happy homeowners

See how American Home Shield keeps customers covered and smiling all over the country.

My experience as a brand new customer has been wonderful. It was very easy to submit a repair request online. I was called by the contracted pro within an hour and scheduled for 2 days later. The pro was wonderful and I gave his company 5 stars as well! AHS covered brand new replacements of a couple of my issues and the repair of the other issue, all under the same pro visit.  To have the plumber work on the repairs for hours and to get new replacements under a singular service fee was incredible. I am so thankful and have recommended AHS to others. Thank you so so much! You have exceeded my expectations.

Christine W. Oregon

The repair pro AHS they sent out to repair my A/C was very professional and got it fixed with cool air flowing again. The pro, Donnie, was wonderful

Linda W. Nevada

Love being able to file a service request 24/7. They are on the job processing my request almost immediately. The businesses and technicians that come to fix my appliance, etc. are always "first rate," professional, and competent.

Hazel W. New Jersey

Appointment was set on my timeline, not the repair shop, which was great. I could have had it sooner but it didn’t work for me. Repairman showed up on time, repaired my appliance quickly and was professional and friendly.

Janet L. California

I have had AHS coverage for many years, and I am a very satisfied customer.  My last experience was just a few days ago.  I had an outside faucet that was leaking -- I emailed  AHS, and within a day I had a plumber assigned, and several days later I had a brand new faucet installed.  It doesn't always work that fast, especially if you need service on certain brands of stoves or refrigerators.  However, I have had had both my fridge and kitchen stove replaced by AHS, and I was very satisfied with the process and the results.

Jim S. N/A

We have been satisfied with AHS since 2018, when we purchased our home and have used the service several times. There have been only 2 times where something wasn’t covered. Overall it’s a great service. Have used it for fridge, dishwasher, stove, faucets, bathtub faucet, dryer.

Mark A. Washington D.C.

By far one of the best investments I’ve ever made with my home. Too many unexpected things happen with home ownership, and AHS has made it so I don’t have to worry about them financially. They have saved me hundreds to thousands of dollars a year from HVAC to appliance repairs.

Donny M. Oklahoma

See more stories in action

We warranty like no other

Better Business Bureau Best of the best award winner
50+ years in the biz

Turning homeowner frowns upside down since 1971

2 million+ members

2 million reasons and counting to choose AHS coverage

25 times*

You’re 25 times more likely to use AHS than your homeowners insurance

$4 billion

We’ve paid more than $4 billion in home warranty claims over the last 7 years

*Calculated based on the 2022 AHS claims data compared to insurance claims from Insurance Information Institute.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Having a home warranty can be what makes or breaks your budget. Unlike homeowners insurance, our plans protect you from spending potentially thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to repair or replace commonly used systems and appliances in your home. And, when a breakdown occurs, all you have to do is place a service request and we’ll send a trusted Pro to your home to diagnose the issue.

Yes. Our trusted Pros will always discuss recommended next steps with you before making any moves. Whether it's a quick fix, the need to order specific parts, or a full replacement, our Pros will always discuss their diagnosis and recommendations with you before moving forward with any repairs or next steps.

Also known as a diagnostic fee, this is the cost for a Pro to figure out what's wrong with your covered system or appliance, and is standard in any repair process. This is a nonrefundable fee each time you place a service request, but you get to choose the amount when you purchase your home warranty plan.

Even if it takes multiple trips to complete your repair, you still only pay the Service Fee one time for that request. Our 30-day workmanship guarantee also ensures that you won't pay for a service again if the original fix fails within 30 days. We'll make it right at no additional cost.

There is no fee for installing covered items or removing the old ones from your home. However, it is important to note that if the replacement cost exceeds your plan's coverage limit, you will be responsible for the remaining amount. See our sample contract for specific details.

There's no limit to service requests. You can request service online 24/7 and then pay your Service Fee per service request. Our coverage includes parts and labor to fix your covered issue. Also, if we replace an item for you, we will remove the old system or appliance at no additional charge.
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