Buying a house isn’t the end of paying for it. You read right. Purchasing a house is just the first of the costs of being a homeowner.
Maintaining a home can be an expensive affair. Structure and household appliances need constant servicing. Unfortunately, most home buyers overlook maintenance.
The house, therefore, loses value fast. If unchecked, the ignorance may even leave the house uninhabitable. That said, maintaining a house in top shape isn’t cheap.
That’s where home warranty coverage comes in. This cover helps you fix the inevitable damages that homeowners have to deal with. Read on to find out more:
Home Warranty Insurance: What Is It?
A house isn’t a home without plumbing, heating, appliances, and the like. Home warranty insurance covers the most essential parts of your home. In a way, they help you maintain your house’s ‘home status’ in addition to a manufacturer warranty.
90% of people under 45 years plan to buy a house in the future. However, a good fraction of that number is unaware of the cost of maintaining a home. This is where home warranty insurance comes in.
A home warranty plan is a service plan that maintains essential appliances and systems in the home. It should, however, not be mistaken for homeowners insurance (homeowners warranty). The latter safeguards your house from devastation caused by fires, floods, theft, acts of God, and other relevant threats as outlined in the relevant policy.
To simplify it further: A homeowners warranty is a safeguard against large-scale devastation; on the other hand, home warranty insurance is a service plan to keep the most essential systems in the house performing at their peak.
Read more on homeowners insurance coverage. If you are seeking to ensure a place of business and the equipment therein, try commercial insurance. Now, let’s look at some of the benefits of a home warranty insurance plan.
Home Warranty Plan: Do You Need One?
Purchasing a home warranty plan not only guarantees you continued servicing, but it also assures you of quality servicing. Let’s look at three ways the plan assures you of quality home maintenance:
Professional Contractors
When a covered item has a problem, the insurer sends a contractor to service it. Insurance firms only send the best contractors. They need the repairs to last as long as possible- it’s just more profitable. The expense of repairing is a huge reason to have home warranty coverage.
High-Quality Equipment
If a covered item needs some parts replaced, the contractor will only use industry-standard parts. It’s in the insurance firm’s best interest to get rid of a problem as soon as possible. That means they’ll never use sub-standard replacements.
High-Quality Replacements
So will you need a repair or replacement? If a covered item is beyond repair, you’re guaranteed of quality replacements. On your own, it’s easy to be tricked into buying a knockoff or a sub-standard item. If you are particularly concerned about an item, some personal insurance covers include valuable items in their coverage.
Now that you’ve seen why you need a home warranty insurance cover, let’s look at 7 things to look for when shopping for one.
Home Warranty Insurance in Nevada: the Do’s and Don’ts
There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for choosing an insurance cover. The trick is to make sure the policy you settle for is the best fit for your personal situation. That said, the average value for a house in Nevada is about $293,500.
Why is that important? About 1%-4% of your house’s value goes into home maintenance every year. In Nevada, that’s anywhere between $2,936-$11,744.
So, if you are shopping for a home warranty company in Las Vegas, Reno, and the rest of Nevada, you’ll be looking for coverage that’ll help you manage very high maintenance costs.
Below are seven tips to help you choose:
Contract Accessibility
The Service Contract Industry Council (SCIC) recommends that all home warranty insurance firms ensure that their contracts are easy to find. This is the first sign that the firm is worth your time. No one hides a good thing.
If a firm is confident of their offer, they’ll flaunt it.
The Devil’s in the Details
Read and understand the contract before signing. Confusing requirements in the fine print are sure red flags. Home maintenance isn’t something you can leave in the hands of tricksters.
Research has shown that delayed and poor house maintenance among the chief reasons why houses take longer to sell. Delayed maintenance now, delayed money when selling.
Maximum Coverage
Pick companies that offer generously high caps on the maximum coverage. Home shield protection is popular because it has very high caps. They’ll pay up to $1,500 per item.
If the cap is too low, you’ll find yourself paying for repairs out of your pocket. What then is the purpose of such a cover?
The average cost of home maintenance in America is about $1200 per month.
Compare the maximum coverage of a firm to that average. If it’s lower than $1,200, be sure you are comfortable paying the deficit out of your pockets. You may just have to do that.
What Is Covered
Most people don’t take the time to understand what their home warranty protects. Never assume anything, no matter how obvious it may seem. What do I mean?
If an insurer covers your refrigerator, he obviously covers the ice maker too, right? Not necessarily. It isn’t rare for a home warranty plan to cover the hot water heater and exclude the tank.
When shopping for home warranty insurance, scrutiny is your friend.
The Cost of Replacement
An insurer will opt to replace equipment when the cost of repair is too high. That’s why it’s important to determine how much the firm pays for replacements.
Word of Mouth
If you want to know how a home warranty insurance firm handles claims, ask people who’ve dealt with it. In this age of the internet, bad service doesn’t go unreported. Read consumer reviews before settling for a firm.
Customer Care
You want a firm that’s always on call to answer your queries. If you can’t contact the help desk now, you can be sure they’ll be equally unreachable when you have a problem. Professional insurance firms are on call 24/7.
In a Nutshell
Shopping for a home warranty insurance policy can be a daunting task. There’s just too much that can go wrong. This is why you need to involve insurance experts in your search.
That’s where we come in. We understand Nevada’s insurance environment intimately. Contact us and we’ll help you land the best possible coverage.
