Which is the superior choice between Choice Home Warranty and Select Home Warranty?
Major home systems and appliances, including air conditioning systems, refrigerators, and washers and dryers, are covered by a home warranty, which entails the cost of repairing and replacing them.
While Home Warranty and Choice Home Warranty are top-rated home warranty companies, they each have unique features and offerings.
Select has lower pricing, but requires detailed maintenance records. Choice has higher coverage limits, but you might only be compensated for an item's actual cash value minus depreciation.
CNBC Select evaluated these two prominent brands to determine their strengths and weaknesses.
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Select Home Warranty vs. Choice Home Warranty: Pros and cons
Availability
Choice Home Warranty is available nationwide except for Washington state.
The industry standard of a 30-day waiting period is followed by both companies.
Coverage
Three tiers of coverage are available through Home Warranty: Bronze, Gold, and Platinum Care. The Bronze Care plan covers appliances, while the Gold Care plan protects systems. The Platinum Care plan offers coverage for both appliances and systems. All three plans include free roof-leak coverage.
The Basic Plan of Choice Home Warranty covers most appliances, heating, electrical, and plumbing systems, while the Total Plan includes additional coverage for washers and dryers, refrigerators, and air conditioning systems.
Coverage limits
For most covered items, Choice Home Warranty offers a maximum annual coverage of $3,000, with $500 specifically designated for roof leaks.
Select Home Warranty has some specific annual coverage limits to be aware of:
- Appliance repair or replacement: $500
- Plumbing and electrical repair or replacement: $500
- HVAC systems: $3,000
- Freon: $200
- Roof-leak coverage: $400
- Additional coverage options: $400
During the claims review process, it is necessary to maintain maintenance records, otherwise coverage may be limited to $150 per appliance or system. Furthermore, Select does not cover the expense of removing or disposing of replaced items.
Price
Each claim in Choice Home Warranty's plans has a flat $100 service fee, and their average monthly cost ranges from $45 to $55.
Plans for a Home Warranty begin at $36 per month, with service fees ranging from $60 to $75.
Both companies offer regular sales, limited-time promotions, and Select provides discounts for multi-year coverage and paying premiums in full upfront. To get a better understanding of your individual rates, obtain an online quote from both companies.
Customer satisfaction
A licensed tradesperson will be contacted to schedule a repair within 48 hours of your claim being received, even though there is no mobile app and you can submit claims online with most being processed within 48 hours.
A Choice Home Warranty technician is contacted within four hours of a service request, and customers can view plan details, submit claims, edit contact info, and renew contracts on the website or mobile app, with customer service available 24/7.
Both companies received a B from the Better Business Bureau, with Select Home Warranty scoring 1.13 out of 5 stars for customer reviews and Choice Home Warranty receiving a similarly low rating of 1.04 out of 5 stars. However, Choice Home Warranty is currently facing an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Arizona Attorney General's office in 2019, which alleges the company used "contract exclusions, payment caps, and bad-faith refusals to avoid paying for repairs."
Select Home Warranty vs Choice Home Warranty: Which is better?
Both home warranty companies offer coverage for similar systems and components, particularly in their higher-tier plans.
If you're organized, Home Warranty may be a good fit due to its lower average rates and more discounts. However, Choice Home Warranty may be more expensive but offers higher coverage limits for most items.
Despite having low scores from the Better Business Bureau and a high number of complaints, both companies have red flags for customer satisfaction, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Why trust CNBC Select?
Our goal at CNBC Select is to deliver top-notch service journalism and detailed consumer advice to our readers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions when it comes to their finances. Each home warranty review we publish is the result of thorough reporting by our team of experienced writers and editors, who possess a wealth of knowledge about home warranty products. At CNBC Select, we take pride in our commitment to journalistic standards and ethics, and we earn a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links. However, our content is created independently by our team, without any input from our commercial team or external third parties.
Our methodology
Various factors were considered by CNBC Select when determining the top home warranty companies.
- We utilized data on home warranty costs from MarketWatch, as well as company-published information on discounts and service fees.
- We took into account the locations where each home warranty company offers policies and any waiting periods.
- Customizable coverage: We preferred companies that provided a comprehensive range of plan and add-on options, enabling customers to tailor their coverage to suit their specific requirements.
- We examined the restrictions and conditions that home warranty companies impose on coverage, specifically regarding the necessity of maintenance records to validate a claim.
- We evaluated customer satisfaction by examining the availability of customer service representatives, the speed of technician contact, Better Business Bureau ratings and review scores, and any outstanding legal actions.
- We observed if a company permits customers to select their preferred technician.
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