America’s Preferred Home Warranty Review
New homeowners often wonder if home warranties are worth it. Although homeowners insurance covers the structure of your home, it doesn’t cover broken appliances or other mechanical parts. Home warranties provide coverage for these items, allowing you to repair or replace them without breaking the bank.
Whether you’re a first-time homeowner trying to figure out how home warranties work or an experienced homeowner searching for the best home warranty companies, there are several factors to consider. In this comprehensive America's Preferred Home Warranty review, we examine the company’s coverage options, pricing, accessibility features and customer satisfaction ratings to help you decide if it’s the right home warranty provider for you.
Best for Warranty Coverage Upgrades
Alongside its standard coverage for 19 of your home’s essential systems and appliances, America’s Preferred Home Warranty (APHW) also offers several optional upgrades that add coverage for additional items. Its upgraded coverage options include:
- Additional refrigerators
- Gas fireplace
- In-ground pool and spa
- Premium/saltwater pool and spa
- Sprinkler system
- Termite control
- Water softener
On top of the ability to pick and choose individual add-ons, APHW also offers an upgrade package called the Premier Plan. This plan includes coverage for some items that aren’t covered in the base plan, such as ceiling fans, garage door openers and burglar alarms.
Through a partnership with another insurance company named Fortegra, APHW recently began offering a home entertainment and technology plan that covers the repair costs for various home electronics. This America's Preferred Home Warranty plan costs $199 per year, comes with a $75 deductible and covers televisions, monitors, gaming systems, home theater systems, tablets, printers, routers, external hard drives and more.
When considering the company's large list of available coverage upgrades and add-ons, APHW home warranty is an excellent choice for homeowners that need a more comprehensive and customizable coverage plan.
America's Preferred Home Warranty Pros and Cons
- Competitively priced add-ons and coverage upgrades
- Customers can choose their own repair and service contractors
- Offers warranties that last up to three years for new home construction
- Several coverage limitations regarding what parts of an appliance or system are covered
- Only one type of base plan available
- Not available in California
Pros explained
Add-ons and upgrades
Customers have the option to purchase coverage upgrades and add-ons that provide more comprehensive protection than their base plan. These upgrades include coverage for items that aren't included in the base plan and coverage for more parts of specific appliances and home systems.
Choose your own contractors
While many home warranties require customers to use the company’s preferred contractors, APHW allows customers to choose their own licensed repair and service contractor. This gives customers more control over their repair and service experience as well as added layers of convenience and flexibility.
New home construction warranty
APHW offers a specialized system and appliance warranty for new homes. This plan provides up to three years of coverage for major systems and appliances, giving homeowners of newly built homes added peace of mind.
Cons explained
Coverage limitations
APHW has several limitations regarding what parts of an appliance or system are covered. For example, the warranty may not cover certain parts of an appliance or system that are subject to normal wear and tear, such as belts and hoses. It's important to read the exclusions for each plan carefully before purchasing to make sure it will cover what you need.
Only one base plan
Many other home warranty companies offer multiple coverage plans that allow customers to choose only to only cover appliances or systems, or both. These appliance-only or systems-only plans tend to be more affordable than the more comprehensive plans and give customers more freedom to choose their coverage. APHW, however, only offers one base plan that covers both appliances and systems.
Not available in California
APHW offers home warranty services in 49 states and the District of Columbia. It is currently not available in California.
America's Preferred Home Warranty Plans
As previously mentioned, APHW offers one base plan that covers both major systems and appliances. This plan provides coverage for the following items:
- Central air conditioning
- Central heating system
- Water heater
- Built-in dishwasher
- Built-in oven
- Refrigerator
- Washer and dryer
- Garbage disposal
- Built-in microwave
- Septic system
- Attic and exhaust fans
- Electrical system
- Plumbing
- Stoppages
- Exterior water and sewer line
- Sump pump
- Roof leak repair
- Ductwork
- Humidifier
Customers also have the option to add optional coverage for specific items, as well as the previously mentioned premier plan upgrade. The additional coverage that comes with the premier plan includes:
- Water heater: Sediment buildup
- Central heater: Registers, grills and heat lamps
- Central air: Refrigerant recovery, reclaim and disposal, registers and grills, cost of crane services required to mount certain units
- Plumbing: Toilets replacement (up to $200 per occurrence)
- Special electrical package: Fire/burglar alarm, lighting fixtures, doorbell, and garage door opener (hinges, springs, keypads and remote transmitters), as well as ceiling fans
- Refrigerators: Refrigerator control board, refrigerant recovery, ice maker and ice/beverage dispenser
- Dishwashers: Baskets, racks and rollers
- Built-in microwaves: Glass door, interior lining, shelves and clocks
- Ovens/ranges: Interior lining, clocks, rotisseries racks, handles, knobs and dials
- Correction of code violations (up to $250 per year)
The base plan has a contract coverage period of 12 months, a maximum annual coverage limit of $25,000 and comes in two different deductible types.
$50 Deductible Standard Plan
If you choose the $50 deductible base plan, you will pay $50 per service call fee, regardless of how much the repair costs. You may end up paying more if the repair costs exceed your annual coverage limits or the coverage limits specific to the appliance or system in need of repairs.
$100 Deductible Standard Plan
Both the $50 and the $100 deductible plans cover the same items with the same coverage limits, but choosing the $100 deductible will result in a reduced monthly premium. As with the $50 plan, you may end up paying more if the repair costs exceed any specific coverage limits.
America's Preferred Home Warranty Pricing
Due to the fact that APHW doesn't offer an appliance-only or systems-only plan, the company does lack coverage options on the lower end of the pricing spectrum. However, its base plan is priced well within industry standards. Pricing for the base plan is based on your zip code and the type of deductible you choose. Generally speaking, you can expect to pay around $55 for the $100 deductible plan and around $60 for the $50 deductible plan per month.
America's Preferred Home Warranty Financial Stability
It's not possible to evaluate the financial stability of America's Preferred Home Warranty in a traditional manner as it hasn't received any ratings from major financial rating agencies. However, the company has been in business for more than 20 years and continues serving customers nationwide. The company is also accredited with the Better Business Bureau and currently holds an A+ rating with BBB, which adds to its credibility.
America's Preferred Home Warranty Accessibility
Availability
APHW offers coverage for a wide variety of properties, ranging from single-family homes and apartments to condos and townhomes. It also offers special coverage for newly constructed homes.
APHW offers its home warranties to 49 states across the country as well as the District of Columbia. California is the only state that doesn't have access to the company's services.
Contact information
There are three main ways to get in touch with APHW. These include:
- Email: APHWOffice@APHW.com
- Phone: 1-800-648-5006
- Online contact form: http://www.aphw.com/contact-us
User experience
APHW's website is user-friendly, easy to navigate, and clearly outlines its different plans and coverage. The company also makes a sample contract easily accessible, as well as a page outlining any exclusions for each type of coverage.
Customers can conveniently file and manage a claim online and get their APHW claim status from their user account within seconds. The user-friendly dashboard also allows customers to make payments, view invoices, manage account settings and get quick access to customer service. Overall, APHW provides an exemplary user experience that acts as an additional layer of assurance when it comes to protecting your home.
America's Preferred Home Warranty Customer Satisfaction
APHW has received somewhat mixed reviews across the spectrum of online rating platforms. It holds a 3.41 out of 5-star customer review rating on Better Business Bureau. While this might not seem particularly impressive, it’s important to note that even large companies have significantly lower customer ratings on the platform, making APHW’s rating appear more favorable in comparison.
Other popular review websites have even more mixed customer reviews, with the company maintaining exceptionally high ratings from some and low ratings from others. However, APHW has successfully closed out most of the customer complaints lodged against it on the BBB platform and is quick to respond to nearly all customer inquiries and complaints on other platforms. This demonstrates a certain level of dedication to customer satisfaction and speaks to the company’s commitment to customer service.
faq
How We Evaluated America's Preferred Home Warranty
In order to evaluate APHW, we examined a variety of factors, from customer reviews and coverage options to pricing and accessibility. The following are some of the most important criteria that we used to rate the company:
- Coverage options: We looked at the variety of coverage options available and how they compare to other home warranty companies.
- Customer reviews: We read through customer feedback to get an idea of how APHW customers feel about their services.
- Pricing: We evaluated how much APHW charges for its plans and whether they offer any discounts or special promotions.
- Accessibility: We examined where APHW services are available and how easy it is to purchase coverage.
- Customer support: We looked into how customers can contact the company and what kind of help they offer.
- Claims process: We evaluated the claims process to see how quickly and easily customers can file a claim and have it resolved.
Summary of Money's America's Preferred Home Warranty Review
While the company may be missing some of the cheapest plan options with minimal coverage, APHW stands out as a reliable choice for most homeowners. Due to its variety of upgrades and optional coverage options, the company is an especially good fit for those looking to customize their home warranty with coverage for extra appliances and systems.