Select Home Warranty Review | Home Warranties

Select Home Warranty is known for offering home warranty plans with multiple ways to save money, from two months free if you pay a year in advance, to several additional discounts for signing up for a year-plus. The company also has periodic discounts that can take off between $100-$200 for new sign-ups. Select also offers free roof leak coverage, a rarity in the home warranty industry.

As a homeowner, you may not be aware that even the best homeowners insurance doesn’t cover your home’s appliances and systems in the event of breakdowns or failure, unless these breakdowns happen due to a covered peril, like a fire or storm. If something major breaks, like your HVAC system or sump pump, you could be on the hook for major repairs. Instead of going into your savings or getting a home improvement loan, a home warranty, also known as a service contract, may help mitigate repair costs of covered items and add to your peace of mind.

We’re going to take a look at the features and benefits of Select Home Warranty to see if this company could meet your home warranty needs.

Table of Contents

• Select Home Warranty’s Services
• Select Home Warranty’s Credentials
• Select Home Warranty’s Accessibility
• Select Home Warranty’s Customer Satisfaction

Select Home Warranty Overview

Select Home Warranty is a Mahwah, New Jersey-based home warranty company that offers service contract plans to homeowners, including those purchasing or selling a home.

Select Home Warranty’s Services

Select Home Warranty has three plans to protect your appliances and major home systems. We’ll go over the coverage options of those plans below.

What Select Home Warranty Offers

Below are the three plans that Select Home Warranty offers, with a list of covered appliances and systems.

If you choose to pay annually for these packages, then you can get two months of coverage for free. In addition to these packages, you can add the following optional add-ons to your home warranty coverage:

• Central vacuum $3.33/month
• Lawn sprinkler system $5.83/month
• Pool $8.33/month
• Roof leaf $0/month
• Septic system $5.83/month
• Spa $5.83/month
• Stand alone freezer $3.33/month
• Sump pump $3.33/month
• Well pump $3.33/month

How does Select Home Warranty work?

When it’s time to file a claim, you can use the company’s online claim form or email it at claims@selecthomewarranty.com so the company can dispatch a service technician from its network. Unlike many home warranty companies, you can also use one of your own contractors to perform the work. However, you should inform Select Home Warranty before calling your preferred contractor and make sure to read the fine print in your contract to know what your plan covers.

Select Home Warranty will vet your preferred contractor to ensure they’re insured, licensed and bonded. If they pass the vetting, Select Home Warranty will authorize them to make repairs and handle payment directly with them. Whether you use one of its contractors or your own technician, the service call fee is $65 (in some cases, $75) each time a contractor responds to a claim. Deductibles vary by state, but often range from $60 to $100.

If a system or appliance is determined to be irreparable or it doesn’t make sense to repair it, Select Home Warranty may offer you a cash settlement, but it won’t be more than the depreciated value of the broken appliance or component.

What Select Home Warranty Does Not Offer

Even the best home warranty companies have limitations on what they offer. Here are some exclusions and limitations you should know about. Select Home Warranty will not cover:

• Any systems or issues relating to hazardous materials acids, asbestos, lead and lead-based products, red-tagged units, gas leaks, carbon monoxide leaks, and any other hazardous contaminants.
• Damage from neglect or human error
• Appliances or systems with previous repairs that were not done properly
• Appliances or systems that have not been maintained (with accompanying documentation) in the last three years
• Shelves, doors, hinges, handles, knobs, buttons, door seals, freon, damage caused by freon leaks, latches, timers, leveling equipment, clogged drains or lines, cosmetic issues, leak searches, lights, noise, refrigerants, valves, dispensers, installation, electrical failures, upgrades
• Damages caused by acts of nature
• Foundation/structural issues
• Manufacturer's defect

If you are unsure about what voids a home warranty or other exclusions to your service contract, contact a Select Home Warranty representative or review your contract terms for more details. Here’s a link to a sample contract as well.

There are a few coverage caps you should know about when it comes to repairs and replacement:

• Heating and cooling equipment- $3,000
• Appliances, plumbing and electrical issues- $500
• Additional coverages- $500
• Freon coverage- $250

Select Home Warranty’s Credentials

Working with a legitimate home warranty company can mean the difference in getting the service you expect versus a hyped-up service contract with little-to-no coverage. Here’s some additional information about Select Home Warranty to help you evaluate the company further and determine if it’ll meet your coverage needs.

Licenses and Registrations

According to its BBB profile, Select Home Warranty is based in New Jersey and has been in business for ten years.

Awards and Certifications

Select Home Warranty’s site displays the following award badges from a few consumer review sites:

• Editor’s Choice (2021; HomeWarrantyReviews.com)
• Editor’s Choice (2022; HomeWarrantyReviews.com)
• Best Home Warranties (2019; Consumer Advocate)
• Best Overall Score (Top10.com)

Regulatory or Legal Actions

So far, we haven’t located any pending lawsuits against Select Home Warranty. However, you can use a Google search or Google alert with certain keywords to check for lawsuits and class action suits by using the following search phrases:

• [Home Warranty Company Name] + Department of Justice
• [Home Warranty Company Name] + Attorney general
• [Home Warranty Company Name] + Class action

Although we always try to include accurate and up-to-date information on regulatory and legal actions, we don’t claim this information is complete or fully up to date. As always, we recommend you do your own research as well.

Select Home Warranty’s Accessibility

Availability

You can request service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Once you call regarding an issue, Select Home Warranty will dispatch a contractor to you within 48 hours.

Contact Information

To request service, call their phone number at 1-855-267-3532 or claims@selecthomewarranty.com.

User Experience

Select Home Warranty’s website, although simple and easy to navigate, doesn’t offer much pre-sales information — especially regarding how the warranty claims process works. Also, the website doesn’t seem to have a customer portal to track claims, billing or policy renewals. However, you can get an instant free quote and purchase coverage online.

If you want to cancel the policy within the first 30 days, you’ll receive a full refund. However, should you cancel after that initial period, there will be a $75 cancellation fee, and your refund will be prorated to the full annual price.

Limitations

Select Home Warranty serves 46 states (it’s unavailable to New York, Nevada, Washington or Wisconsin residents). Its response time is 2 business days (48 hours), but that can go up to 4 days on weekends. SHW also has the standard home warranty policy of a 30-day waiting period from the moment you sign up with them to be able to make a claim.

Select Home Warranty’s Customer Satisfaction

Select Home Warranty has many online reviews regarding its performance. We’ll summarize those reviews and cover some common customer complaints as well.

Third Party Ratings

• Google Business: 4.0 out of 5 stars (based on 15,229 reviews)
• Better Business Bureau: 1.55 out of 5 stars (based on 1,642 reviews)
• Trustpilot: 3.7 out of 5 stars (based on 3,102 reviews)

Customer complaints

Generally speaking, the company has decent customer review averages on a number of ratings websites. The company’s BBB profile is an exception, with a 1.55 out of 5 star-average. Although Select Home Warranty isn’t accredited by the BBB, its profile shows a BBB rating and accreditation grade of C, presumably due to the presence of so many 1-star reviews.

There were some persistent themes in the complaints we found among its reviews:

• Delays in dispatching contractors for claims
• Extreme limitations on what items the company covers versus what they don’t cover
• Difficulty resolving issues regarding claims, billing, etc.

The data above is based on research that was available at the time of publication.

How We Evaluated Select Home Warranty

Our evaluation of Select Home Warranty comes from publicly available data on its website and other credible sources such as consumer watchdog and review websites. We looked at its coverage limits and discounts, comparing these to other home warranty providers. Then, we checked whether Select Home Warranty had any legal or regulatory actions against it, or on the other hand, had won any awards or special mentions. Finally, we researched the company’s customer service through third-party ratings, and spent hours reading hundreds of reviews and complaints to better gauge satisfaction.

Summary of Money’s Select Home Warranty Review

Select Home Warranty offers pretty standard home warranty contracts. Like most home warranty companies, it won’t cover issues caused by pre-existing conditions, natural disasters, human error or neglect. Plus, large systems like heating and cooling will require regular maintenance to qualify for coverage.

We don’t love that its BBB profile has a low ratings average. However, ratings on Google and Trustpilot are much better. If you decide to do business with it or any other home warranty company, we suggest you conduct your own research and get all the details of how the warranty works upfront.

If you decide not to get a home warranty, another alternative is to find out how to get a home improvement loan to cover appliance and systems breakdowns in your home. In either case, run the numbers and choose the best option for your needs.