Buying your first home can be incredibly overwhelming – even buying your third, fourth or hundredth home can be a daunting experience! First time homebuyers and even seasoned investors can become confused by concepts and terms Realtors use everyday. For example, many clients assume a home warranty and homeowners insurance coverages are one and the same, or very similar.
There are very different purposes behind each and a definite reason to have both! A home warranty program is a service contract which is designed to help repair or replace major systems and appliances that become inoperable or need repair due to normal use. Many times a home warranty plan comes in handy! For example, I purchased a home built in the 80’s with original AC units where both units worked fine at closing, but over the years the south unit started to fail. My home warranty company replaced my air handler for the south unit for a $55 service fee out of my pocket – they took care of the rest, including removal of the old unit, installation of the new one, and all associated costs!
As for a homeowner’s insurance policy is designed to compensate or reimburse a homeowner for damages or losses covered by the policy that were incurred by an unknown event – such as a burglary or fire.
A great example of how both work together is in the case of a plumbing leak. Say a pipe is leaking under a sink and this leak is undiscovered until it causes so much damage to an adjacent room that portions of drywall must be removed and replaced. An insurance policy would most likely cover the cost of the removal, repair and replacement of the drywall and possibly belongings ruined by the leak, but the home warranty coverage would repair the actual plumbing leak under the sink.
Make sense?
Written on
Reblogged this on 5starhomewarranty.