The company files

Home warranty companies, decoded

The big sellers, read the way a claim gets read: waiting periods, per-item coverage limits, the clauses that let them ask for your records, and how disputes are routed. Every figure is dated and sample-sourced — and your issued agreement controls.

CompanyWait (days)Top-plan system capTop-plan appliance capBBB
2-10 Home Buyers Warranty30——A+ (Money, citing BBB) / A (This Old House; Retirement Living)
AFC Home Warranty (America's First Choice Home Club)30——B
American Home Shield30$5,000$4,000B (BBB accredited)
Choice Home Warranty30$3,000$3,000B (not BBB accredited, per Insurify 2026)
Cinch Home Services30$1,500$2,000B+ with accreditation (TopConsumerReviews, Oct 2026); HomeWarrantyScope's contract index lists Cinch as BBB A+ - ratings differ by source/read date
First American Home Warranty30$1,500$7,000B+ (Insurify / This Old House, Oct 2026); TopConsumerReviews (Oct 2026) reports 'B' - ratings differ by read date/source
Liberty Home Guard30——D+
Old Republic Home Protection30——A+
Select Home Warranty30$3,000$500B- (This Old House, Oct 2026; Simply Insurance also reports B-). Note: TopConsumerReviews (Oct 2026) reports 'B' with over 5,000 complaints in the past three years, and Insurify reports a 1.49/5 BBB customer-review score - letter rating differs by read date.

Caps shown are the highest published plan tier per company, from the sample agreements read in October 2026. Your tier, state, and purchase year change the numbers — the company pages show every tier.

Be ready before it breaks — and fight it right if they say no

Included in the $39 WarrantyDecoded Kit

  • The evidence-file system — the day-one baseline file (photos, serial numbers, inspection report) that makes 'pre-existing' hard to claim
  • Maintenance logs organized by denial reason — each log page names the denial it defeats ('not maintained' dies when the records exist)
  • The claim-call script — what to say when you call a claim in, and the things to never say on a recorded line
  • The denial-appeal ladder — written appeal, escalation, your state's correct complaint door, and the arbitration/small-claims routing your contract actually allows
  • The cash-out worksheet — their 'actual cost' check vs. the real replacement price, so you know the gap before you accept it
  • The renew-or-cancel worksheet — caps against the replacement cost of YOUR oldest systems, with the numbers filled in
Get the WarrantyDecoded Kit — $39

One payment. Yours to keep. For any home warranty company, any plan.