Don’t Confuse Home Insurance with Home Warranties

Here’s what differentiates home insurance policies from home warranties.

If you just purchased a home, then you are probably in the market for homeowners insurance.  As you research the best options, you might come across something called a home warranty.  To ensure that you do not get confused between these two coverage options, here’s what differentiates home insurance policies from home warranties.

Coverage

  • Home Insurance: Home insurance policies provide four main coverages; dwelling, personal property, personal liability, and loss of use. Home insurance offers coverage for accidental damage to your home and belongings.
  • Home Warranties: Home warranties covers the repair or replacement of certain home systems or appliances that fail due to age, wear and tear, and other internal malfunctions. Typically, home warranties are secured to cover a home’s HVAC system, electrical system, plumbing system, kitchen appliances, washer, or dryer.

Coverage Conditions

  • Home Insurance: Typically, homeowners insurance policies will include a list of covered perils, such as fires, storms, theft, vandalism, and certain natural disasters. If your home or belongings sustain damage due to a non-covered peril, then your insurance policy will not offer coverage.  Additionally, the policyholder must pay a deductible before they are allowed to access their insurance coverage.
  • Home Warranties: Home warranties will only repair or replace the systems and appliances that are specifically listed in the contract. Additionally, you will not have coverage if a listed system breaks down due to external issues such as fire, storms, and so on.  Instead, warranties only provide coverage for the damages caused by internal mechanical issues.  You will likely have to pay a small portion of the repair costs (usually around $125) before you can access warranty coverage.

Coverage Necessity

  • Home Insurance: If you have a mortgage out on your home, then your lender will require you to carry some minimum level of homeowners insurance.
  • Home Warranties: The coverage offered by home warranties is optional; it is up to the homeowner whether or not they wish to secure this protection.

Here’s what differentiates home insurance policies from home warranties.  Do you need help with your mandatory homeowners insurance?  If so, then contact the team at Champion Commercial Insurance in Dallas, Texas.  Our dedicated team is eager to assist you with all your home coverage needs today.