American Home Shield is there to help protect your budget and systems and appliances when they break down. Check out all the info on 10 major appliances covered by an AHS home warranty.
Being a homeowner means being responsible for repairing, replacing and maintaining all of your home’s systems and appliances. That’s not cheap. In fact, personal finance experts recommend that you budget about two percent of your home’s value for repairs and maintenance each year. That can easily add up to thousands of dollars. Even if you have a relatively inexpensive home, you’re still looking at spending a couple of thousand dollars a year on home maintenance and repairs or saving it for the day when you need to pay for a big-ticket repair, like a new HVAC system.
A home warranty from American Home Shield can help you fit unexpected home repairs into your budget, and that’s a big deal when you have retirement to save for and kids to think about. Check out our costs and home warranty plans today.
Does a Home Warranty Cover Appliances?
Yes — in fact, for many homeowners, the whole point of a home warranty is that it covers appliances. American Home Shield’s Appliances and Combo Plans both cover up to 10 major home appliances. That means that if your appliances break down due to normal wear and tear during the coverage period, we’ll cover the cost of repairing or replacing your appliance, up to plan limits.
Does a Home Warranty Replace Appliances?
Yes, American Home Shield home appliance warranties will cover the replacement of your old appliance if your service professional decides that replacement is necessary. There are plan limits for replacement appliance coverage, but you can get a discount on a new appliance through our Appliance Discount Program. You can even get your new appliance delivered and installed for free.
Does American Home Shield Cover Old Appliances?
Yes, we do. We’ll cover your appliances no matter how old they are. We don’t need service records. The only requirement is that the home warranty plan must have been in effect for the 30 day waiting period, and the breakdown must be the result of normal wear and tear.
An American Home Shield home appliance warranty can also cover duplicate appliances, so you can go ahead and get that second fridge repaired.
What About Pre-existing Conditions?
There is a waiting period of 30 days before you can request service on your new home warranty plan. Appliance problems that pre-date the home warranty policy aren’t covered. However, sometimes you can get coverage for unknown pre-existing conditions as part of a real estate plan. Learn more about pre-existing condition coverage.
What Are Some Things That a Home Warranty Doesn’t Cover?
When it comes to repairing and especially replacing appliances, there are some things that a home warranty doesn’t cover. Your appliance coverage only covers the appliance itself, not any modifications that might need to be made to your home or fixtures in order to install the appliance correctly. For example, let’s say your service professional determines that you need a new fridge. You decide you want to upgrade to one of those models with the water and ice dispenser in the door — but you don’t have a water line running to your current fridge. Your home warranty coverage will likely pay for the replacement of the fridge, but they won’t pay for the plumber to run a new water line.
However, in most cases, you’re not going to need to modify your house in order to install a new appliance — things like dishwashers, stoves, washers, and dryers can usually just be installed right where the old one was without zero fuss.
A home warranty also won’t cover the cost of secondary damage to your home as a result of an appliance breakdown. If your dishwasher breaks and floods the kitchen, causing water damage to the floors, your home warranty will cover the repair or replacement of the dishwasher, but it’s not going to cover the restoration of your water-damaged hardwood floors. If your refrigerator breaks down, you can get the appliance replaced, but most home warranties won’t cover the cost of replacing your lost food. Home warranties also don’t cover breakdowns due to misuse, neglect or errors in installation. Damage from children, pets or pests isn’t typically covered.
Appliances Covered by an American Home Shield Home Warranty
What exactly does a home warranty cover? With our Systems Plan, you can get coverage for 11 home systems, including plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. The Combo Plan combines both the Appliances and the Systems Plans for coverage of up to 21 home systems and appliances. That means you can get coverage for your garage door opener, ceiling fans, light fixtures and wiring, plumbing (including coverage for stoppages), HVAC, and more — so you’re covered no matter what breaks down.
You can get coverage for these 10 home appliances with our home warranty plans.
1. Refrigerators
When your refrigerator breaks down, you need it repaired fast. You might be able to fix some fridge problems yourself, but other problems are going to require professional assistance. And some problems, like a faulty compressor, may be so expensive to fix that it’s cheaper to just replace the refrigerator.
Your AHS home warranty will cover the repair of a refrigerator damaged by normal wear and tear, or replacement if it comes to that, up to plan limits. You can use our members-only AHS® Appliance Discount Program to get a great deal on a new, brand-name appliance.
2. Clothes Washers
You can’t get by very long without a clothes washer. What are you supposed to do, dump your clothes in the tub and stomp them like grapes? When you have trouble with your clothes washer, you can’t always solve the problem yourself. Our Appliances and Combo Plans offer coverage for unexpected breakdowns of all components of clothes washers, both front- and top-loading models.
Thinking about coverage?
Sounds like a plan. Find the warranty that fits you best.
3. Clothes Dryers
You might be able to get by without a clothes dryer for a little longer than you can without a washer, if you have a place to hang your clothes. But, with your busy schedule, who has time for that? American Home Shield is here to help. If your dryer isn't getting hot, isn’t spinning or is making a weird noise, we’ll hook you up with a technician who can fix it for you. All clothes dryer parts and components are covered under our Combo and Appliance Plans.
4. Ranges, Cooktops, and Ovens
When you have a family to take care of, you need to be able to cook meals. Whether you have a range or a separate cooktop and oven, they’re covered under both our Appliances Plan and our Combo Plan. When your oven won’t get hot or you have a burner that won’t light, we’ll help you find the right local service professional to fix it.
5. Dishwashers
Is your dishwasher leaking, making funny noises or not draining? Are you having to wash everything by hand? Our Appliances and Combo Plans cover all components of dishwashers, so you can quit worrying about who’s going to do the dishes.
6. Built-In Microwaves
Built-in and over-the-range microwave ovens are super convenient when you’re trying to heat up a quick side or a cold cup of coffee. But, like any other appliance, they can sometimes break down. Consumers report problems with the door not closing, the control panel breaking, the microwave making too much noise or just not heating up food. All of these issues are covered under our Appliances Plan and our Combo Plan.
7. Freestanding Ice Makers
If you don’t have an ice maker built into your fridge, or you need more ice than your fridge can supply, a freestanding ice maker is the answer. Fortunately, repair and replacement of all parts and components of your freestanding ice maker are covered if you have the Appliance Plan or the Combo Plan.
8. Trash Compactors
Trash compactors are the go-to appliance for homeowners who don’t want to lug huge bags of trash around. And because they compress trash, they leave more room in landfills. But problems can cause the ram to stop working correctly, make the door stop shutting completely or even cause the trash compactor to stop powering on properly. Both our Appliances Plan and our Combo Plan offer coverage for breakdowns of trash compactors.
9. Garage Door Openers
Who wants to get out of their car and open the garage door by hand? If you’ve had a garage door opener break down in the past, you know that replacing one can cost more than $300. Offset some of that cost with the garage door coverage provided under our Combo and Appliance Plans.
10. Built-In Food Systems
A built-in food processor makes food prep super easy. With your food center centrally located right in your prep area, there’s no need to clutter up your counter space with small appliances or spend half an hour hunting for the blender in your kitchen pantry. When your food center breaks down, it’s covered under our Combo and Appliance Plans.
Protect Your Appliances with a Home Warranty
Unlike some home warranty companies, American Home Shield doesn’t require members to provide maintenance records for appliances, and we’ll cover your appliances no matter how old they are. Even some duplicate appliances are covered, so you can get your beer fridge fixed, too!
American Home Shield lets you take care of your home systems and appliances properly, so call or go online today to get the best plan for your needs, and don’t forget to sign up for our email newsletter so you can get all our best homeowner tips and tricks delivered to your inbox.
AHS assumes no responsibility, and specifically disclaims all liability, for your use of any and all information contained herein.
Have a plan for your home when things don't go according to plan
Shop Home Warranties
