Intro: Select Home Warranty Reviews
Malfunctioning home appliances and systems are the bane of most homeowners’ existence.
Not only do they cause considerable frustration and inconvenience in terms of time and expenditure, but defects and unexpected breakdowns also have the potential to cause serious damage and possible injury.
Concerns about this risk mean you won’t be the first person to have asked yourself, “Should I get a home warranty?”
Image Source: Select Home Warranty Reviews
Various outfits have sprung up to capitalize on this opportunity by offering to cover the risk of repairs on home appliances. According to Consumer Affairs, this type of home warranty offering has been on the market since 1970. Such protection typically extends beyond that offered by a general homeowner’s insurance policy and effectively means that homeowners aren’t left in the lurch when something breaks down out of the blue.
Sounds sensible, but let’s take a closer look at whether there are any catches and help you answer the question, “Should I buy a home warranty?” More specifically, we will analyze the home coverage service offered by Select Home Warranty and explore some of the many Select Home Warranty reviews floating about out there.
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About Select Home Warranty (Reviews & Overview)
Headquartered in New Jersey, Select Home Warranty is a limited liability company that entered onto the scene in January 2012. Despite the fact that the organization is a relative newcomer, there is no shortage of Select Home Warranty reviews freely available online. However, first, let’s establish exactly what services it offers to enable you to size up the level of coverage available and the competition.
Employing a network of over 10,000 certified, licensed, and pre-screened repair contractors, customers can call or email for service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Non-emergency calls are scheduled within a maximum of two business days when service is requested on a weekday or four business days if the call is made on a weekend or holiday.
In addition to being saved from leafing through endless search directories to try to find a local repair technician or trying to track down the previous owner, you will also have the ease of knowing that components will be covered if the service provider is unable to repair it. Plus, no home inspection is required before purchasing coverage. In Select Home Warranty’s own words:
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Select Home Warranty Reviews: What’s Covered?
Select Home Warranty’s primary mandate is to repair “covered” systems and appliances when they become inoperable due to normal wear and tear. This begs the question, “What exactly is covered?” Well, it offers three different protection plans as follows:
Image Source: Select Home Warranty
Plans can also be customized to add on additional coverage for the items below at your option:
Image Source: Select Home Warranty
A quick glance at the three-tiered packages above reveals fairly limited coverage on the Bronze and Gold Care plans. The lack of overlapping items on these two options also leaves customers potentially very vulnerable to inadequate coverage for important items if they choose not to purchase the comprehensive Platinum Care plan.
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Select Home Warranty Reviews: What’s Not Covered?
One of the most pertinent questions to consider when asking yourself “Should I buy a home warranty?” is the limitations in terms of what is excluded from protection. With this in mind, note that the following items fall outside Select Home Warranty’s remit:
- Systems and appliances within common areas, commercial properties, and residential properties used for business purposes
- Anything designated by the manufacturer as being intended for commercial use
- Items with pre-existing defects
- Anything already covered under a warranty or that malfunctions due to a manufacturer’s defect
- Hazardous or toxic materials
- Any system or appliance that has had or requires repair due to improper installation, previous repair, neglect or misuse
- Repairs required as a result of an act of God, such as storms, earthquakes, fire or flood (which will generally be covered by insurance policies)
- Damage or defects to foundations and other structural components
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Select Home Warranty Review: Fees and Allowances
Estimating the cost of repairing or replacing home systems and appliances and comparing this figure against the service fees and annual price plan will help you answer the question, “Should I get a home warranty?” Obviously, if you experience numerous issues with several covered appliances over the course of one year, coverage could potentially be enormously valuable.
All makes and models of appliances and systems are covered by Select Home Warranty, and the number of repairs is unlimited. Depending on the coverage level chosen, customers benefit from the following repair/replacement allowance:
- Heating or cooling equipment: $500 in the first 3 months, thereafter increasing to $2,000 (which is one of the highest caps in the industry, according to Consumer Affairs)
- Plumbing and electrical appliances: $150 in the first 3 months, thereafter increasing to $500
- An additional coverage option of $150 in the first 3 months, increasing to $400 thereafter
While customers obtain a free quote for the underlying policy plan either via telephone or online, Consumer Affairs states that average annual costs range from $350 to $500, depending on your state, the type of home you live in, and the level of coverage chosen.
In addition to the underlying annual fee, a trade service call fee, in the modest amount of $60, is payable each time a contractor is dispatched to diagnose and remedy a mechanical breakdown. This figure comes up fairly low – at $75 to $100 per call – against the average service fees indicated on Consumer Affairs.
By inputting the Select Home Warranty discount code, homebuyers also benefit from a $200 discount and two months free as well as free roof leak protection worth $99. In order to exploit this deal, homeowners simply need to enter the coupon code “200save” when prompted to do so as part of the subscription process.
Those who opt to take advantage of a multiple-year coverage plan are also eligible for a Select Home Warranty discount, more details of which can be found by contacting a representative.
Select Home Warranty Review: Is a Home Warranty for Me?
To add clarity to the “Should I get a home warranty?” question, Lansing State Journal cites Gallup polls showing that 80% of buyers favor buying a home with a warranty over one without. It also reveals that 75% of buyers and sellers rate home warranty protection as one of the crucial factors (aside from design, location, and financing) in making a sale or purchase decision.
That said, according to Consumer Reports, even the best home warranty protection typically isn’t worth the cost. As a complaint filed against a home warranty provider in New Jersey illustrated, all too often, claims are denied because providers allege the problem was pre-existing or because consumers can’t prove broken items were properly maintained.
Consumers’ Checkbook is equally damning of home warranties, concluding overwhelmingly that they aren’t worth the price, at least insofar as protection for existing homes goes. Citing thin coverage, lack of input over who carries out the work, and wide exclusions, it reckons that consumers are better of investing in a home-repair fund.
On the plus side, LA Times reports that warranty-protected homes sell 11 days more quickly and at a price of roughly $2,300 more than those without. So, if you do decide that home warranty coverage is for you, how does Select Home Warranty fare in the Select Home Warranty review stakes?
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Select Home Warranty Reviews: BBB (B Rating)
Select Home Warranty is not BBB-accredited by the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB). It does, however, receive an overall rating of B on BBB’s scale of A+ to F, based on 13 different factors. The factors listed as playing to the company’s advantage include:
- Length of time the business has been operating
- Response to complaints filed against it
- Resolution of complaints filed
The single factor responsible for lowering Select Home Warranty’s review rating is the 894 complaints filed against the business over the past 3 years.
According to the information posted on BBB, the quantity of negative Select Home Warranty reviews considerably trumps its positive reviews, with only 23 of the total 146 reviews listed as positive.
Image Source: BBB
Moreover, just 18.5% percent of customers are likely to recommend this business compared to the 75.3% who are unlikely and the 6.2% who are represented as undecided voters.
Image Source: BBB
Consumers Advocate awards Select Home Warranty 3.5 out of a possible 5 stars. Given the inadequate coverage provided by the Bronze and Gold plans, it concludes that the premium Platinum Care plan is the only viable option for homeowners. Nevertheless, its Select Warranty review determines that the Premium package still falls short when compared to other similarly-priced home warranty provider plans.
The overall satisfaction rating among Select Home Warranty reviews on the Consumer Affairs website, on the other hand, gives a more promising 4.5 out of 5 stars. The rating distribution reveals that 759 of the 897 ratings award the full 5 stars. Professionalism in handling call-outs, along with speedy response and repair times, were the most commonly mentioned attributes by happy customers.
In contrast, overly onerous exclusions and proof of evidence requirements are some of the most frequently quoted criticisms among the negative reviews on the Consumer Affairs website. One Select Home Warranty review in June 2016 even labeled the company as “the worst of the worst,” revealing that the initial technician didn’t show up, and the reviewer has since had to resort to paying the contractor out of his own pocket.
Select Home Warranty Complaints
Turning to look in more detail at the Select Home Warranty complaints, data on BBB’s website shows that the vast majority of complaints fall within the domain of warranty issues and problems with products and services.
Image Source: BBB
A large proportion of Select Home Warranty complaints cite incompetent technicians and misunderstandings about what warranties cover as the main bugbear.
Of the 894 Select Home Warranty complaints logged, BBB’s website indicates that only 184 have been verified by the complainants as having been resolved to their satisfaction. This appears to be a disproportionately higher percentage than other companies offering comparable services.
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Should I Get a Home Warranty with Select?
Select Home Warranty is an established player on the home warranty protection field. Its responses to Select Home Warranty reviews and complaints also indicate that it engages with dissatisfied consumers and is keen to improve any below-par service levels.
Although the number of Select Home Warranty complaints exceed those filed against many similar-sized institutions, the company has a huge national network of licensed, independent contractors who work on a round-the-clock basis, and its call-out fees fall well below average market rates. The Select Home Warranty discount code currently being offered also makes it an appealing option.
Before committing, however, always do your homework and shop around for the most competitive deal. This is liable to fluctuate depending on the moment. We hope that this review of Select Home Warranty’s services will help you make a more informed decision about whether to buy and who to buy with.
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