American Home Shield and other home warranty effectiveness questions

Question

There was a recent discussion about AHS and home warranty service questions and whether the insurance was worth the cost.  For some this will only confirm what they thought.  A home warranty lawsuit has been filed in Florida and seeks to become a class action.  Among the claims:

According to the source, the American Home Shield lawsuit claims that benefits for covered items, including air conditioning units and various appliances, were denied outright or only partially repaired.  The partial repair in this home warranty insurance case can also work to the insurance provider's advantage, it is alleged, given that a partial repair will increase the likelihood of a future breakdown, affording the provider an opportunity to charge an additional fee to complete the repair.  http://tinyurl.com/7b7l4qz

Miriam Illions · Answer

Good info. Thanks for posting!

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

I used to do repairs for Home Shield.  Personally they really gave the clients a hard time when we would ask for more money to do a repair. But that was years ago.  But it was always my understanding that as long as the repair made the unit run again, that was all that they needed to do.  
I found many people wanting a new AC system when it was many years old. It was not the insurance companies job to give them a new unit if the old one could be fixed.

I cannot fathom that a partial repair would lessen the life of an appliance.  But normally when a washer or dryer or even some AC systems starts to break down, its pretty much at the end of its life anyway. But is it really the insurance companies job to give them new equipment?

The denial outright I have seen happen, But what they ended up doing in the few that I was aware about was to give them a % of the value of the unit as it stood not working. So most only got a few hundred dollars at best.

Kevin M. Veler, Law Office of · Answer

Bob, we'll have to see how the lawsuit proceeds but, without knowing much of the details, I imagine a lot has to do with how the plan is being marketed.  If the plan is marketed as...'if your unit breaks and it can't be repaired, we'll replace it with a new one' I can understand some disenchantment.  As indicated, often at a certain age, a number of things may break and if there is a basic charge for each repair, then there may be an incentive to repair a 'worn-out' unit or to replace a fuse and not do a complete check to see if, say, a belt was worned and cracked but not broken.  My personal opinion is that often the cost of the insurance is not really worth it and in the greater scheme its often cheaper to just replace because of improved energy efficiency or desireable new features.

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

Some where in my piles of 'stuff I have an old application for this company as we were marketed as home inspectors and paid a fee if any of our clients purchased such a contract.   I will dig it out and email you a copy.  It does have something if what little memory I still have works, that there is wording to the effect replace if we cannot repair.

Mary · Answer

We had AHS for many years in many homes. My children have it on their homes. It is disheartening when in the middle of summer heat you might have to wait for a repair man, nothing breaks down conveniently. It was always my understanding that they would repair things three times before discussing replacing. Over the years they replaced my AC, a heater for my pool, a furnace, and a pool filter, also a well pump. If you ad the cost of these items, it would be well over the cost per year and call outs. Somethings just don't work out for everyone, but they seem to have always been polite and willing to work out the things I needed as best for both. I would trust them and not worry to much about one bad time. You can always check the BBB.

American Home Shield and other home warranty effectiveness questions

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American Home Shield and other home warranty effectiveness questions

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