When purchasing a new home, you may be overwhelmed with the amount of information to take in. From home inspections to homeowners insurance decisions your mind can be overwhelmed, however, it is important to understand all aspects of your purchase, and what is required afterward, to avoid ongoing problems in the future.
One of the biggest considerations for homeowners after their purchase, is to ensure appropriate homeowners insurance is purchased, and this is standard practice, but there are also home warranty packages that can be bought, and this leads to some confusion.
What is the difference between homeowners insurance and a home warranty?
Home insurance is typically purchased to protect in the case of floods, fires, and natural disasters. You can also increase our insurance premiums to cover expensive possessions such as jewelry. Home insurance is also there to protect you in the case of injury on your property. Homeowners insurance will also cover you in the case of necessary relocation to temporary housing due to one of the perils listed above. What insurance doesn't cover is the large appliances and their upkeep and replacement should they be warranted. That is where home warranty packages come into play.
Home warranties are purchased to protect the systems and appliances in your home. If you have a failure of your large appliances, this is almost always more expensive than the home warranty cost per year you would pay for a package. Home warranty services cover your washer, dryer, furnace, and oven. These items are not protected by homeowners insurance unless they are destroyed by one of the events listed as perils in your policy. This means that if your furnace breaks down, insurance will not cover the repair and replacement costs, but a home warranty package would.
In order to have comprehensive coverage on your home, a home warranty package is a great idea. Appliances are incredibly costly, and even with maintenance things can go wrong. A home warranty package can alleviate these expenses when it comes time to repair and replace your appliances. Having someone come to repair your washer, dryer, stove or fridge can be costly. And after you pay to have them checked out, there is no guarantee that you will be able to repair them, leading to replacements that you may not have the money for. Home warranty packages will allow you to repair and replace your home systems and appliances should they be warranted. While it is a monthly or yearly expense, it can protect you in the long run in the case of the failure of one or more of your home appliances.
The main difference between insurance and a warranty is that a warranty covers the systems and appliances that homeowners insurance does not. Having both of these products will leave you well protected should anything go wrong with your home appliances.
Warranty and Insurance complement one another
While you may be wondering if you should have insurance or warranty packages for your home, the answer is both, as they work in unison to protect you to the maximum. In the event of failure of one of your appliances, homeowners insurance would cover the damage caused, and a home warranty would cover the repair or replacement of the appliance. Say your hot water tank leaks and causes a flood, insurance would cover repairs for the home, but not the replacement of the water tank, your home warranty package would cover that aspect of the repair. With appropriate coverage, you would be protected in the event of major home repairs necessitated by an appliance failure.
Owning and maintaining your home can be incredibly costly, so it is important to protect yourself in the event of emergencies and catastrophic failures when it comes to your home appliances and systems. Homeowners insurance will cover you in the event of fires, floods, and other disasters, and home warranty packages will pick up the slack and cover what insurance policies do not. It is a good idea to protect yourself with both of these policies, giving you peace of mind and saving yourself thousands of dollars in the event of an appliance failure, especially when it can result in damages and repair costs that may not be in your budget.
Ensuring that you select the appropriate coverage for yourself and your family is a key part of homeownership, so don't wait until something goes wrong, protect yourself and your home before it is too late. A home warranty can save you thousands of dollars, so purchase your policy today.