Choice Home Warranty has experienced some difficulties with its advertising practices, however. The state of New Jersey, where the company has its headquarters, recently fined Choice Home Warranty for deceptive advertising practices. Based on complaints, it seems the company faced accusations of using loopholes to get around paying for customer repairs. While what the company offers sounds good, its reputation has been greatly tarnished by the events in New Jersey and negative reviews online.

Having said that, there are some interesting features with Choice Home Warranty. Each customer gets a customer service team of two to three people whom he can call on 24/7. These are the people the customer deals with when needing repairs, filing a claim, resolving a dispute, and so on. This gives Choice Home Warranty’s customers a more personal experience with customer service. No one has really complained about not dealing with a massive call center.

Choice Home Warranty does not require an upfront home inspection, which is a nice feature in any plan. It also offers a 30-day service guarantee. This is better than some competitors, though not as good as others. If you decide to cancel the service, however, you have to do it within the first 30 days after purchasing the plan in order to get a full refund. After that time, you’ll only get a prorated refund, and regardless of when you cancel, you’ll receive a bill for a $50 “administrative fee” for discontinuing your policy.

How Does Choice Home Warranty Work?

When you sign up with Choice Home Warranty, you first have to choose which plan you want to purchase. You can then add additional coverage for specific home appliances or systems, such as sump pumps or roof leaks or electrical systems, if you want. Once you make a selection, you pay your first month’s premium. There is a 30-day waiting period before coverage starts but once that passes, your coverage on selected appliances and systems should be in effect.

Should a problem develop, you can call Choice Home Warranty 24/7 to report it, or you can submit a claim online. A technician will contact you to set up an appointment time to inspect your appliance or system to diagnose the problem. If the issue is resolvable with a repair, the technician will take care of it. If the problem is irreparable or beyond the technician’s capabilities, Choice Home Warranty will arrange a replacement or reimbursement.

That’s the way it’s supposed to work. However, based on reviews, there are multiple complaints that the company does everything it can to exclude any claims as non-covered occurrences or “pre-existing conditions.”

Coverage options

Choice Home Warranty offers two different plans, the Basic Plan and the Total Plan. It also offers Optional Coverage that includes items not covered by either the Basic or Total Plan. Here is how it breaks down:

Optional Plans

• Pool and Spa: $180.00
• Well Pump: $100.00
• Central Vacuum: $40.00
• Limited Roof Leak: $70.00
• Second Refrigerator: $40.00
• Stand Alone Freezer: $40.00
• Sump Pump: $40.00
• Additional Spa: $180.00
• Septic System: $120.00
• Septic Tank Pumping: $65.00

Plan Exclusions

Most home warranty companies have exclusions in your contract. While the company says it covers your water heater, it may not cover it for rust or calcium build up. It’s important to read your contract carefully and figure out what the exclusions are. Here’s a list of exclusions that can appear in a Choice Home Warranty contract.

• Noise from covered appliance
• Lint traps
• Refrigerator shelves
• Solar heating systems
• Smoke detectors
• Damaged clothing from washer/dryer
• Microwave door
• Oven clock
• Dishwasher racks
• Vents and flues on ductwork
• Damage done to disposal from anything other than food

What Makes Choice Home Warranty Stand Out?

The assignment of a customer service team is a feature that appears to be unique to Choice Home Warranty. If the system works, it sounds like it would be a great way to ensure customer satisfaction. If you take into account the plethora of negative reviews, however, you have to question the system’s effectiveness.

Choice Home Warranty’s feature that allows you to pick additional coverage for select items is an interesting one. While there is little flexibility in its respective plans, the add-on capability for specific appliances and systems frequently excluded by many similar policies, such as roof leaks, is a plus in Choice Home Warranty’s favor.

Common Reviews of Choice Home Warranty

Choice Home Warranty has positive and negative reviews across various online forums. At first glance, it seems that the negatives outnumber the positives by a great margin. When digging into the reviews, however, it becomes evident that a large percentage of the complaints came about because the homeowner did not read the contract in its entirety before signing.

For example, the contract states there is a 30-day waiting period before coverage is in effect. So, if your oven goes out two weeks after you purchase the policy, Choice Home Warranty is not going to fix the problem. A read of the contract should make this clear, yet there are multiple reviews available in different forums of customers complaining because Choice Home Warranty did not do what it said it would not do.

There are other examples of technicians who were not as skilled in their trade as they needed to be to handle customers’ problems. One reviewer stated he had to deal with a faulty gas water heater for over a week, the smell of gas permeating the home, because the technician couldn’t determine if there were repair parts available or whether he would need to replace the unit.

On the flip side, there are positive reviews of customer experiences with technicians. One customer reported her air conditioner went out. She called Choice Home Warranty, explained the problem and had a technician assigned within 10 minutes. She stated the technician was knowledgeable, professional and courteous. Her repairs were complete in short order, and she was happy to sing the praises of Choice Home Warranty.

Choice Home Warranty’s terms and conditions are in its contract agreement, and it is highly recommended that potential customers read the entire document before agreeing to it. Yearly renewal will be automatic unless you cancel in advance.

Is Choice Home Warranty for Me?

Choice Home Warranty’s coverage offerings are in line with those of most of its competitors. It operates nationwide, with the exclusion of California, and is available in the District of Columbia. It has a choice of coverage plans with some customization features, and will automatically renew itself unless you cancel — all pretty standard fare in the industry.

If online reviews and legal issues with advertising practices in New Jersey are of concern to you, it is probably better if you do more comparisons before deciding. Choice Home Warranty has gotten itself into a reputation quagmire, which doesn’t foster consumer confidence.