A malfunctioning air conditioner or heater can do more than just ruin a good night’s sleep; it can compromise the safety of children, pets, and elderly residents. Unfortunately, HVAC breakdowns are all too common.
That’s where a home warranty comes in. A home warranty is a home service contract that allows you to pay a small monthly fee to access high-quality service technicians when your home systems or appliances break down unexpectedly. With a home warranty plan, you can have peace of mind that your HVAC system is protected should it break down due to normal wear.
Our team has researched and ranked dozens of home warranty providers and arrived at the five best home warranty companies for HVAC systems based on coverage caps, plan coverage, available plans, and more.
The Top 5 Home Warranty Companies
- American Home Shield
- Choice Home Warranty
- America’s 1st Choice Home Club
- HomeServe
- Liberty Home Guard
All the pricing information used in this article is based on quotes for the same single-family home in Austin, Texas. We recommend requesting a personalized quote for any service provider that interests you because plan options and pricing can vary from home to home, even within the same ZIP code.
American Home Shield
Fast Facts:
- State Availability: 49 (all but Alaska)
- Number of Plans: Three
- Service Fee: $75–$125
- Get a Quick Quote: Visit site
Plans
American Home Shield (AHS) offers three plan options for built-in home systems and appliances. ShieldSilver covers your heating, cooling, and ventilation systems (including ductwork), as well as a number of other built-in systems. AHS does not place a coverage cap—the total dollar amount a provider is willing to pay for a covered item—on built-in systems.
If you’d prefer combination coverage, ShieldGold covers both major appliances and systems, and ShieldPlatinum further expands on HVAC coverage by providing an annual tune-up and unlimited AC refrigerant to maintain the long-term efficiency of your system.
ShieldSilver ($24.99–$39.99 per month): This plan covers built-in systems exclusively, including your air conditioning, heating unit, ductwork, built-in exhaust, vent, and attic fans, ceiling fans. It also covers your main breaker and fuse panel box, doorbells and chimes, interior electrical lines, garage door openers, interior plumbing lines, toilets, faucets and valves, whirlpool tub motor and components, and water heaters.
ShieldGold ($34.99–$49.99 per month): This plan covers every item in the ShieldSilver plan plus your refrigerator, range, cooktop, oven, dishwasher, built-in microwave, garbage disposal, instant cold/hot water dispenser, washer, and dryer.
ShieldPlatinum ($54.99–$69.99 per month): This plan covers all the items in the ShieldGold plan plus roof leaks. ShieldPlatinum also gives customers access to one discounted annual HVAC tune-up, unlimited AC refrigerant, and up to $1,000 in code upgrades.
Choice Home Warranty
Fast Facts:
- State Availability: 49 (all but Washington)
- Number of Plans: Two
- Service Fee: $85
- Get a Quick Quote: Visit site
Plans
Choice Home Warranty offers two combination home warranty plans that cover your home’s essentials: the Basic Plan and the Total Plan. While the Basic Plan does not cover air conditioning, it does include your heating system and ductwork. The Total Plan expands coverage to include your air conditioning system. Choice covers up to $3,000 in HVAC repairs, which is considered generous compared to other providers.
Total Plan ($56.06 per month): This comprehensive plan covers a combination of systems and home appliances, including your heating system, air conditioning system, ceiling and exhaust fans, water heater, electrical system, plumbing system, plumbing stoppages, oven, range, stove, built-in microwave, cooktop, dishwasher, garbage disposal, ductwork, garage door opener, clothes washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, and whirlpool bathtub.
Basic Plan ($47.96 per month): This stripped-down plan covers a combination of built-in systems and appliances. While it covers many of the items in the Total Plan (including heating and ceiling and exhaust fans), it excludes your air conditioning system, clothes dryer, clothes washer, and refrigerator.
We should note that this provider has been involved in a class-action lawsuit in Arizona since 2019. The suit alleges that Choice failed to approve claims for covered items and didn’t live up to the contractual terms outlined in the sample agreement. When we reached out to Choice for comment, we were told by a company representative that Choice had approved 90% of 1.1 million claims filed in 2021. Similarly, we noted more than 400 recent positive Google Reviews praising the company’s quick service and high-quality customer service experience.
America’s 1st Choice Home Club
Fast Facts:
- State Availability: 49 (all but Hawaii)
- Number of Plans: Four
- Service Fee: $75–$125
- Get a Quick Quote: Visit site
Plans
America’s 1st Choice Home Club (AFC Home Club) offers four home warranty plans, three of which cover HVAC systems. The Silver Plan is AFC Home Club’s most basic plan for appliances, while the Systems Plan is the most basic option for systems. The Gold and Platinum plans offer combination coverage for built-in systems and appliances. Each item is eligible for up to $2,000 in coverage.
AFC Home Club has a total payout limit of $2,000 per item, but HVAC systems older than five years will be subject to a prorated coverage amount based on similar systems of the same age.
Systems Plan ($38.25–$42.75 per month): This plan covers your air conditioning system, heating system, water heater, ductwork, electrical system, and plumbing system.
Silver Plan ($31.50–$36 per month): This plan includes coverage for your clothes washer and dryer, kitchen refrigerator, oven, range, cooktop, stove, dishwasher, garbage disposal, and garage door opener.
Gold Plan ($45–$49.50 per month): This plan covers all the items in the Silver and Systems Plans.
Platinum Plan ($49.50 to $54 per month): This plan expands the coverage of the Gold Plan by covering plumbing stoppages, faucets, ice makers, and built-in microwaves.
HomeServe
Fast Facts:
- State Availability: 48 (all but Alaska and Hawaii)
- Number of Plans: Seven
- Service Fee: $100
- Get a Quick Quote: Visit site
Plans
HomeServe operates a bit differently than other home warranty companies in that it bases your coverage options on your utility provider as well as your ZIP code. For example, we pulled a quote for a single-family home in Austin, which returned seven plan options, including one covering your cooling and heating system.
TotalHome Warranty Appliances ($38.66 per month): This plan covers up to $1,500 per appliance. It includes your refrigerator, clothes washer, clothes dryer, range, dishwasher, built-in microwave, trash compactor, and garage door opener.
TotalHome Warranty Combo ($46.66 per month): This plan covers up to $1,500 per appliance or system, including all the items in the appliances plan plus interior plumbing, interior gas line, interior electrical line, cooling system, heating system, water heater repair, heat pump, ductwork, garbage disposal, attic and ceiling fans, doorbell system, and central vacuum system.
In addition to the above plans, HomeServe offers the following:
Interior Electrical Line Coverage ($6.99 per month): This plan covers up to $2,500 for your interior electrical line repairs and replacements.
Water Heater Repair and Replacement Plan ($7.99 per month): This plan covers up to $1,000 for your water heater repairs and replacements.
Exterior Water Service Line Coverage ($8.98 per month): This plan covers up to $10,000 for your exterior water service line and exterior water service line restoration.
Exterior Sewer/Septic Line Coverage ($12.98 per month): This plan covers up to $10,000 for your exterior sewer/septic line, exterior sewer/septic line restoration, and drain cleaning.
Interior Plumbing and Drainage System Coverage ($12.99 per month): This plan covers up to $7,000 for your interior plumbing and interior drainage.
Liberty Home Guard
Fast Facts:
- State Availability: 48 (all but Washington, and Wisconsin)
- Number of Plans: Three
- Service Fee: $65–$125
- Get a Quick Quote: Visit site
Plans
Liberty Home Guard (LHG) offers three plan options, all of which cover some element of your HVAC system. The Systems Guard plan includes both your air conditioning and heating systems, along with related ductwork. The Appliance Guard plan focuses on appliance coverage but also includes ceiling and exhaust fans. Total Home Guard offers comprehensive coverage for both systems and appliances. LHG provides up to $1,600 per covered item.
A quick note: While LHG’s service call fees vary, these are not designed to adjust your monthly premium. Rather, the company assigns a service call fee to your account based on your plan selection, the location of your home, and the add-on options you choose. According to a representative for the company, your fee will always fall between $65 and $125.
Systems Guard ($74.99 per month): This plan covers your air conditioning system, heating system, ductwork, water heater, plumbing system, and electrical system.
Appliance Guard ($69.99 per month): This plan covers your ceiling and exhaust fans, clothes washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator with ice maker and display, built-in microwave oven, dishwasher, garbage disposal, range, oven, cooktop, and garage door openers.
Total Home Guard ($79.99 per month): This combo plan covers all the items in the Appliance and Systems Guard plans.
Our Recommendation
HVAC units are among the most essential components of your home to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. The three major functions of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are interrelated, but not all home warranty plans cover all three, so it’s important that you are aware how much coverage each policy offers.
We recommend American Home Shield because its ShieldSilver plan addresses all three HVAC functions, and the company doesn’t place a dollar limit on repairs and replacements of these crucial components. Choice Home Warranty’s Total Plan is another very good option, with a high coverage cap of $3,000 on these items.
All of the providers featured in this article have met our review team’s standards due to their high-quality service, industry expertise, quick claim response time, and the comprehensive nature of their policies. We recommend that you request a quote from at least three providers, take your time to carefully review the terms and conditions, and speak to customer service representatives before making your final decision.
How to Choose a Home Warranty
Follow the below steps to make sure you’re selecting the right home warranty for your needs.
- Start your research. Not all home warranty providers are available in every state, so it’s important to find out what companies service your area. You can do this by requesting a quote from all of the above providers or asking for a referral from nearby friends, family and neighbors who work with a home warranty company they love.
- Compare plan options. Home warranty companies will generally cover a similar suite of items, including built-in systems and appliances, but not all plans are created equal. Most quote forms will display the covered items to you in a table format so that it’s easy to confirm your desired items are included.
- Consider the service fee. In addition to monthly costs, each policy will come with a service call fee. Some companies offer a flexible service call fee model, which will allow you to customize your monthly fees, while other companies assign the service call fee to your account. In either case, you’ll want to make sure that you are comfortable with the fee before moving forward with a provider. Typically, this fee will be outlined during the quote process.
- Thoroughly review the fine print. After you’ve determined that a plan covers your desired items, it’s essential that you review a sample contract to understand coverage caps, limitations, and exclusions outlined in the policy. All reputable companies will make this easy to find on their websites.
- Make your selection. Once you’ve narrowed down your options to your top choice, you can enroll in your plan. If you’d like to take a hands-off approach, you can often pay for your entire plan as a lump sum; but if you’d rather spread the fees across the year, you can choose to pay monthly as well.
Is a Home Warranty Worth It?
In our survey of 1,000 homeowners, we learned that nearly 70% of respondents would repair or replace their AC units immediately after noticing signs of trouble. Similarly, 55% of homeowners would rush to repair or replace their heating system once they noticed it was damaged.
With a home warranty, you can file a service request as soon as you notice damage without having to spend hours first researching or scheduling a specialty service contractor. Home warranty coverage builds on a manufacturer’s warranty, providing additional coverage for a range of major systems and appliances for as long as you choose to keep your policy active.
An HVAC home warranty has one more benefit: workmanship guarantees. All of the providers in this home warranty review guarantee their repairs for anywhere between 30 days and the life of your home warranty. This means that if an item that has been serviced malfunctions again during the guarantee window, the provider will make good on the repairs without charging an extra service fee.
Do Home Warranty Companies Have Coverage Limits?
Similar to homeowners insurance policies, every home warranty contract will outline coverage limits for the items it covers. Some home warranty providers will place a coverage cap on a selection of covered items, such as all built-in systems, whereas other providers will break it down by placing a coverage cap on each covered item specifically.
Before enrolling in a plan, it’s important to do your due diligence by making sure you are aware of the specific coverage caps outlined in your policy agreement.
Do Home Warranties Cover Old HVAC Systems?
Home warranties will generally cover old HVAC systems, but homeowners are responsible for paying the difference if the replacement or repair costs exceed the coverage limit.
While home warranties don’t typically exclude HVAC systems based on their age, the depreciated value of the system may be taken into consideration when determining the repair or replacement cost a provider is willing to offer. Similarly, home warranty providers reserve the right to request the maintenance history for any covered items and exclude any pre-existing conditions from coverage.
How We Chose the Top Home Warranty Providers
Our team reviewed and researched dozens of home warranty providers, thoroughly analyzed sample agreements, and identified customer pain points based on customer-review analysis and interviews with industry experts.
During this process, we determined that the most critical aspects of a home warranty company include available service plans and add-ons, depth of coverage, plan cost, industry reputation, customer support infrastructure, and additional features. We also focused on the ability to choose your own contractor, upgrade your coverage package, transfer your plan to another owner, and cover roof leaks, high-end appliance brands, ceiling and exhaust fans, and faucets and fixtures.
Our research supported that plan coverage should carry the most weight, with customer support as the second-most important factor. Industry reputation, plan availability, and additional features were rated equally. Therefore, we determined that price range, while worth considering, should not be the primary basis for choosing a home warranty provider for your home’s needs.