Select Home Warranty Review and Cost

Select Home Warranty Reviews: Pros and Cons

If you’re on the hunt for a home warranty, review Select Home’s plans and pricing. Select Home Warranty plans are designed to provide a cost-effective solution over the long term when appliances and mechanical systems require repair or replacement – a coverage area often left untouched by standard homeowner’s insurance.

Based on Select Home Warranty customer reviews, it’s evident that this company ranks among the top choices in the market. We’ll provide you with insights into Scott Dylan Westerlund’s extensive research conducted over the past several months on the nation’s best home warranty companies. Scott is a recognized expert in the home improvement industry and a contributing author to industry-leading websites, such as Angi.com and HomeAdvisor.

This Select Home Warranty review will lay out coverage options, rates, customer reviews, complaints, add-on features, and the claims process to help you decide if SHW is the right choice for your home. You’ll also get a side-by-side comparison of Select Home Warranty versus Choice Home Warranty and American Home Shield.

About Select Home Warranty (SHW)

Select Home Warranty (SHW) stands out for being one of the only home warranty companies to offer coverage in all 50 states. While it’s only been around since 2012, SHW has already earned a place among competitors that have been around for 20 to 50 years.

Three coverage plans that can be combined with semi-robust add-on options make SHW a choice to consider when looking for something that feels like customized coverage.

Check out the Top 3 Home Warranty Companies in California.

Select Home Warranty Review

Like many home warranty companies, Select Home Warranty allows you to choose from three coverage tiers. With a $4 difference between the cheapest plan and the priciest plan, SHW pretty much sells you on upgrading. We’ll still go through all of the plans even though most customers opt for the full-coverage option.

Select Home Warranty Warranty Plans and Pricing

Select Home Warranty Warranty Plan 1: Bronze Care

At $52.50 per month, the Bronze Care plan covers all of the major appliances in your home’s kitchen and laundry room. Coverage is good for a clothes dryer, clothes washer, refrigerator, cooktop, dishwasher, garbage disposal, built-in microwave, dishwasher, stove, and oven. This tier also covers roof leaks at no extra monthly cost.

Select Home Warranty Plan 2: Gold Care

Next up is the Gold Care plan that covers all of your home’s major systems for $52.50 per month. While the $500 coverage limit for appliances can feel a little skimpy, SHW redeems itself a bit with a slightly more generous coverage cap of $3,000 for heating and cooling equipment. Gold Care’s full coverage list includes your home’s air conditioner, electrical system, heating system, plumbing system, water heater, and ductwork. That free roof leak coverage also applies for Gold Care.

Select Home Warranty Plan 3: Platinum Care

The fact that you can bump up to Platinum Care for just $3.75 more than the Bronze plan or Gold plan per month makes this tier the one to watch. For $56.25 per month, you’ll get everything in both of SHW’s other plans bundled into one package.

Select Home Warranty vs. Choice Home Warranty

The first big difference between Select Home Warranty and Choice Home Warranty is that Choice offers just two plans instead of three. While Choice’s Basic Plan covers your plumbing, electrical, heating, ductwork, water heater, oven/range/cooktop, dishwasher, built-in microwave, garbage disposal, garage door opener, whirlpool tub, ceiling fan, and exhaust fan for $46.67 per month, the Total plan covers all of the those things with an air conditioner, clothes washer, clothes dryer, and refrigerator thrown in for $55 per month. Choice Home Warranty’s Total plan is very similar to Select Home Warranty’s Platinum Care plan in both coverage breadth and price.

For people who want affordable appliances-only coverage, the fact that Choice Home Warranty only offers coverage for a refrigerator in its upgraded option can feel slightly manipulative. While Choice Home Warranty does offer add-on coverage for roof leaks, you won’t get the built-in coverage that comes with all of SHW’s plans. Finally, Choice Home Warranty’s 60-day workmanship guarantee falls short of SHW’s industry-leading 90-day warranty.

Select Home Warranty vs. American Home Shield

You may know American Home Shield as one of the biggest home warranty companies. This highly rated company earns loyalty by providing generous coverage caps on plans that cost $29 to $90 per month. While you’ll get $2,000 of coverage per appliance with the low-cost ShieldGold plan, that jumps up to $4,000 with the ShieldPlatinum plan. Just keep in mind that American Home Shield’s service fees that range from $100 to $125 are among the highest in the industry. Finally, American Home Shield has a much longer list of add-on options compared to Select Home Warranty.

Is Select Home Warranty Worth It?

Select Home Warranty offers what would be considered mid-sized pricing for what can be considered low-level to mid-level coverage. While it’s nice that the company throws in free roof coverage with all plans, the $500 cap per appliance could be a big deterrent if you have high-end appliances because that simply may not be enough to justify coverage once you factor in your service fee.

However, the generous $3,000 caps for Select Home Warranty HVAC coverage and air conditioning do help to redeem SHW. Just keep in mind that Select Home Warranty waiting periods require new customers to wait 30 days before filing claims. This is pretty standard among warranties.

Overall, Select Home Warranty’s coverage is “adequate” when you look at appliance coverage and systems coverage together.

Opting for just appliance coverage probably won’t be worth it for most customers. This company does shine with customer service. A claims response window that’s within 12 business hours of your inquiry sets SHW apart from most of its competitors. What’s more, SHW has a strong reputation with customers for making efforts to respond promptly when they reach out in emergency situations.

Select Home Warranty Reviews BBB

Select Home Warranty earns a grade of “B” from the BBB. Select Home reviews at the BBB aren’t as positive, with an average customer rating of 1.55 out of 5. Select Home Warranty’s BBB complaints may turn you off even more, sitting at 5,333 complaints.

On a positive note, Select Home Warranty’s BBB rating improved from a “C” to a “B” in August 2023. This usually happens when complaints are past three years old and fall off a company’s record or some other positive attributes are added to its BBB profile, so that’s a good sign. You always want to see a company’s BBB profile improving rather than vice versa.

While there has never been a major Select Home Warranty Lawsuit, the company has been sued in small claims court by unsatisfied customers.

Select Home Warranty Reviews on Google

While BBB data for this company is disappointing, Select Home Warranty manages to pull in lots of positive Google reviews from customers.

The company currently has nearly 4 stars out of 5 on Google. Trustpilot reviews are also overwhelmingly positive. Select Home Warranty currently has 4 out of 5 stars based on 4,118 reviews on Trustpilot.

The positive reviews are generally owed to good experiences with contractors sent by SHW, positive experiences with customer service, and the availability of discounts when signing up.

Select Home Warranty Coverage Details

All three of SHW’s plans come with free roof coverage that the company claims is a $99 value. Here’s a rundown of all items covered when you opt for the Platinum Care plan that costs just over $3 more compared to the appliance-only plan or systems-only plan:

• Air Conditioning/Cooling
  
• Heating System
  
• Plumbing System
  
• Electrical System
  
• Water Heater
  
• Ductwork
  
• Plumbing Stoppage
  
• Clothes Washer
  
• Garbage Disposal
  
• Refrigerator
  
• Stove/Oven
  
• Built-in Microwave
  
• Cooktop
  
• Dishwasher
  
• Clothes Dryer
  
• Garage Door Opener
  
• Ceiling Fan

Select Home Warranty also offers optional add-on coverage for some big-ticket items around your home. Select Home Warranty add-on coverages are available for a central vacuum, lawn sprinkler system, pool/spa, freezer, sump pump, and well pump.

Like all home warranty companies, SHW has a list of exclusions. Select Home Warranty coverage exclusions include:

• Cosmetic issues
  
• Appliances or systems that were improperly installed
  
• Appliances and systems that were improperly maintained
  
• Improperly installed ductwork
  
• Clogged drains or lines
  
• Electrical failures
  
• Manufacturer defects
  
• Refrigerants
  
• Damage caused by leaking refrigerant

There’s definitely an element of “buyer beware” any time a home warranty company adds improper maintenance to a list of exclusions because it can be easy to pass the buck when an issue arises that could potentially be caused by poor maintenance. The specific items that are excluded from coverage include water softeners, solar or tankless water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, humidifiers, and window air conditioners.

Select Home Warranty Claim Process

Select Home Warranty’s claims process is among the smoothest in the business. Claims can be submitted online 24/7. Customers can also place a call to file a claim if they prefer.

Next, an SHW representative will assign a contractor to your claim. If the problem you need repaired or replaced is covered, SHW will take care of it once you pay your service fee.

Select Home Warranty generally sends a contractor to your home within two business days on weekdays. If you file a claim over the weekend, it could take up to four days.

The company doesn’t make any guarantees for timelines on resolutions. However, customer reviews reveal that SHW is slightly speedier at resolving issues compared to other home warranty companies.

Select Home Warranty Customer Service and Support

Select Home Warranty has one of the better customer support teams in the industry. You can almost always count on the fact that you’ll get a meaty response within 12 hours of filing your claim. SHW has an easy customer portal that allows you to file a claim online 24/7 in minutes. Existing customers can also call 1-855-267-3532 to file a claim with a representative’s assistance.

Select Home Warranty Contractor Network

Like most home warranty companies, Select Home Warranty selects a contractor to come to your home to fix your problem.

SHW has fairly stringent guidelines for allowing contractors into its nationwide network. All SHW contractors visiting your home will be fully licensed.

SHW also requires contractors to maintain commercial general liability insurance, maintain coverage for automobile insurance for all vehicles, maintain workers’ compensation, and agree to SHW’s contractual terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Select Home Warranty Rating

Ranking: 81/100

Source

Sources:

Better Business Bureau (BBB), Select Home Warranty LLC profile, August 22nd, 2023

Select Home Warranty website, Basics of Home Warranty Roof Leak Coverage

TrustPilot Reviews, Select Home Warranty profile page

Select Home Warranty, Protection Plans & Coverage

Reddit, Customer Reviews on Select Home Warranty, www.reddit.com

UniCourt, Small Claim lawsuit against Select Home Warranty of CA, Inc., HENRY YANG VS. SELECT HOME WARRANTY OF CA, INC INC.

About Author

Scott Dylan Westerlund