What is
Virginia
home warranty
insurance?
Virginia
home warranty insurance helps with repair and replacment costs for major home components and appliances when they break due to normal wear and tear. For covered items home warranty insurance provides discounted repairs and replacements.
What do
Virginia
home warranties cover?
Home warranty insurance coverage varies by
Virginia
carriers. Generally, coverage includes major home systems like HVAC systems, electrical systems, furnaces, plumbing, and major appliances, such as refrigerators, frezers, washer/dryers, and other kitchen appliances. Coverage typically is limited to components that break due to normal wear and tear and not to poor maintenance. What constitutes “normal wear and tear” could be tricky, and what the carrier considers is poorly maintained might differ from what your definition is. Coverage may also include exclusions and dollars limits for covered items each year. See our individual
Virginia
carrier reviews for details on what carriers cover, exclude, and limit.
How does
Virginia
home warranty insurance work?
You typically enter into a one-year contract. During this coverage period, when something that’s covered breaks, you request for a professional contractor that the carrier has engaged with to come to your home to check out and repair the broken appliance or system. Depending on the issue, the repair might require a future visit if a component needs to be covered or a component might be completely replaced.
Typically, you are limited to the contractors that the carrier partners with. Some carriers might let you choose your own contractor or from among their contractors. A benefit to the carrier selecting the contractors for you is that you don’t have to find your own although the downside is if you have a favorite contractor who is not on the carriers list their work will not be covered. Each visit to your home comes with a pre-set service fee listed in your contract. Depending on the issue, there might be additional costs.
What types of homes are covered?
Most
Virginia
carriers cover single-family homes (including manufactured homes), new construction homes, condominiums, and townhomes under 5,000 square feet. Coverage is for occupied, owned, or rented residential property. Properties used for commercial and business purposes are not covered. Shared appliances with other home units are also not covered.
What’s the difference between
Virginia
homeowner’s insurance and home warranty insurance?
Homeowner’s insurance generally covers damages due to major events, such as fires, thefts, natural disasters, or water damages. Home warranty insurance helps with the cost of repairing and replacing major home components and appliances.