Cinch Home Services Review1

Cinch Home Services is a home warranty company offering consumers a collection of three warranty plans designed to cover the repair or replacement costs on built-in systems (often called major home systems) and appliances. Customers can choose to cover just the built-in systems, such as plumbing and electrical systems, or simply cover appliances, or they can choose plans that cover both.

Compared to other home warranty companies that we have reviewed, Cinch Home Services has a higher annual cost. However, it does cover all components and parts on most appliance items, unlike some of the other home warranty companies that exclude items on things like drawers, handles, and knobs. Read on to see our full review of Cinch Home Services to help you decide if they have the right home warranty plan for you.

Available Plans

Cinch Home Services offers its customers a selection of home warranty plans that they refer to as “protection plans.” These plans include a built-in systems plan, an appliance plan, and a complete home plan. The company charges a trade service fee (TSF), which is due when the service provider arrives at your house. Plan fee options are $100, $125, and $150. Thus, you can choose between a higher TSF and get a lower monthly cost, or a lower TSF and have a higher monthly cost.

Although the prices quoted are from several different areas of the country, plans are not available in Alaska or Hawaii.

Cinch Home Services also provides optional coverage for swimming pool/spa combinations, septic systems, and well pumps. In addition, Cinch offers Premier Upgrade packages that provide $1,000 additional protection for non-covered charges when repairing or replacing a covered item. The prices for optional coverage and the Premier Upgrade packages are not listed on the website, and prices are not available until you start the sign-up process. 

Plan Pricing

Cinch Home Services has three plans that allow you to have coverage for appliances, built-in systems, or both. Plans are available to real estate professionals, however, pricing may vary by state.

Getting a price quote is as simple as entering your zip code and choosing which trade service fee ($100, $125, and $150) you want to pay. Since the average trade service fee is typically $75 with most of the competitors, this is higher than average when compared side-by-side.

Sample Monthly Plan Fees Based on Trade Service Fees

Plan Exclusions

Cinch Home Warranty covers almost all breakdowns of appliances that occur from normal wear and tear. There are some unusual coverages and exclusions for major home systems, however, so you should read over your coverage carefully to ensure you understand what is covered and what is not.

As an example, coverage for a septic system is only for first-year customers, and this coverage is not renewable. Coverage means that the warranty will pay for pumping out your septic tank and pay $1,000 if you need to have a new septic tank installed. On the other hand, the coverage does not include root intrusion or broken or collapsed sewer lines, so you need to decide if it is worth the extra cost.

Payout Caps

Cinch Home Warranty pays up to $1,500 per agreement term for major systems and up to $2,000 per covered item for appliances. The maximum plan limit for all claims is $10,000 per agreement term. This is about average for the industry on most of the items that the company covers. 

Repair Times

Once a repair request is made, Cinch Home Services will attempt to refer you to a service technician within two hours, as long as it's within normal business hours. If it is outside of normal business hours, the company will work to refer you to a service technician within 24 hours. 

This is a considerably shorter turnaround time for repair requests than you'll find elsewhere in the industry. Typical response times are usually between 24 to 48 hours.

Cinch Home Services does not specifically state how many service technicians it has in its network, but its website states that it includes thousands. The company does not specifically say that you are not permitted to use your own contractor, however, it does state that it will not pay for any repair or expense that you incur without Cinch's express consent. We advise discussing this with a customer service representative before using your own contractor.

Customer Service and Claims

You can contact Cinch Home Services with a repair request 24 hours a day, seven days a week online at my.cinchhomeservices.com, or by calling 844-324-5688. Once your claim is processed, a service technician is contacted within two hours if it is during normal business hours, or within 24 hours if after business hours.

Complaints and Third-Party Assessments

Cinch Home Services has an B+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The company has had 3,111 total complaints in the last three years. A look at the company’s reviews showed that complaints appear to fall into two main categories: issues with communication with service technicians hired to perform service calls, and failure of timely replacements for appliances that are covered for loss or replacement. To its credit, Cinch Home Services does respond to these complaints and it appears Cinch tries to work with each customer who has had a problem. This is possibly the reason that Cinch has an A- rating with the BBB.

Competition: Amazon Home Warranty vs. Cinch Home Services

To provide a comparison between Cinch Home Services and its competitors, we chose Amazon Home Warranty. Both companies provide three basic plans to choose from, have comparable coverage, and provide service 24/7.

Cinch Home Services has costs ranging from $335 to $1,000+, while Amazon Home Warranty's average cost is $504. Both offer the ability to select between three plans with similar types of coverage among them.

While both companies allow you to select either a major home system plan, appliance plan, or a plan that is a combination of both, there were some striking differences between the plans in price range and trade service fees. Cinch Home Services initially appears as the more affordable choice at $335 vs. Amazon Home Warranty’s $504, but it is important to note that where you live determines the price you pay.

Although you will pay $37.99 per month for an appliance plan with Cinch Home Services in California, you will pay $75.99 per month for the exact same plan in New York. If you were to purchase an appliance plan through Amazon Home Warranty though, you would pay $42 a month regardless of the area where you live. From this observation, Cinch Home Services appears to be the better deal if you live in California, but Amazon Home Warranty is the clear winner if your residence is in New York.

We found that Cinch Home Services has the higher trade service fees of $100, $125, and $150 as compared to the single $75 fee charged by Amazon Home Warranty, but Cinch Home Services has fewer exclusions on coverages for both appliances and major systems while covering smaller things you may care about, like knobs, handles, and drawers. The company also gives $25 credit toward filters for your air conditioning system and refrigerator.

We found that Cinch Home Services is slightly below the average price for most areas of the country, but not necessarily all. While it does have some exclusions as to what is covered under the major home systems coverage, such as plumbing stoppages caused by collapsed drain lines or root intrusions, it does cover most components and parts for appliances, which is a huge plus if you have older appliances.

While this competition initially looked like it could go either way, if you want a plan that has clear definitions as to what is covered and what is not and like the little extras it provides, we think that Cinch Home Services is the winner in most areas of the country and one worth looking into for your home warranty plan needs.

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Methodology

Our home warranty review methodology to assess a warranty company's plans consists of a number of factors, including monthly and yearly costs, exclusions, payout caps, and service fees. We also take a look at how each company stacks up with its competitors in terms of coverage options, amount of complaints, and overall price.