First American Home Warranty Review

Company Overview 

First American Home Warranty has operated in a little over half of the United States since 1984. Headquartered in Canoga Park, California, they offer two home warranty plans that cover home appliances, plumbing, electrical, and more. 

Compared to other home warranty plans, First American Home Warranty offers competitive prices, although their plans offer only basic protection without much room to customize. Each visit from one of their service contractors also incurs a trade service fee (TSF) of $80. 

States Covered

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• Montana
• North Carolina
• Nebraska 
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Washington 
• West Virginia
• Wyoming 

Available Plans 

First American Home Warranty keeps things simple with two plans. The Basic plan covers primarily kitchen appliances, while the Premier plan includes larger systems like heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical. 

For all plans, there is a 30 day waiting period for coverage to start. Here’s what’s covered in the available plans.

Real Estate Plans

First American Home Warranty offers plans that are marketed to realtors and sellers. The plans mimic the basic and premier plans but are branded as seller and buyer plans. Seller plans offer the most limited coverage, allowing buyers to upgrade to a more comprehensive plan at closing. 

Optional coverage can be added on, including coverage for Pricing is not available for realtor plans but can be requested. 

Plan Pricing 

Plan pricing for First American Home Warranty isn’t available without provided contact information. We gathered data on plan pricing in California, Florida, and Texas. Prices were lowest in their home state of California but were fairly consistent across the board. 

All home warranty plans come with a 12-month contract at First American Home Warranty, and there is a penalty to cancel early.

Optional Add-Ons

Homeowners can add on expanded coverage for an additional fee. The price per item isn’t listed on the website. Still, options include: 

• Additional refrigeration
• Central air conditioning
• First class upgrade
• HVAC tune-up
• Pool/spa equipment
• Septic tank pumping/system
• Well pump

Types of Damage Covered

Like other home warranty programs, First American Home Warranty stipulates that damage covered should be as a result of regular wear and tear. All items must be in good working order at the contract's start. If there are unknown pre-existing issues, they should be undetectable by a normal visual or mechanical inspection. 

There are specific coverage limits within each covered item, and the list of uncovered items can be quite lengthy. Please consult your sample contract before agreeing to see what is covered. 

Plan Exclusions 

Like other companies, many cosmetic items such as handles, doorknobs, and drawers are not covered. More specifically than other programs, many non-cosmetic components are not covered. For example, refrigerators are covered except for insulation, racks, shelves, drawers, handles, lights, ice crushers, beverage dispensers, interior thermal shells, and food spoilage. Once the exclusions are accounted for, the coverage is pretty minimal. 

One way around these exclusions is to purchase the First Class Upgrade. While no price is listed on the website, this option covers man more cosmetic components such as hinges and springs for garage door openers in the sample contract. Given the extreme exclusion list, this may be a worthwhile option. 

It’s important to note that to use your own repair person, you must have approval beforehand or the company may deny your claim. 

Payout Caps and Limitations

While extension exclusions may seem prohibitive, the coverage limits for each item are quite generous compared to many other home warranty companies.

Repair Time

When a repair is needed, customer service agents are available around the clock. During normal business hours, service calls will be dispatched within four hours, according to the sample contract. Customer surveys indicate that the average time for a service call is 48 hours. 

First American Home Warranty works with a network of contractors. While it’s not advertised, they may allow you to choose your own contractor as long as it is approved first. 

Customer Service and Claims Process

First American Home Warranty offers two ways to make a claim–by phone or by clicking through their customer portal on the website. Once a contractor is dispatched, users have to pay the service fee of $75 directly to the contractor. 

Customer Satisfaction 

First American Home Warranty has B rating with the BBB and a 3.9-star rating with Trustpilot. While there have been numerous complaints from customers through BBB, they have primarily been regarding local contractors used rather than the service through First American Home Warranty. Most of these complaints have been addressed. 

First American Home Warranty vs. Choice Home Warranty

We compared First American Home Warranty with Choice Home Warranty. Both companies offer two levels of service and only operate in some portions of the U.S. First American Home Warranty is significantly more affordable than Choice Home Warranty and has much higher customer satisfaction ratings, making it a better choice for those with basic needs.

FAQs

Can I Cancel My First American Home Warranty Plan for Free?

No. You must submit a cancellation request in writing via email to cancel your plan. Once the plan is canceled, you will receive the prorated amount of your plan costs back, minus a $50 administration fee.

How Much Does the Plan Cost?

There are two levels of coverage available. The basic plan is between $360 and $420, depending on your location. The Premier coverage plan ranges from $490 to $550.

What Is the Response Time After a Claim?

If the claim is made within business hours, the company aims to have a service provider visit within four hours. The average time for a service call is 48 hours.

Methodology

There are several aspects to consider when evaluating a home warranty company and its coverages. To assist in your decision process, our methodology for reviewing home warranties includes a quantified scoring system that evaluates four major categories - total plan cost, coverage and support, customizability and transparency. Within those four major evaluation categories we look at 18 core features that include annual plan fees and service fees, claim response times, payout caps, states available, contract length range, customizable coverages, ability to use own repair person, free cancelation, plan pricing, plan exclusions and other plan provisions available online. We assign fractional score values ranging from 0.00 to 1.00 points for each feature and then weight those feature values according to subject matter expert advice and consumer survey importance ranking.  We also compare features for each company to industry average values determined from our data collection for the top 25 home warranty providers. Third-party ratings and customer satisfaction scores are factored in to help assess a home warranty company’s overall quality, suitability and value.