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The Home Service Club Review
Home Service Club is a home warranty company based in New York City, NY that provides flexible coverage plans and high caps on appliance replacements and repairs.
Home Service Club also offers a six-part Utility Line Coverage add-on package, plus additional add-ons that cover pools, free standing freezers, sprinkler systems, line coverage, well pumps, roof coverage, and other things not usually covered by other home warranty companies.
- Established 2008
- Trade Fees: $65, $95, $125 (variable)
- Recall period: 30 days
- Available in 50 states
Home Service Club at a glance
The Home Service Club was established in 2008 and is headquartered in New York. The trade service fee varies from $65 to $125 according to the amount of risk that you choose. The higher the trade service fee, the lower the financial risk you accept. Home Service Club has a 30 day waiting period before you can make a claim, and is available in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. This warranty provider offers 24-hour service, seven days a week to ensure that you have access to the help you need at a time when it matters the most.
Home Service Club’s home warranty plans
The Home Service Club has two warranty plans to choose from: basic and comprehensive. The basic plan starts with common appliances and systems, and the comprehensive plan builds on this. You can purchase a plan in 1- to 3-year renewable terms.
The basic plan covers appliances like refrigerators, ovens, ranges, cooktops, dishwashers, washers and dryers and more. It also covers a number of household systems like A/C, heating, electrical and plumbing.
The comprehensive plan includes everything in the basic plan but adds plumbing stoppages, ductwork, gas leaks, pest control, alarms, telephone wiring and more. Many items included in the comprehensive plan are less common to be covered by home warranties and add-on coverage options are no different.
If there’s something more that you need to cover, Home Service Club also offers an a la carte selection of add-on items for things like the roof, jetted bathtub, the sewer ejector pump, well pump, sprinkler system, water line, gas line, sewer line and so much more.
What we like about Home Service Club
We love all the additional coverage options, some of which are hard to find among the competition — like many of the home service lines and the roof, for example. The basic and comprehensive plans are, mostly, aligned with other warranty companies. Although Home Service Club isn’t the only home warranty provider with an abundance of optional coverage, its offerings are a refreshing take for add-on items.
It’s common for some home warranty providers to permit add-on coverage for things like pools and spas or extra appliances and such. However, additional coverage for your roof and many utility lines is a rare find. With winter upon us, burst pipes, sewer line dilemmas, or a leaky roof can happen and when it does, it can spell big trouble. That’s especially true with the cost of sewer line repairs, which average between $1,108 and $4,246, according to Home Advisor. Costly repairs can quickly eat away your savings or cause bills to pile up. Having a home warranty to defray or cover that cost makes a difference to your bank account and your budget.
Things to consider
Although you can submit a claim online 24/7, customer service representatives are only available between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern time for trade service calls, which could make it difficult should you need to speak to someone directly. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something to consider, especially given the different time zones.
The cost of trade service fees starts a little lower than some of the competition. Still, if you have a lot that you need to cover, you get a lot of bang for your buck.
How Home Service Club compares with the competition
Knowing how Home Service Club compares to other warranty providers is important so you can decide which provider works best for your specific needs.
Home Service Club vs. America’s 1st Choice Home Club
America’s 1st Choice Home Club is another home warranty provider and has four plans to choose from compared to Home Service Club, which only offers two plans. Only the platinum plan covers plumbing stoppages as well as the full range of select appliances.
Additional coverage is available for up to six systems and appliances. However, there is no coverage for structural or utility lines at this time. The trade service fee starts off a bit higher at $75, but as with Home Service Club, the fees come in three tiers according to risk level.
Home Service Club vs. American Home Shield
Like America’s 1st Choice, American Home Shield offers four different plans and Home Service Club only offers two, but the setup differs.
They have a plan specifically for systems, one for appliances, one that’s a combination of everything, and a “Build Your Own” plan that allows you to customize according to your needs. However, you must select at least 10 items to customize a plan.
Optional coverage is available for up to five different items that are not otherwise covered. Again, the trade service fee comes in three tiers, which start at $75 and go up to $125. The higher the trade service fee the lower the risk, and the lower your monthly warranty plan price will be.
Home Service Club vs. Choice Warranty
Choice Warranty offers two plans like Home Service Club, and as with Home Service Club, it does not cover utility lines or your roof. However, this is common to many home warranty providers and is also what helps Home Service Club differentiate itself from the competition.
There is little difference between Choice Warranty’s basic plan and the total plan, which covers everything the basic plan does plus four additional items: your washer and dryer, A/C system and refrigerator. Beyond that, Choice offers up to nine different additional items to choose from, should you need to add more coverage.
Trade service fees according to Choice Warranty’s website are $85, but it’s unclear whether this is a starting point on a sliding scale like the previous two companies or a flat fee. Make sure you do your homework before you buy.
Too long, didn’t read?
When considering a home warranty, it’s always best to shop around, but start with a list of what you need versus what you want to cover, as well as what you’re looking for in a home warranty company. We all have expectations for the products, services, and brands that we buy from and purchasing a home warranty is no different. Know what to expect from the contract before you sign. A specific appliance may be covered, but it’s not likely that every part of the appliance will be covered under your warranty. As always, do your due diligence before you buy. It’s better to begin a contract well-informed to help avoid surprises later on.
Keep Reading
Methodology
The SimpleScore is a proprietary scoring metric we use to objectively compare products and services at The Simple Dollar.
For every review, our editorial team:
- Identifies five measurable aspects to compare across each brand
- Determines the rating criteria for each aspect score
- Averages the five aspect scores to produce a single SimpleScore
Here’s a breakdown of the five aspect scores and their rating criteria for our review of the best home warranty companies of 2020.
Why do some brands have different SimpleScores on different pages?
To ensure the SimpleScore is as helpful and accurate as possible, we developed unique criteria for every category we compare at The Simple Dollar. Since most brands offer a variety of financial solutions, their products and services will score differently depending on what we’re scoring on a given page.
However, it’s also possible for brands to have multiple SimpleScores. For example, when we apply our methodology to Chase’s stock trading product, it scores a 3.6 out of 5. On the other hand, when we compare Chase checking accounts, it scores a 4.4 out of 5. this is because we each criterion for every category is different to account for different industry standards and product offerings.
Questions about our methodology?
Email Hayley Armstrong at hayley@thesimpledollar.com.
Average monthly cost
Many home warranty companies advertise a range of monthly costs for their home warranty plans. We took the average of these costs and assigned SimpleScore aspects based on the amount.
Add-on coverages
Home warranty usually just covers kitchen appliances and HVAC systems. However, homes have so much more than that. We gave higher scores to home warranty companies that offer a variety of add-ons to home warranty coverages, such as pool, washer/dryer, guest houses and more.
Customer support
When it’s time to file a home warranty claim or homeowners have questions, how can they contact support? The SimpleScore rewards home warranty companies with more channels of customer support.
Trade service fee
Much like a deductible, a trade service fee is the fee homeowners pay for each service call. The lower the service fee, the higher the score that the brand gets. If the trade service fee was a range or differed among plans, we took an average of the fees advertised.
Number of pre-made plans
Sometimes it’s just easier to pick a package and get your home warranty coverage started. That’s why we awarded companies with more premade plans higher scores.
