Cindy
Edmond,#2Consumer Suggestion
Sat, May 03, 2003
Part of the problem with warranty companies is that they are often not regulated. Insurance companies are, and most of us know it can be to get an insurance claim paid...now imagine what insurance co's would do if they were not regulated at all...and that's what warranty co's are. Warranty co's usually call themselves "risk retention groups," not insurance co's. The so-called policies they sell are often not worth much if anything. We showed our home warranty policy, (2-10 Home Buyers Warranty), to about a dozen attorneys...their opinion was that it was "illusory and deceptive." The policy you have probably also has an arbitration clause in it...don't bother going to arbitration...it costs you more money and the arbiter is chosen by the warranty co, plus you'll probably get a gag order so you can't tell anyone how you got ripped off in arbitration, too. I have heard many complaints on warranty companies. The policies are not written to be consumer friendly. They're written to exclude most things, or make it too vague to be a clear cut violation of the policy if they deny you, (not that you have much recourse if they do violate it). For example, 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty certainly would not advertise that they don't cover defects in construction that are code violations, but that exclusion is in the policy a builder buys, and which the home owner does not see until after closing. There is a lengthy report on home warranties and on arbitration at the following sites: www.hadd.com and www.txbr.org This entire industry is akin to those worthless "extended warranties" sold for appliances. I guess when you get your renewal notice from AHS you'll know what to do with it!