Tom
San Diego,#2Consumer Comment
Sun, March 05, 2006
I am wondering if this consumer (and many others on this site w/ similar problems) really understands the intended purpose of home warranties, and how they are structured to work. Basically, they are to help the home owner avoid, in most cases (not ALL cases), expensive REPAIR costs. In other words, they are not intended to pay for total REPLACEMENT costs for old, worn out appliances or complete systems (e.g. heating, air conditioning) that have seen their day. So, if you have not maintained the system, or if so many parts of the system are worn out, that replacing one or two parts would still not bring the appliance back into working condition, your claim will probably be denied. Now, if a broken part cannot be repaired or replaced, the insurer may replace the whole unit. For example, my home was equipped with a combination oven/range/microwave. When the fiberglass braid that keeps the glass in the oven door from falling out disintegrated after 15 years, AHS gave me a $1500 credit to replace the unit because the part was no longer available. To their credit (no pun intended), they included the cost of the microwave because the manufacturer no longer made combination units. In addition, because I ordered a new oven/range and separate microwave through AHS, I received an additional (and considerable) discount through them. I checked at Home Depot, just to be sure, and did in fact, save about an additional $400. I want to state again, that the deciding factor in getting AHS to pay for the REPLACEMENT of my entire cooking system was based on the fact that the rest of the system was in excellent condition. If everything were about to fall apart, they probably would not have paid for replacement. So, in closing, the consumer really needs to understand what these policies are intended to do: save you money on potentially costly REPAIRS. If you're counting on your insurance to REPLACE old, worn out systems, then you're better off saving your money for that eventuality. Note: I am not an employee of AHS, just a satisfied consumer. I recently replaced most of the other appliances in my home, so I do not currently have AHS insurance. I do intend to re-insure when the appliance warranties run out.