Best Home Warranty Companies in Idaho (2022)

Under a home warranty contract, you pay a monthly or annual premium to protect your home’s systems and appliances from normal wear and tear. This means that you won’t have to break the bank if a repair or replacement is needed for one of those covered items. Since a large portion of Idaho’s population is located in rural communities, consider investing in a home warranty that covers commonly used systems in those areas, like wells and septic tanks.

The This Old House Reviews Team is here to help you during your home warranty search. We conducted research on a variety of home warranty companies and composed this review, detailing our recommendations for the best home warranty providers available in the Gem State.

Idaho’s Top 5 Home Warranty Companies

The highest rated home warranty companies in Idaho include:

• American Home Shield (AHS): Best Overall
• Choice Home Warranty: Best Basic Plan
• First American Home Warranty: Best Appliance Coverage
• Liberty Home Guard: Most Responsive
• Priority Home Warranty: Contractor Flexibility

To zero in on the best options for Idaho homeowners, our team looked at pricing, plans, add-on options, customer service, and other factors. Here’s a detailed look at our top five picks.

American Home Shield

American Home Shield (AHS) has more than 45 years of experience in the home warranty industry. During its tenure, AHS has protected more than 1.8 million customers with its network of 17,000 service contractors nationwide.

Pros & Cons

✔ 24/7 customer service
✔ Generous coverage caps
✔ No limit to the number of home repairs during the contract period

✘ Repairs are only guaranteed for 30 days
✘ Doesn’t offer many optional add-ons

Plans & Pricing

AHS offers three plans—the ShieldSilver™, ShieldGold™, and ShieldPlatinum™. The ShieldSilver covers home systems, such as your electrical and plumbing. The ShieldGold also covers systems, and adds kitchen and laundry appliances, bringing the total number of items covered to 23. The ShieldPlatinum is among the most comprehensive in the industry, covering all of the ShieldGold and increasing coverage caps.

AHS also provides coverage for the following optional add-ons: Electronics extended warranty, pool and spa, well pump, septic pump, guest unit under 750 square feet

In general, a plan from American Home Shield costs between $40 and $80 per month. AHS uniquely allows customers to choose the cost of their service fee: $75, $100, or $125. The higher the service fee you choose, the lower your monthly premium will be.

Learn more: American Home Shield Review

Choice Home Warranty

Choice Home Warranty (CHW) is an affordable option for Idaho homeowners and is an ideal candidate for older homes, where appliances and systems may break down more often.

Pros & Cons

✔ Coverage without a home inspection
✔ A 90-day repair guarantee
✔ Customers can cancel for free within 30 days of the contract start date

✘ Doesn’t let customers choose their own contractor
✘ Customers can’t customize their plans

Plans & Pricing

CHW offers two plans—a Basic Plan and a Total Plan. CHW’s Basic Plan covers 14 home systems and appliances, including your electrical, plumbing, water heater, and dishwasher. The Total Plan covers everything under the Basic Plan and adds coverage for your air conditioning, refrigerator, washer, and dryer.

You can also add the following add-ons to your plan: Pool and spa, well pump, sump pump, central vacuum, limited roof leak, septic system, second refrigerator, stand alone freezer, septic tank pumping

In general, customers will pay between $41 and $50 per month for a plan from Choice Home Warranty. Service fees range between $60 and $85, which is low compared to the industry average of $75-$125.

Learn more: Choice Home Warranty Review

First American Home Warranty

Like American Home Shield, First American Home Warranty (FAHW) is a veteran in the home warranty industry with more than 30 years of experience. The provider is also the cheapest of the three home warranty providers recommended for Idaho homeowners.

Pros & Cons

✔ Customer service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
✔ A risk-free, 30-day money-back guarantee
✔ Option of a First Class Upgrade, which protects improperly installed or maintained systems and appliances

✘ Provides only two plans
✘ Customers can’t build their own plan
✘ Coverage cap of $1,500 is low compared to the $3,000 offered by American Home Shield

Plans & Pricing

FAHW offers two plans—the Basic Plan and Premier Plan. FAHW’s Basic Plan covers home appliances, while the Premier Plan covers all the appliances in the Basic Plan and adds on protection for home systems.

FAHW also offers policyholders with more extensive coverage by including these optional add-ons: Additional refrigeration, central air conditioning, first-class upgrade, pool and spa, well pump

In general, a plan from First American will cost between $28 and $44 per month. Additionally, the service fee is $75 per claim.

Learn more: First American Home Warranty Review

Liberty Home Guard

Liberty Home Guard is one of the newer home warranty companies in the industry, but its compelling suite of add-on options and responsive customer service team have made it a worthy competitor against industry titans.

Pros & Cons

✔ 30 unique add-on options, including uncommonly covered items such as pest control, floor cleaning, and reverse osmosis systems
✔ Live-chat feature on the website makes it convenient to speak with a customer service representative any time of day
✔ 60-day workmanship guarantee is twice the length of the typical 30-day guarantee offered by many competitors

✘ Can be difficult to decipher the variable service call fee model due to the lack of transparency
✘ Covered items are capped at $1,600 which is lower than competitors

Plans & Pricing

Liberty Home Guard offers three plans: Appliance Guard, Systems Guard, and Total Home Guard. Appliance Guard covers nine essential appliances, such as your laundry machines and built-in microwave. Systems Guard covers your built-in systems, including but not limited to electrical and plumbing. Total Home Guard covers all the items in the two basic plans.

Liberty Home Guard also offers an impressive suite of add-on options: Pool and spa, sump pump, well pump, central vacuum, additional spa, septic system plumbing, stand-alone freezer, limited roof leak, lighting fixtures, re-key, gutter cleaning, pest control, floor/carpet cleaning, water softener, lawn sprinkler system, electronics protection, swamp cooler, ejector pump, second refrigerator, trash compactor, in-fridge ice maker, freestanding ice maker, wine cooler/fridge, saltwater pool, generator, plumbing fixtures, grinder pump, water dispenser water line, instant hot water dispenser, reverse osmosis system

Based on our quote, Liberty Home Guard plans will cost between $45 and $55 a month. A representative told us that the service call fee will always fall between $65 and $125, but it will be assigned to your account based on your plan selection, add-on options, and the location of your home.

Learn more: Liberty Home Guard Review

Priority Home Warranty

Priority Home Warranty stands out for its contractor flexibility, overall affordability, and its live claims tracking process. Homeowners that have an established relationship with a licensed and insured contractor can continue to work with them on pre-approved claims of covered items.

Pros & Cons

✔ $70 service call fee is lower than many of its competitors
✔ Plan-length workmanship guarantee
✔ Can work with your own contractor for pre-approved claims

✘ Since it’s a newer company, it lacks some of the industry experience and customer feedback of older competitors

Plans & Pricing

Priority Home Warranty offers three plan options: Systems Home Care, Appliance Home Care, and Total Home Care. Systems Home Care covers built-in systems like your air conditioning and plumbing systems. Appliances Home Care covers items such as your refrigerator and oven. Total Home Care bundles all the items in the basic plans into one comprehensive package.

Priority Home Warranty also offers the following add-on options: Ice maker, second refrigerator, stand-alone freezer, second clothes dryer, second dishwasher, septic pumping, water softener, septic system, second tankless water heater, saltwater pool system, pool/spa, second air conditioner, well pump, limited roof leak, tankless water heater, second oven/range/stove, second clothes washer, sump pump, and central vacuum

Based on our quote, you can expect to pay between $33 to $47 a month for a Priority Home Warranty plan. Priority charges a $70 service call fee each time you file a claim.

Learn more: Priority Home Warranty Review

Our Conclusion

The This Old House Reviews Team recommends these five home warranty providers for Idaho homeowners because of their ability to accommodate a wide range of customers in terms of budget and coverage. We suggest getting a quote from all five, since plan pricing will vary by region, type of plan, and square footage of your home.

We recommend you start by requesting a quote from American Home Shield, Liberty Home Guard, and Priority Home Warranty.

Frequently Asked Questions About Idaho Home Warranties

What other home warranty companies are available in Idaho?

While American Home Shield, Choice Home Warranty, and First American Home Warranty are our top picks for home warranty coverage, there are some honorable mentions that also protect homes in Idaho. These include The Home Service Club, Select Home Warranty, and Landmark Home Warranty.

How much should I pay for a home warranty?

The average customer pays between $300 and $600 a year for home warranty. Pricing will depend on whether you want basic or comprehensive coverage for their home systems and appliances and where you live. In addition to a monthly premium, you’ll also have to pay a service call fee between $75–$125 whenever you submit a service request during the contract period.

Do home warranties cover pre-existing conditions?

Most home warranties will not cover pre-existing conditions for poorly installed or maintained systems and appliances. However, First American Home Warranty does offer a First Class Upgrade that would protect those items for an additional cost.

Our Home Warranty Review Methodology: How We Chose The Best Home Warranty Companies

The This Old House Reviews Team is committed to providing comprehensive and unbiased reviews to our readers. This means earning your trust through transparency and having the data to back up our ratings and recommendations. With that in mind, we spent time creating an objective rating system to score each home warranty company. Here’s what that review process looks like:

• We call every home warranty provider, talking to sales agents and company representatives. We get quotes, ask questions, and fully understand the protection plan offerings.
• We test the customer service, including factors such as wait times, friendliness, and problem-solving ability.
• We analyze the sample contracts from each brand we review. This allows us to break down the industry jargon and see what is and isn’t covered so we can give readers straightforward information.
• We update all of this information on a continuous basis, storing it in a proprietary database that allows us to compare dozens of home warranty companies against each other.

With all of that data, we created a rating system to score each home warranty company. Our rating system is a weighted, 100-point scale on the following factors:

• Plan options (25): Every home and every family needs the right home warranty plan for them. Providers with more options and more flexibility were rated higher than those without.
• Coverage specifics (5): What does each plan and each provider cover? The more covered by the provider in their basic plans, the higher the score.
• Pricing (25): Both the monthly fee and the service fee play an important role in the selection process.
• Trustworthiness (25): There are a number of home warranty companies that aren’t reputable and don’t follow through on their agreements. We gauged trustworthiness based on customer feedback from the BBB.
• State availability (5): Where you live plays a role in the options you have for a home warranty. Companies scored higher if they covered more states than their competitors.
• Customer service (10): This factor is based on our own research from calling providers, as well as their guarantees for responding to claims.
• Additional benefits (5): Some home warranty companies offer special promotions or will cover items in their plans that are usually considered optional coverage for most companies. Home warranty companies that offer these types of benefits were scored higher than competitors that didn’t.

In summary, the This Old House Review Team reviewed 45 companies to select this list of the seven best home warranty providers. To keep our ratings and data current, we have a full-time researcher who collects (and regularly updates) more than 100 specific data points from each company to help us compare them on key factors such as coverage, cost, service, and dependability.

To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.