Cinch Home Services Review (August 2022)

In This Review: Pros & Cons | Plans & Coverage | Pricing | State Availability | Reviews | Conclusion | FAQ

Cinch Home Services, previously known as Cross Country Home Services, has been in business for more than 40 years and is one of the biggest home warranty names in the industry. Cinch offers three plans with a handful of additional coverage options, and it is a popular choice among homeowners, due to its willingness to cover pre-existing conditions and damage due to rust and corrosion. Cinch’s 180-day service guarantee is among the strongest guarantees in the industry.

Because it can be difficult to determine which home warranty is best for you, the This Old House Reviews Team did the work for you and created an in-depth Cinch Home Services review. We analyzed plans, coverage, pricing, and customer reviews to help you determine if Cinch is the best home warranty provider for you.

✔ Provides a 180-day workmanship guarantee
✔ Offers discounts on new appliances
✔ Easy-to-use quote form on its website
✔ Protection for unknown pre-existing conditions

✘ Not as many add-ons offered as some competitors
✘ Does not offer roof-leak protection
✘ Not available in Alaska or Hawaii

Cinch Home Services offers three home protection plans: an Appliances plan, Built-in Systems plan, and Complete Home plan. There are also several add-ons available, including coverage for spas, pools, septic tanks, and well pumps. These can be included with any plan at the time of purchase. Here’s what coverage looks like under each plan.

*A $50 Green Reward will be mailed to you after your first payment. It can be used toward the purchase of energy-efficient home upgrades, such as LED light bulbs, programmable thermostats, and smart home gadgets.

Unlike most home warranty companies, Cinch provides coverage for the following:

• Protection for unknown pre-existing conditions
• Rust and corrosion coverage

To get a better understanding of what is and isn’t covered under your Cinch home warranty, review a sample contract to understand the terms and conditions of coverage.

Cinch plan pricing will depend on where you live and the type of coverage you choose. Cinch offers a service fee of $100, $125, or $150. For a lower service fee, your monthly premiums will be higher, but if you select a higher deductible, your monthly premiums will be lower.

Customers can pay for their home warranty plan in monthly installments or make a single annual payment. If you choose to pay in monthly installments, Cinch is offering two months of free coverage with the purchase of any plan. This offer excludes optional coverage and add-ons, and it can not be combined with any other offers.

Here are coverage costs for a single-family home in Durham, NC with a $100 service fee:

• Appliances: $44.99 per month
• Built-in Systems: $51.99 per month
• Complete Home: $61.99 per month

Cinch Home Services is available in 48 states. The company does not serve Alaska or Hawaii.

If you live in Alaska or Hawaii, here are alternatives:

• Home Warranty Companies in Alaska
• Home Warranty Companies in Hawaii

Cinch Home Services is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has an B rating. Like other top-rated home warranty companies, Cinch Home Services reviews consist of feedback from both happy and unhappy customers. Some positive reviews praise the staff for being knowledgeable, while some negative reviews and This Old House readers have noted slow response times.

Here’s a sampling of third-party customer reviews:

“Excellent home warranty company. I prefer them over American Home Shield with whom I had over 15 years of involvement.” —Adrienne B. via BBB on 8/9/18

“We are both real estate professionals and have had other home warranty service providers over the past 5 years… and without a doubt our experience with Cinch has been, well, a Cinch! Customer service and response to our needs / claims and service providers has been very good. So much so that when we sold our home recently, we included the Cinch home warranty as part of the sale for the new homeowner. On top of that we just purchased a new warranty for the home we are moving to!” —Ty and Tara L. via Trustpilot on 9/24/20

Here is some feedback customers shared with our team:

“We bought a house last year that came with a home warranty. The electric hot water heater started leaking. We have now gone five days without water and expect another week before they can get a heater…A new heater and installation from Lowes is $1800-$2200. If we take the Cinch buyout [and cancellation of the applicable section of our warranty], we can get about $1,065 from Cinch. We paid $150 to file the service request. So if we accept the buyout we will end up spending [close to $1,000]! It seems pretty Cinch is slow-walking this process in hopes we will surrender and settle for the payout.” —Jeff B. on 5/28/21

“Whatever you do, do not give this company any business as they can’t and won’t help when you actually have a claim. It’s been 30 days since the claim was filed and even then it took a week before anyone called me to set up an appointment. When the repairman did come out he knew exactly what was wrong and said parts were not available but he would submit the claim. That is the last time I have heard from anyone from the warranty company. ” —Greg on 9/28/20

Our Cinch Home Services review yielded an 8.1/10 score for the company. Not only does Cinch provide extensive coverage on important home items, but the company offers coverage for components and parts like knobs, doors, and drawers, provides a $25 credit to use toward filters for your A/C or fridge, offers a $50 Green Reward to offset the cost of upgrading your home’s energy efficiency, and has an easy-to-use digital dashboard.

While Cinch Home Services is a popular provider across all age groups, homeowners with new brand-name appliances get the added bonus of a discount. Its website also features an easy-to-use quote tool that simplifies the process of determining how much your warranty will cost.

Overall, Cinch Home Services may be a good option for you if you want comprehensive coverage for systems and appliances and protection for items that may have pre-existing conditions from a trustworthy company that offers an industry-leading 180-day workmanship guarantee and an extensive network of thousands of pre-screened professional service companies nationwide. However, Cinch may not be a good choice for you if you want to choose your own technician or if you want cheaper deductibles.

If you’re still on the fence about Cinch Home Services, see how the company stacks up against other top-rated competitors in the industry. For the best home warranty coverage, we recommend getting a quote from a few different providers so you can compare pricing. By doing this, you’ll also be able to price match with your preferred home warranty company and get the lowest price possible for coverage.

Compare Home Warranty Companies

To learn about other home warranty companies we recommend, read our in-depth company reviews:

• Choice Home Warranty Review
• First American Home Warranty Review
• Liberty Home Guard Review

Our Rating Methodology

The This Old House Reviews Team is committed to providing comprehensive and unbiased reviews to our readers, and we aim to provide transparency in our review standards and research process.

Our research process includes speaking with representatives from more than 40 home warranty providers, requesting quotes, and asking clarifying questions to gain insight into each provider’s benefits and downsides. We also analyze sample contracts from each company to understand specific coverage terms.

To rate companies, we apply the data we have gathered to our review standards. These standards are on a 100-point scoring system, which is detailed below:

• Coverage (35 points): Providers are scored based on breadth and depth of coverage. We focused on key home systems (HVAC, plumbing, and electrical), essential appliances (refrigerator, ovens, and laundry machines), and unique coverage items (such as roof-leak coverage and code violation allowances). Coverage scores are weighted by taking into account coverage caps and other limiting factors, meaning providers with greater range of coverage and higher coverage caps score the highest.
• Value (30 points): A company’s plan value is a reflection of how well it serves the customer in comparison to what the customer pays for the policy. We accounted for monthly costs, service call fees, and cost flexibility (such as customizable service call fees, discounts, and multi-year policies).
• Trustworthiness and Transparency (21 points): Trustworthiness and transparency are a reflection of how well the provider considers the customer’s interests. We scored items such as the length of workmanship guarantees, online availability of a sample contract, policy change flexibility, and ease of cancellation. Additionally, we scored items that reflect industry reputation and customer satisfaction, including analyzing brand reputation across the Better Business Bureau and third-party customer review aggregators.
• Availability and Service (14 points): Quality of customer service is key to customer satisfaction. We dug into each provider’s guaranteed response times, claims processes, service flexibility, emergency availability, and more.

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