Home warranties offer peace of mind to homeowners who don’t want to spend their days worrying about how to afford an unexpected repair or replacement on a major home system or appliance. In addition to receiving coverage on essential items like your air conditioning, heating, and plumbing, Nebraska residents can even opt into protection for well pumps, roof leaks, and septic systems.
Since the home warranty industry is saturated with providers, the This Old House Reviews Team did the research for you and compared three of the best home warranty companies in Nebraska. Keep reading to learn which Nebraska home warranty is right for you.
Nebraska’s Top 3 Home Warranty Companies
The highest rated home warranty companies in Nebraska include:
- American Home Shield: Best Overall
- Choice Home Warranty: Best Basic Plan
- First American Home Warranty: Best Appliance Coverage
Our team scoured the home warranty market to find the best providers for your state. We narrowed down the choices to three companies based on factors like reputation, coverage, pricing, benefits, and more. Here’s a closer look at the three companies.
American Home Shield
American Home Shield (AHS) has served more than 1.8 million customers since its founding in 1971. The home warranty company prides itself on accepting most of the claims its customers file, having paid more than $2 billion in the last five years.
Pros & Cons
✔ 30-day workmanship guarantee
✔ A claims center that’s open 24/7
✘ Doesn’t offer many optional add-ons
Plans & Pricing
AHS offers three plans for its customers—the ShieldSilver™, ShieldGold™, and ShieldPlatinum™. The ShieldSilver protects important home systems, the ShieldGold covers 23 appliances and systems, and the ShieldPlatinum increases the ShieldGold’s coverage caps. The ShieldPlatinum is one of the most comprehensive plans in the home warranty industry, and it also offers roof leak coverage and a free HVAC tune-up.
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
Unlike most home warranty companies, you can choose your service fee—between $75, $100, and $125—when you sign up for a plan. The lower the service fee, the more your monthly premium will be. In general, a plan from American Home Shield will cost between $40 and $80 per month.
Learn more: American Home Shield Review
Choice Home Warranty
While Choice Home Warranty (CHW) has been around for only a fraction of the time as American Home Shield, the company has protected more than one million homes and has a network of more than 15,000 service contractors.
Pros & Cons
✔ 24/7 customer service
✔ 90-day repair guarantee
✔ Most claims processed within 48 hours
✘ Doesn’t let customers choose their own contractor
✘ Customers can’t customize their plans
Plans & Pricing
CHW has two plans—a Basic Plan and a Total Plan. The Basic Plan covers 14 major systems and appliances, while the Total Plan covers those 14 items plus air conditioners, washers, dryers, and refrigerators.
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
Choice Home Warranty’s service call fee is $60-$85 per claim. In general, customers will pay between $36 and $43 per month for a plan.
Learn more: Choice Home Warranty Review
First American Home Warranty
First American Home Warranty (FAHW) is another veteran in the home warranty industry with more than 35 years of experience. In the past year, 63% of its customers filed a claim and FAHW saved them more than $177 million.
Pros & Cons
✔ Coverage for improperly installed or maintained items
✔ No coverage cap on cooling, heating, or ductwork
✔ Affordable premiums and service fees
✘ Provides only two plans, whereas AHS and other companies provide up to four
✘ Customers can’t build their own plan
Plans & Pricing
First American has two plans—a Basic Plan and Premier Plan. The Basic Plan covers home appliances, while the Premier Plan covers systems and appliances like your dishwasher, air conditioning, water heater, and ductwork.
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 $25–$40 per month. All First American customers pay a set service fee of $75.
Learn more: First American Home Warranty Review
Our Conclusion
American Home Shield, Choice Home Warranty, and First American Home Warranty offer the best home warranty coverage for Nebraska homeowners. Because plan pricing will depend on where you live, the type of plan you choose, and the square footage of your home, we recommend getting quotes from all three providers and comparing costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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