Nations Home Warranty Review
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TOH Rating: 7.7/10
Nations Home Warranty is a female-led company that has served the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex since 1996. Its strength lies in its status as a local home warranty provider.
To make sure you get the coverage you need, we’ve reviewed the plans and services provided by Nations Home Warranty and made recommendations for the best home warranty companies in the industry. Overall, this Texas company is a good bet for residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but homeowners living elsewhere will need a provider with nationwide reach.
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of Nations Home Warranty below.
Pros and Cons of Nations Home Warranty
Pros
- Lower-than-average waiting period (15 days) before coverage begins, while standard is 30
- A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Covers home and lawn maintenance services
- All sales representatives and contractors are local
Cons
- Services only available in Dallas/Ft. Worth
- Basic and Preferred Plans leave out key appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator)
- Can’t choose your own contractor
Nations Home Warranty Plans and Coverage
For homeowners, Nations Home Warranty offers three plans: Basic, Preferred, and Ultimate.
Nation Home Warranty’s Basic Plan is somewhat unusual for a home service contract in that it includes coverage for home and lawn maintenance services, as well as appliances and systems. Here’s what the Basic Plan covers.
Basic Plan
| Appliances | Systems | Home/Lawn Maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| Ceiling fans | Air conditioning | Carpenter ant removal |
| Dishwasher | Ductwork | General pest control |
| Doorbells | Electrical system | Lawn fertilization |
| Ground fault circuit interrupter devices | Heating system | Lawn pest control |
| Exhaust fans | Plumbing (including stoppages) | Fire ant removal |
| Garbage disposal | R410-A refrigerant | Lawn weed control and prevention |
| Built-in microwave | Water heater | Leak detection |
| Oven, range, cooktop, vent hoods | Re-key service | |
| Smoke detectors | Rodent coverage | |
| Sump pump | Garage door tune-ups | |
| Trash compactor | Carpet cleaning service |
Preferred Plan
The Preferred Plan covers everything in the Basic Plan, plus subterranean termite control and garage door openers (one unit per house).
Ultimate Plan
The Ultimate Plan contains everything in the Basic and Preferred Plans, plus the following items:
- Clothes washer
- Clothes dryer
- Primary refrigerator with ice maker and water dispenser
Optional Coverage
Regardless of which Nations Home Warranty plan you choose, you may purchase coverage for the following items:
- Construction modification
- Premier option, which covers:
- Equipment code violation correction
- Permits
- Refrigerant recovery/disposal
- Haul-away services
- Non-cosmetic plumbing cracks
- Garage door openers
- Mismatched systems
- Improper installation
- Crane
- Washer/dryer (as an add-on to Basic and Ultimate Plans)
- Free-standing freezer
- Garage door openers
- Guest houses
- Lawn sprinkler systems
- Plumbing external main line protection
- Pool/spa equipment
- Well pumps
- Booster/jet pumps
- Wet bar refrigerators
- Wine coolers
Note: Nations Home Warranty does not offer coverage for roof leaks or septic systems, but companies like Select Home Warranty do.
What Much Does Nations Home Warranty Cost?
When it comes to home warranty costs, you’ll want to take into account monthly or annual premiums, service call fees, and maximum payouts. The premium is the amount you pay for the contract, regardless of how much you use it. You will pay a service call fee every time you file a claim with the company and a technician comes out to your house to diagnose the issue.
Additionally, most companies set coverage caps on systems and appliances and will make the customer pay out of pocket once that cap is reached.
Since Nations Home Warranty serves a single location, it provides a clear pricing structure on its website. Note that home warranties for condominiums are slightly cheaper than those for single-family homes.
Nations Home Warranty Pricing Comparison
| Type of Home | Basic Plan | Preferred Plan | Ultimate Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| House (annual) | $475 | $565 | $675 |
| House (monthly) | $39.58 | $47.08 | $56.25 |
| Condominium (annual) | $455 | $545 | $655 |
| Condominium (monthly) | $37.92 | $45.42 | $54.58 |
The service call fee or co-pay is $75 no matter which plan you choose, which is on the low end of the industry average of $75–$125. Typical premiums for national home warranty companies tend to range between $25–$50, so Nations Home Warranty is on par with the average premium.
The maximum payouts for the annual plans are also in line with other home warranty companies.
- All appliances combined: $3,000
- Ductwork: $500
- Ovens: $1,500
- Plumbing: $1,000
- Sump pump: $500
Here are the annual prices for the extra coverage options with their maximum payouts (if specified).
Annual Prices
| Coverage Option | Fee | Maximum Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Construction modification | $50 | $500 |
| Premier option | $108 | Equipment code violation correction: $250 |
| Permits: up to $150 per occurrence, $500 maximum | ||
| Haul away: up to $150 per occurrence, $500 maximum | ||
| Non-cosmetic plumbing cracks: $600 | ||
| Crane: $500 | ||
| Clothes washer/dryer | $90 | — |
| Clothes washer/dryer plus refrigerator with ice maker/dispenser | $125 | — |
| Primary kitchen refrigerator with ice maker/dispenser | $50 | $2,500 |
| Additional refrigerator | $45 | $1,000 |
| Freestanding freezer | $45 | — |
| Garage door opener | $30 | — |
| Guest house (up to 2,000 sq.ft.) | $175 | — |
| Lawn sprinkler system | $100 | — |
| Plumbing external main line protection | $75 | $1,000 |
| Pool/spa equipment | $190 | $1,500 maximum for pool/spa heater |
| Additional spa equipment | $95 | — |
| Subterranean termite protection | $53 | — |
| Well pump | $100 | — |
| Well pump and booster/jet pump | $150 | $1,500 |
| Wet bar refrigerator | $35 | $500 |
| Wine cooler | $35 | $500 |
That’s a lot of numbers to take into account, but getting specific with coverage items can keep you from paying more than you need to and help you customize a home warranty to your needs.
How to Get a Quote from Nations Home Warranty
The prices quoted above came from a sample contract and may change based on where you live and the square footage of your home. To get an estimate specific to your house, visit Nations Home Warranty’s website or call 1-888-737-7070.
How to Make a Claim with Nations Home Warranty
The claims process at Nations Home Warranty is similar to that of other home service contract providers. After signing the contract, you will have to wait at least 15 days before making a claim, but that’s lower than the industry average of 30 days. If anything covered by the contract breaks from normal wear and tear, you contact Nations Home Warranty by phone to begin the claims process.
A representative of the company will reach out to one of their contracted technicians, who will then contact you to schedule an appointment. You’ll pay a $75 fee to the contractor (pest control services require a slightly higher co-pay), who will diagnose the problem.
If Nations Home Warranty decides the problem is covered by your contract, they will send the contractor back to fix it. You will pay the contractor and the company reimburses you. If repairs aren’t possible, Nations Home Warranty will pay a cash settlement for the lowest priced product or part.
Nations Home Warranty Reviews
- Although Nations Home Warranty is not accredited with the BBB, it does maintain an A+ rating based on its transparent business practices and response to consumer complaints.
As with any top home warranty company, there will be a mix of positive and negative customer reviews. Here’s what some of the company’s customers had to say.
“My experience with Nations Home Warranty has been as expected and as outlined in the contract. I have not had any ‘surprises’ nor unsatisfactory customer service. Every time I made a claim/service call, a professional was promptly scheduled and the issue was resolved.” — Home B., 1/4/19
“Called them because my ice machine in my freezer quit working. Their vendor, BHB Appliance Services, changed some sort of chip. They told me to give it a few hours to start working. It never worked. After numerous attempts to correct the situation through Nations Home Warranty, it never got fixed.” — Frederick S., 8/29/17
Our Assessment of Nations Home Warranty
We rated Nations Home Warranty a 7.7/10. Nations Home Warranty may be ideal if you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Unfortunately, the company’s warranties are unavailable to most of the country. Additionally, though Nations provides comprehensive coverage at affordable rates, its basic plan doesn’t cover essential items like a refrigerator, washer, or dryer.
If you live outside Dallas/Ft. Worth or you just want to look at other options, we recommend Liberty Home Guard. You can read our full analysis of Liberty Home Guard to learn more.
Related Resources on Home Warranties
Our Rating Methodology
We back up our home warranty ratings and recommendations with a detailed rating methodology to score each provider objectively. We conduct research by speaking with company representatives, requesting quotes, analyzing sample contracts, and conducting focus groups and consumer surveys.
We score each provider against our review standards, which include four comparison categories: coverage, value, trust and transparency, and availability and service. We rate each provider across 31 factors within these categories. Each factor is assigned a point value based on its importance to a homeowner, totaling 100 points. We then convert the final scores to a 5-star rating.
Here’s a breakdown of our weighted factors:
- Coverage (40%): We scored coverage based on included home systems and appliances, add-on options, and unique benefits. We also compared coverage caps and policy exclusions.
- Additional coverage items
- Annual coverage cap
- Home systems coverage
- Major appliances coverage
- Obstructed wall coverage cap
- Value (30%): We compared the coverage level received to monthly pricing to determine plan value. We considered premium pricing, service fees, and flexibility in customizing plan costs.
- Average monthly cost
- Cost flexibility
- Lowest service fee
- Trust and Transparency (16%): We evaluated each company’s reputation using the Better Business Bureau ratings and customer reviews on third-party review sites. We read through plan change policies, workmanship protections, and sample contract availability.
- Brand reputation
- Policy change flexibility
- Sample contract availability
- Workmanship guarantee length
- Availability and Service (14%): We award higher scores for faster claim processing and response times. We also considered service technician policies, including options to choose your technician.
- Claims process
- Guaranteed response time
- Service flexibility
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.
