Old Republic Home Warranty Review

Founded in 1974, Old Republic Home Protection (ORHP) has carried an A+ Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating for over 20 years. ORHP expanded its coverage breadth in 1995 and now covers 24 states and provides some of the most comprehensive plans in the home warranty industry.

The This Old House Reviews Team has done extensive research to vet hundreds of home warranty providers for your consideration. We hold ourselves to the highest research standards and review companies based on factors like plans, pricing, customer reviews, customer ratings, response times, and more. In this Old Republic home warranty review, we’ll discuss the company’s plans, pricing, and coverage to help you decide if ORHP is the best home warranty for you.

Pros and Cons of Old Republic Home Warranty

Old Republic Home Protection Plans and Coverage

Old Republic Home Protection plans are available in 24 states and coverage options and limitations will vary based on your state of residence. Across the covered states, there are four home warranty plans and optional coverage add-ons available.

In addition to the items covered under each plan, customers have the option to include additional items, such as:

• Pre-season HVAC tune-up
• Swimming pool/spa equipment
• Ornamental fountain
• Limited roof leak repair
• Outdoor kitchen
• Additional refrigeration units (not available with the Essential plan)
• Water softener/reverse osmosis and water filtration system
• Well pump
• Booster pump
• Enhanced slab leak limit/external plumbing
• Septic tank pumping/septic
• System/sewage ejector pump

In most cases, items are covered only if they are in proper working condition at the date in which your service agreement starts. For more information about when items are covered and when they are not, please reference your sample service agreement.

Old Republic Home Protection covers a variety of home types, including:

• Single-family homes
• Multi-units
• Duplex
• Triplex
• Fourplex
• New construction homes

The annual cost of your Old Republic Home Protection home warranty depends on the type of property that you’re looking to cover, the coverage plan you choose, and how many add-ons you include with your plan.

Here’s a cost breakdown for home warranty plans for Louisiana residents:

In addition to paying a monthly premium, you’ll also be expected to pay a trade call fee, or deductible, when a contractor comes out to your home to assess the broken item. Here’s the breakdown for each plan:

If you choose to add optional items to your home warranty coverage, here’s the list of items and their related costs.

Because plan pricing will vary based on where you live and the coverage you select, we recommend calling Old Republic Home Protection for an accurate and personalized quote specific to your home.

Old Republic Home Protection Reviews

Old Republic Home Protection is BBB-accredited with an A+ rating. As with any good home warranty company, Old Republic has a mix of positive and negative customer reviews.

Here’s a sampling of BBB reviews from ORHP customers:

“Very pleased with the overall Old Republic Home Protection service – from creating a claim, assigning a contractor, the contractor’s professionalism, courteousness, and availability.” — Art K. on April 19, 2023

“My pool filter needed to be replaced. The authorization took a few days to be approved after the contracted person submitted it but then the job was done timely. The person taking my initial call was nice and understanding. The technician took care of the problem and all worked out.” — April E. on April 13, 2023

Amazing company, friendly, professional and very knowledgeable, I would have given 5 stars and this was not really their fault, but my first experience with them was with an extremely terrible plumbing company, that did nothing but made things worse, It was my hot water heater and I was out of hot water for over a month or more. I would be wise if they would make sure that the contractors could actually do the job. Overall great company. — Wanda W. on April 6, 2023

Old Republic Home Protection Claims Process

To submit a claim, log in to Homeowner Central, Old Republic Home Protection’s portal for customers. Claims are accepted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Here’s what the claims process looks like:

1. Place your claim on the Old Republic Home Protection portal.
2. Old Republic Home Protection will notify a contractor in your area. That contractor will contact you directly to schedule an appointment during normal business hours.
3. Service efforts will be initiated in 48 hours and be guaranteed for 30 days. At the time of service, you’ll pay the trade call fee to the contractor.

If there’s an emergency, repairs or replacements can be made within 24 hours. An emergency is defined as no electricity, gas, water, or toilet facilities to the entire home, a condition that immediately endangers health and safety, a condition that interferes with the healthcare support of occupants, or a system malfunction that is causing ongoing damage to the home.

If you should request non-emergency service outside of normal business hours, you will be responsible for additional fees, including overtime compensation.

In addition to letting customers make service requests, the ORHP portal provides a variety of options for homeowners to manage their service agreements, including:

• Registering and managing your plan
• Accessing the name and phone number of your service provider
• Checking the status of service requests at your convenience
• Viewing service history
• Renewing your plan
• Making credit card payments and updates (for monthly payment plans)
• Paying trade call fees

Our Conclusion

The This Old House Reviews Team rates Old Republic an 8.4/10. In our Old Republic home warranty review, we found that the company’s competitive pricing and plan coverage make it a major contender in the home warranty industry, but it is not available to residents in most U.S. states.

ORHP is ideal if you want protection for your newly built home or you manage a multi-family unit. If you’re looking for a home warranty provider similar to Old Republic Home Protection, but with more nationwide coverage, we recommend American Home Shield.

Our Preferred Provider: American Home Shield

Here are some of the reasons why we think AHS is a better option for homeowners than Old Republic Home Protection:

• For added flexibility, AHS has three plan types to choose from
• Operates in 49 states, excluding Alaska
• Has been in business for 48 years
• Provides 24/7 customer service

American Home Shield vs Old Republic Home Warranty

To get a free quote from American Home Shield, call them at 844-529-9298 or fill out this easy online form with your zip code.

Our Rating Methodology

The This Old House Reviews Team backs up our home warranty ratings and recommendations with a detailed rating methodology to objectively score each provider. We conduct research by speaking with company representatives, requesting quotes, analyzing sample contracts from each company, and conducting focus groups and consumer surveys. We then score each provider against our review standards for coverage, value, trustworthiness and transparency, availability, and customer service to arrive at a final score out of 100.  

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