Select Home Warranty vs. American Home Shield

Looking to compare Select Home Warranty vs. American Home Shield? Select Home Warranty and American Home Shield are national home warranty companies available in every state, except Alaska. While American Home Shield offers more coverage plans than Select Home Warranty, Select Home Warranty offers cheaper plans and more optional coverage.

The This Old House Reviews Team compares these two providers head-to-head on their cost, coverage plans, customer reviews, and more. Keep reading to determine which company provides the best home warranty for you and your home.

Our Take

Select Home Warranty has cheaper monthly premiums, lower service fees, and offers free roof coverage. However, American Home Shield has more years of industry experience, more comprehensive plan options, and flexible service fees. While AHS offers coverage in 49 states, excluding Alaska, SHW is available in 46 states, excluding Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Select Home Warranty vs. American Home Shield Coverage

American Home Shield covers more appliances and systems than Select Home Warranty, but Select Home Warranty offers more optional coverage than American Home Shield. American Home Shield also offers coverage for items with undetectable pre-existing conditions.

Select Home Warranty Coverage

There are three Select Home Warranty plans: Gold, Bronze, and Platinum. Gold Care covers six home systems, Bronze Care covers eight home appliances, and Platinum Care covers everything in the Bronze Care and Gold Care plans, plus garage door openers and plumbing stoppages.

Compare what each Select plan covers in the table below:

Select Home Warranty also offers 12 optional add-ons to purchase separately, including:

• Plumbing fixtures
• Well pump
• Sump pump
• Central vacuum
• Septic system coverage
• Refrigerator ice maker
• Lawn sprinkler system
• Pool and spa equipment
• Lighting fixtures
• Switches and outlets
• Second refrigerator
• Stand alone freezer

To get a free quote from Select Home Warranty, call 888-370-3956 or fill out this simple form.

American Home Shield Coverage

There are three American Home Shield plans: ShieldSilver™, ShieldGold™, and ShieldPlatinum™. ShieldSilver covers major household systems. ShieldGold covers 10 essential kitchen and laundry appliances with all the systems in ShieldSilver, and ShieldPlatinum protects up to 23 home items with additional benefits that include coverage boosts and roof leak coverage.

Compare each American Home Shield plan in the table below:

In addition to its three standard plans, American Home Shield offers five optional add-ons:

• Electronic extended warranty
• Septic pump
• Well pump
• Pool and spas
• Guest units up to 750 square feet

Select Home Warranty vs. American Home Shield Cost

American Home Shield premiums cost more than Select Home Warranty premiums, but Select Home Warranty has a lower service call fee range of $60–$75. American Home Shield allows you to choose a service fee of $75, $100 or $125. The service fee you select with American Home Shield affects the cost of your monthly premium—the higher the service fee you select, the lower your monthly premium will be and vice versa.

Note: The optional add-on cost for each provider depends on the items you select and may add about $40 to $180 per year to your home warranty cost.

Select Home Warranty vs. American Home Shield Reviews

While these two companies received a B rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), we found that American Home Shield reviews on the BBB are more positive, on average, than Select Home Warranty reviews.

Our Conclusion

American Home Shield and Select Home Warranty are two of the best home warranty companies in the industry, offering comprehensive plan options across the country. If you want comprehensive coverage and a flexible service fee, we recommend choosing American Home Shield. If you want more affordable plans and a greater selection of optional coverage items, consider Select Home Warranty.

To determine the specific cost of each provider’s plans, request a free quote using the panel below.

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 Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.