Working with Home Warranty 

What is a Home Warranty?

A home warranty is an agreement between a homeowner and a home warranty company that provides protection against unexpected and costly repairs. Although many people assume that a home warranty policy covers everything, this is not true. Each policy has a specific list of items that are covered and not covered, and there are different policies available. As a contractor for the home warranty company, we do not have access to your specific contract. If you have any questions about your policy or coverage, please contact your home warranty company directly.

 

What is the Process Like?

Your home warranty company provides two ways to file a claim, either by calling or online. After the claim is made, a work order is created and sent to one of several contractors. If the contractor receives the work order during regular business hours, they will typically call and schedule the service on the same day. However, this does not mean that you will receive the service on the same day, as the contractor cannot schedule the work until they receive the work order. Sometimes there may be a slight delay in the time it takes for the contractor to receive the work order.

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Home warranty companies encourage contractors to schedule service within 24 hours after receiving the work order, not including weekends. Although they try to accommodate this as much as possible, during peak seasons, there may be a large volume of calls that result in some calls being scheduled outside of the 24-hour timeframe. When this happens, calls are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Home warranty companies do not offer emergency service or hold spots for such calls.

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If service is requested outside of normal business hours or on weekends, an additional fee will be charged to the homeowner, which is not covered by the home warranty. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact your home warranty company.

 

Repairs vs Replacements

To begin with, it's important to note that your home warranty company is primarily focused on repairs and not replacements. There are only a few situations where a home warranty company will choose to replace a piece of equipment instead of repairing it, including:

• When it is determined that the issue cannot be repaired

• When the required parts are not available or no longer manufactured

• When the cost of repair exceeds the cost of replacement. In some cases, repairing an old appliance or piece of equipment may not be economically viable due to compatibility or efficiency issues.

 

Who is Responsible for Making Decisions?

Utah Heating and Cooling is a vendor of Home Warranty but we do not work for the home warranty company. All decisions regarding your home warranty coverage are based on the terms outlined in your contract, which we do not have access to.

 

As a result, we must seek approval from the warranty company to confirm if a repair is covered or not, to obtain authorization to order replacement parts, or to request equipment replacement since they are the ones who make all the decisions.

 

What Are Out of Pocket Expenses?

Every home warranty policy has certain limits or exclusions, which implies that for certain repairs or replacements, you may be responsible for paying additional fees as a homeowner. These additional charges may be associated with:

• accessibility

• contract limits

• construction or modifications

• permits

• code upgrades

• disposal of equipment

• shipping fees and/or equipment upgrades

• refrigerant recovery

• limitations on refrigerant costs

• ductwork modifications on supply and return

• missing parts

• electrical upgrades

• labor difficulties. 

Additional labor to de-ice frozen coils or other non-covered items as outlined in your home warranty policy. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact your home warranty company.

 

 

What Happens When Your Claim Is Partially Covered?

If your home warranty claim is approved and you are required to pay out of pocket as a homeowner, we will make every effort to collaborate with you and assist in restoring your system. However, it's important to note that home warranty work is already carried out at a discounted rate, so we are unable to offer any further discounts. Nonetheless, we do understand that unexpected fees may arise, and that is why we collaborate with various financing companies to alleviate some of the burden on you as a homeowner.

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What Is An Upgrade?

An upgrade means to pay the additional cost between what the warranty company is covering and the cost of the preferred upgrade. If the appliance or equipment is approved for replacement, it is a favorable time to upgrade as you can receive a credit towards a new system. It's worth noting that your warranty company will only replace the equipment or parts with those of similar features or finishes, which typically are builder grade options. Therefore, there might not be a match with the same brand or color when the replacement is necessary. However, we are pleased to provide a broad array of upgrade alternatives to homeowners, ensuring that you receive the most appropriate choice for your home. 

 

What to do if Your Claim was not Covered?

Nobody desires the home warranty company to deny their claim. If your claim is rejected, as a homeowner, you won't receive the repair you were anticipating, which can lead to dissatisfaction. As a contractor, we are also unable to carry out the repair work.

The majority of the time, a non-covered claim occurs when there is a detectable pre-existing condition. Possible reasons may include:

• manufacturer’s recall

• lack of maintenance

• improper repair

• power surges, tampering, abuse or neglect

• missing parts

• not due to normal wear and tear

• hail damage, rust, rot, corrosion or tree roots

• vandalism

• acts of god

• damage from insects, rodents or animals

For a full list of non covered items, please refer to the home warranty company. 

While some failures are not covered by your home warranty company, they may be covered by your homeowners insurance. We would be happy to help with homeowners insurance estimates if this becomes the case. Or if you do not wish to use any insurance and just proceed with us as a regular customer we will help you through that process as well.

 

Non-Covered HVAC Items

Below is a list of common items that may not be covered by your home warranty policy

• Permits

• Code required modifications

• Refrigerant line sets

• Plenums, duct modifications

• Flue Piping

• Flue liners

• Improper installation or repair

• Missing Parts

• Failures caused by secondary damage

• Items that are under manufacturer warranty

• Detectable pre-existing conditions

• Misuse, abuse, or mistreatment, including but not limited to, removal of parts and damage by people, pests, or pets

• Accidents, fire, freezing, water damage, electrical failure or surge, or excessive or inadequate water pressure;

• Lightning, mud, earthquake, soil movement, storms, or acts of God

• A manufacturer’s improper design, improper materials or formulations, a defective manufacturing process, or other manufacturing defects.

• Routine Maintenance (Cleaning)

• Capacity such as drain lines, HVAC equipment sizing and duct work being too small or large

• Modification to make new HVAC equipment fit such as drain lines, electrical, gas piping

Most policies have limitations on refrigerant and you will need to check with your warranty policy for this.  When code modifications are covered, they typically have a $250.00 max coverage.