While home warranties cover a lot of important systems and appliances in your home, they do have limitations and aren’t all inclusive.
What Are the Common Home Warranty Exclusions?
Many home warranty plans don’t cover:
- Pre-existing problems
- Improperly maintained systems or appliances
- Secondary problems from a broken appliance or system (e.g., floor warping from a leaky dishwasher)
- Modifications to accommodate replacements
- Items like roofing, sprinkler systems, walls, windows, and doors
Some of these are more nuanced than others. Keep reading to better understand home warranty exclusions and service agreement limitations so you can use your home warranty with confidence.
Do Home Warranties Cover Pre-existing Problems?
Many homeowners ask, “Does a home warranties cover pre-existing issues that I didn't cause? The answer is no. Home warranties only cover systems and appliances that are in good health when you sign your Plan Agreement.
Say you buy a house and notice the AC system is blowing warm air. After moving in, you purchase a home warranty and submit a claim for the HVAC after the 30-day waiting period. Unfortunately, since the home inspection report shows that the system was already malfunctioning, it’s considered a pre-existing problem, and the claim will be denied.
Other pre-existing problems could include:
- A refrigerator that had a broken ice maker
- A faucet that already had a slight drip
- An oven that wasn’t heating properly during inspection
To reduce the chances of having to address a pre-existing problem, it’s important for home buyers to negotiate with home sellers about repairing or replacing pre-existing problems to covered systems and appliances as part of the offer. Doing so can help you keep your home’s covered systems and appliances within your service agreement limitations before coverage begins.
Do Home Warranties Cover Improperly Maintained Systems or Appliances?
Improper maintenance is one of the most frequently misunderstood home warranty exclusions and an important part of service agreement limitations.
Your home’s systems and appliances need regular maintenance to ensure they work well. Essentially, you can’t simply neglect your systems and appliances and expect a home warranty to cover that neglect. This includes ongoing tasks like:
- Replacing HVAC system filters regularly
- Draining your water heater once a year
- Cleaning out your dryer vent periodically
For example, say you never change your HVAC filters, and your HVAC system breaks down. You Pro will likely notice that lack of maintenance was the cause of the breakdown. Since lack of maintenance is an important service agreement limitation, your claim could be denied.
In addition to staying within your service agreement limitations, routine maintenance helps keep your home’s covered systems and appliances running well. Fortunately, 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty (2-10) has several maintenance guides on our homeowner blog that you can search for to help you maintain your systems and appliances.
Do Home Warranties Cover Secondary Damages When a System or Appliance Breaks?
Home warranties only cover primary problems with systems and appliances. They don’t necessarily cover damage caused by those primary problems. So what does that mean?
If your dishwasher leaks during a cycle and floods your kitchen, your home warranty may cover the repair for the leak or replace your dishwasher if it can’t be repaired. However, any warped hardwood floors, ruined cabinetry, and water-stained drywall wouldn’t be covered by your home warranty because the damage is a secondary problem, which is a home warranty exclusion.
Those problems would most likely fall under your homeowners insurance coverage. This is a great reason why you should have both a home warranty and homeowners insurance, and why you should be aware of service agreement limitations. This way, you can call the right people to address the appropriate problem.
Do Home Warranties Cover Modifications to Accommodate Replacements?
When breakdowns are eligible for replacement, your repair person will likely attempt to replace the system or appliance with something of a similar size. Sometimes, that’s not possible.
For example, say you have an old wall oven that breaks, and it can’t be replaced with a similar model due to updated dimension requirements. The new model may require the cabinetry to be restructured. In this case, your home warranty could cover the cost of the replacement oven (up to the home warranty’s stated dollar limitations) but not the costs related to modifying your cabinets.
Some other examples of home warranty exclusions under this category include:
- Expanding your water heater closet because the new model doesn’t fit
- Upgrading your electrical panel to meet building codes for a new AC
- Installing a bigger gas line required by a new gas stove
In short, home warranties don’t cover costs related to size differences, building code updates, and additional hookups needed for new installations.
What Items Aren’t Covered by a Home Warranty?
Home warranty coverage focuses mainly on the internal systems and appliances that keep your home running smoothly.
But it’s important to remember that certain parts of your home, such as structural elements, outdoor features, and specific specialty items, typically aren’t included. Knowing what falls outside your warranty coverage can save you time and confusion when unexpected issues arise.
Do Home Warranties Cover Walls, Windows, and Doors?
One day, you might notice a large crack forming in your living room wall. If you were to request service for this issue, your request would be denied. Since your home’s wall is a structural component, rather than a system or appliance, the crack would fall outside of your home warranty Plan Agreement’s limitations.
Do Home Warranties Cover Leaking Roofs?
One of the most common mistakes homeowners make is assuming that their home warranty covers roof leaks. Typically, they don’t cover leaking roofs within their standard coverage.
However, you can add the roof leak coverage option to your 2-10 home warranty for a small additional monthly fee. This could help you turn a home warranty exclusion into an inclusion, up to the clearly stated dollar limitations for roof leak coverage.
If your home warranty doesn’t include roof coverage, consider contacting your homeowners insurance company for potential solutions.
Do Home Warranties Cover Sprinkler Systems?
If you have a sprinkler system that develops a leak underground, reducing water pressure and creating puddles, you may think about filing a claim with your home warranty. However, most providers, including 2-10, don’t provide standard coverage for outdoor plumbing, including sprinklers, faucets, and valves. You’ll have to handle repairs privately or through your landscaping service.
However, you may be able to access home warranty coverage for exterior hose bibbs or pipe leaks outside of your home’s footprint with the Supreme option upgrade or the extended pipe leak option.
What Else Do Home Warranties Not Cover?
Here are some other general home warranty exclusions:
- Items covered by a manufacturer’s warranty, like a new refrigerator
- Damage from a fire, flood, or extreme weather
- Cosmetic defects to appliances, such as scratches or dents
- Damage from termites or other pests chewing through items like electrical wiring
- Improper installation
- Neglect
Although home warranties aren’t all-inclusive, they can still protect your budget extremely well. 2-1o constantly works to make it more affordable for you to address covered breakdowns. That’s why we offer powerful coverage and the ability to enhance your coverage with options.
A 2-10 home warranty can help you protect your budget against expensive and inconvenient covered breakdowns. And we work hard to make sure understanding your service agreement limitations and the home warranty exclusions for your plan as easy as possible.
FAQS
- What is a service agreement?
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- A Service Agreement is a contract between you and your home warranty provider outlining exactly what systems and appliances in your home are covered, what's excluded, and how repairs or replacements are handled. It includes details about costs, limitations, and responsibilities for both the homeowner and provider.
- What is a covered item?
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- A covered item refers to any appliance or home system that your home warranty provider agrees to repair or replace if it breaks down due to normal wear and tear. Typical covered items include HVAC systems, plumbing, electrical systems, kitchen appliances, and more—but specifics depend on your chosen plan.
