First American Home Warranty Review 2024

Our take on First American Home Warranty

What we like

There are several things we like about First American’s plans, including:

• No coverage limit on certain repairs. It has no limit on coverage for HVAC systems, electrical systems and plumbing outside of water heaters.

• High coverage limits on appliances. Its per-appliance coverage cap starts at $3,500, which is high compared to most competitors’ limits. It jumps up to $7,000 per appliance with its Premium Plan.

• Flexible service fees. When they sign up for a plan, customers can choose to pay $75, $100 or $125 for service fees. The higher the service fee, the lower the monthly premium. This flexibility can let customers budget more easily for their monthly payments. 

• Decent customer satisfaction ratings. The company gets mixed reviews across multiple platforms. Its average customer rating is 3.41, which is decent compared to competitors.

What we don’t like

A few aspects about First American Home Warranty’s coverage that we don’t like include:

• Comprehensive plans only. All of First American’s plans are comprehensive, so you can’t get coverage for just appliances or systems. 

• Air conditioning coverage requires a higher plan. If you’re in the market for a home warranty that offers HVAC coverage, you’ll have to go above First America’s basic plan to cover your AC system.

• Limited access repair. The company does pay to fix damaged walls, floors and ceilings if a technician has to cut into them to make an approved repair, but when it will fix them and how much it’ll pay to repair the surface depends on your plan.

• Short repair guarantee. First American guarantees that if an approved repair fails within the first 30 days, it’ll send out a technician again without charging you a service fee. But if it fails at any time after that, you’ll have to pay a service fee again.

• Cancellation terms. First American’s terms say that the company can keep you from canceling your contract if you’ve made a claim for a repair. 

First American Home Warranty plans

First American has three plans:

• The Starter Plan covers appliances including your dishwasher, refrigerator, range hood, built-in microwave and oven/range/cooktop, plumbing including stoppages and toilets, basic electrical systems and heating systems including ductwork.

• The Essential Plan covers the same as the Starter Plan and adds coverage for your clothes washer and dryer, trash compactor, water heater, all fans including exhaust, garage door opener, and air conditioning systems. It also increases the coverage caps on some items.

• The Premium Plan adds several items on top of the Essential Plan, including your garbage disposal, several plumbing fixtures, additional HVAC components, window units and central vacuum system.

The Essential and Premium plans also include additional coverage and services, which the company calls First American Advantage. This feature will pay for:

• Someone to fix code violations that affect repairs or replacements.

• The repair or replacement of covered items that malfunction because of improper repair, installation or modification.

• A company to remove an appliance or system that is being replaced by your home warranty. 

The combined limit that the company will pay toward First American Advantage services is generally $500. That amount is for all of those services combined, not individually. So if you hit the $500 mark when the company replaces an incorrectly installed dishwasher, First American Home Warranty won’t pay for a company to haul off your old dishwasher as well. That limit increases to $1,500 with the Premium Plan.

» MORE: Home warranties I'd choose today, knowing what I know now

First American Home Warranty has additional coverage available for optional items that customers can add to their plans. This coverage comes with an extra fee and can include:

• Pool or spa equipment.

• Well pump.

• Septic tank pump and system.

• Water softener.

• Reverse osmosis filtration system.

• Additional refrigerator.

• HVAC tuneup (includes one in every six-month period).

• Limited roof leaks.

Unlike competitors, First American offers unlimited coverage on certain systems, and with certain plans. This means that, as long as the work is approved by the company on the covered item, your home warranty will pay for a repair or replacement regardless of price. Other home warranty companies tend to put a coverage cap on all items.

Keep in mind, though, that unlimited coverage doesn't necessarily mean your broken appliance or system will be replaced with a new one that costs as much as you paid for the original.

First American Home Warranty claim

You can submit claims through the company’s online portal or by phone with a representative. You’ll need to provide information about the affected item, such as when it stopped working properly.

Once you’ve submitted a claim, First American will contact a technician to assign to your claim. The technician will usually call you within 48 hours to schedule an appointment, but the technician might not be available to come to your house right away. After the technician has looked at your appliance or system, they will repair it or notify the company that it needs to be replaced.

If the company approves the repair, it’ll pay the technician’s company; if it denies your claim, you’ll have to pay out of pocket for the technician to fix it.

First American Home Warranty coverage

Like many of its competitors, First American Home Warranty limits its coverage to items that malfunction because of normal wear and tear. This means items that have cosmetic damage or are damaged because of missing parts or natural disaster are not covered.

Unlike many of its competitors, First American doesn’t limit how much it’ll pay to repair certain issues. This means your claim won’t be denied if repairs for problems relating to HVAC systems (if covered in your plan) and basic electrical and plumbing systems go over a certain amount. However, the company does limit its coverage on two types of repairs:

• Hot water heater repairs max out at $1,000 for plans that include coverage.

• Appliance repairs are limited to $3,500 for Starter and Essential plans and $7,000 for the Premium plan.

First American is at the higher end of coverage limits among home warranty companies. However, the company will not pay all claims; similar to other home warranties, repairs that don’t meet certain requirements might be rejected.

» MORE: What does a home warranty cover?

First American Home Warranty cost

First American Home Warranty’s plans start at $42 a month. Customers can save $24 per year if they pay annually instead of monthly. Quotes are based on your location and chosen plan.

Like its competitors, First American Home Warranty requires customers to pay a service fee whenever a technician responds to a claim. When they sign up for a home warranty, customers choose if they want to pay service fees of $75, $100 or $125, and the service fee they choose affects their monthly premium. Customers who choose higher service fees will pay less in monthly premiums, and those who choose the lower service fees will pay more in monthly premiums.

First American Home Warranty guarantees their technicians’ work for 30 days, so you won’t pay a service fee if a technician has to return to look at an appliance or system again during that time frame.

» MORE: How much does a home warranty cost?

First American Home Warranty cancellation

You can cancel your home warranty, according to First American’s service agreement, but trying to do so after 30 days can make the process more complicated. Regardless of when you cancel, you’ll have to pay a $50 cancellation fee. If you request to cancel your contract:

• Within the first 30 days of your initial payment (the 30 days during which you can’t file a claim), you’ll receive a full refund minus the cancellation fee.

• After the first 30 days of the contract:

  • If you haven’t made a claim, the company will likely refund you the amount you’ve paid for the portion of the 12 months that you won’t be covered. It will subtract the cancellation fee from this amount before paying you.

  • If you have made a claim, the company can refuse to cancel your contract and you could be stuck with the contract for the full term.

If you want to cancel your contract, you’ll have to send an email to request the cancellation. You can’t do it over the phone.

» MORE: Are home warranties worth it?

Customer reviews and experiences

NerdWallet considered customer reviews from three review websites to get a wider perspective of customer experiences. We’ve highlighted the types of experiences that we’ve found to be most common, keeping in mind that online reviews tend to lean toward negative experiences. NerdWallet hasn't independently verified the claims made in these consumer reviews.

Trustpilot: 4.2 out of 5.0. ConsumerAffairs: 4.3 out of 5.0. Better Business Bureau: 1.74 out of 5.0.

What customers like about the home warranty

Some customers note that the company makes it easy to submit claims for repairs. Customers also mention that the company’s technicians are professional and respond quickly to claims.

What customers don’t like about the home warranty

Some customers report that the company hires unreliable technicians who don’t repair the issue or show up for appointments. Some customers also complain that the company tends to deny claims that the customers believe should be covered and doesn’t respond quickly to technician problems, which causes repairs to take longer than necessary.

Some customers mention that over several years of filing claims with First American Home Warranty, they’ve had a mix of good and bad experiences, especially with getting claims approved and technicians scheduled.

» CHECK IT OUT: NerdWallet's best home warranties in California and best home warranties in Texas

Where is First American Home Warranty available?

First American Home Warranty provides plans in 36 states and Washington, D.C.

» MORE: Home warranty vs. home insurance: What's the difference?

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