Two air conditioner repair workers fixing an AC system. — fstop123/iStockphoto

American Home Shield at a glance

American Home Shield (AHS) serves nearly all states and has the highest coverage limit of any of our best home warranty providers.

Fast facts

American Home Shield is available in 48 states and has sample contracts broken out for residents of each state.
Founded in 1971, AHS was one of the first home warranty providers in the nation.
AHS is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has a B rating.

What we like

AHS covers scenarios typically excluded, such as preexisting conditions, mismatched systems and damage due to insufficient maintenance. American Home Shield has generous coverage limits of up to $50,000 per plan term.

What we don’t like

AHS automatically bundles appliance coverage into its higher-tier plans — there’s no option to buy it separately. American Home Shield’s pricing is high, sometimes twice the cost of competitors.

* BBB ratings are accurate as of July 2024.

American Home Shield pros and cons

AHS offers several opportunities to lower premiums through promotions and flexible service call fees, which can help make it more affordable to homeowners with varying budgets. The company’s service agreements are readily available for customers who want to browse its plans and terms, making its coverage as transparent as possible. Whereas other companies rely on boilerplate contracts, AHS writes them in a more digestible tone and format.

Conversely, AHS won’t be the best fit for homeowners who want to choose their contractor for home repairs. Also, the provider doesn’t have an appliance-only plan, so if appliances are your main reason for buying a home warranty, you may end up paying for coverage you don’t need.

Pros

Several discount opportunities to reduce plan costs, including flexible service call fees
Covers unknown preexisting conditions, damage due to rust and corrosion and mismatched HVAC systems installed before the plan term
Has easy-to-understand sample agreements for every state

Cons

Can’t use your own contractor unless you get outside authorization
Doesn’t have an appliance-exclusive plan

How much does American Home Shield cost?

AHS sets prices based on the robustness of the policy, add-ons, service call fee, location, type and size of the property. You must request a custom quote to learn how much your desired coverage will cost in your area.

When you navigate the quote process, you must pick a service call fee, which is the amount you’ll pay a contractor to diagnose a covered repair. AHS has service fees of $100 or $125. Typically, the higher your service call fee, the lower your premiums to keep the policy.

We requested a sample quote for a single-family home in the 37501 ZIP code in Memphis, Tenn., where AHS is headquartered. Here’s a breakdown of those costs.

AHS doesn’t have an annual purchase option, so it will automatically break down your premium into monthly installments.

Savings and discounts

AHS offers a lot of opportunities for customers to save on their premiums.

Adjustable service call fee: When you enroll with AHS, you’ll select a $100 or $125 service call fee. The higher the service call fee you choose, the lower your monthly or annual premium.
Affinity discount: AHS offers AARP members a special discount of $136 off any AHS warranty. You can stack the discount with others.
Military discount: Active-duty military members and veterans are eligible for $35 off any home warranty plan. You can also combine it with other discounts.
Multiple properties: AHS will give you a $50 discount when you buy coverage for more than one property.
Referral program: You can refer friends and family to AHS with your unique code, and you’ll each receive a $25 discount.

What services does American Home Shield offer?

American Home Shield offers three plans, all of which have a 30-day waiting period at the start of the policy. You won’t be able to file claims or request service during the waiting period. Unlike many of its competitors, AHS doesn’t have an appliance-only plan, so if you want to cover your appliances, you must also get coverage for your home systems.

You can customize your policy further by adding optional coverages, but beyond that, you’re limited to AHS’ pre-set coverage. AHS is known for extraordinary coverages that it bundles into its highest tier plan, such as:

Limited roof-leak protection with a coverage limit of $1,000
Free HVAC tune-up
Unlimited AC refrigerant
Coverage for code upgrades

American Home Shield services

American Home Shield add-ons and optional features

American Home Shield has several more options to expand your policy’s reach. Pricing varies from state to state, so we recommend requesting a free quote to assess the cost of the add-on options that interest you.

Roof-leak repair

Limited roof-leak repair is included in the ShieldPlatinum plan, but you would need to add it to the ShieldSilver and ShieldGold plans. With this add-on, AHS will cover nonstructural roof leaks up to $1,000 per plan term.

AHS will not cover repairs for any of the following:

Condo or townhouse roofs
Full or partial eco-roofs
Leaks associated with penetrating features, such as skylights, chimneys and vents
Leaks caused by roof mounts, such as solar panels and gutters
Metal roofs
Mobile homes

Pool and built-in spa

With this add-on, AHS will pay up to $3,000 per plan term to repair or replace pool and built-in spa equipment. This coverage applies to all above-ground components of the heating, pumping and filtration systems, pool sweep motor and pump, circulation pump motor and plumbing pipes and wiring in non-saltwater pools.

Septic system ejector

This add-on pays up to $500 per plan term to repair the septic ejector pump and for one septic tank pumping if a backup causes a blockage.

It doesn’t cover:

Chemical treatment
Damage or malfunctions due to roots
Mechanical pumps and systems
Tanks, leech lines and cesspools
Waste disposal

Electronics

AHS partners with Allstate to offer an extended electronics warranty. It provides coverage for power surges, damage due to wear and tear, and workmanship defects. However, coverage is not available for cell phones or cosmetic damage or loss.

It covers these electronics:

You can file for up to $2,000 in damage per claim up to $5,000 per plan term.

Guest units

This add-on expands the coverage of your home warranty to guest units up to 750 square feet. The guest unit must be located on your property but can be detached from your main dwelling.

Well pumps

The well pump add-on will cover up to $1,500 to diagnose, access and repair the parts and components of a well pump used as the main water source for the covered property. The well pump must reside on the property.

It doesn’t cover the following:

Any other component or part of the well pump system, including pipes, electrical and cable lines
Pumps for geothermal and water source heat pumps
Well casings, pressure switches and booster pumps outside the well pump unit
Well drilling

What does American Home Shield not cover?

Among the items you can expect AHS to decline coverage for are:

Commercial-grade appliances
Construction costs for incidental damage
Cosmetic damage
Costs incurred due to acts beyond AHS’ control, such as weather, epidemics and labor shortages
Damage that doesn’t affect the primary function of the covered system or appliance
Flues, chimneys and fireplaces connected to covered items
Fuel storage tanks or systems powered by alternative energy sources
Inaccessible items, such as those encased in concrete
Items covered by warranties or other insurance products
Known preexisting conditions
Misuse or accidental damage
Non-standard equipment needed to complete a repair or replacement, such as scaffolding and cranes
Outdoor kitchens
Recalled items
Shared systems and appliances
Smart-home features related to covered items

AHS’ sample contract is user-friendly. Instead of a long contract full of jargon and difficult-to-scan terms, the contract is simply broken down into tables for each covered item. The table shows precisely what is and isn’t covered and its applicable coverage limits.

American Home Shield customer experience

American Home Shield offers online claims support and a 24/7 claims hotline. It has a separate line exclusively for sales and general inquiries for interested subscribers. We called both lines and were met only by kind and knowledgeable representatives. The rep on the claims line wanted specific policy numbers before answering questions, and salespeople were pushy in requests for personal information, including home address and contact details.

We called at different times of day for two weeks and found that wait times were the shortest during business hours. However, we were always able to reach a real-life representative within 20 minutes.

The sample contract says AHS will process claims within 48 hours, which is standard for the industry. However, we read several customer reviews complaining about months-long unresolved claims. AHS absolves itself of responsibility for delays outside its reasonable control, including but not limited to supply chain issues, labor shortages and weather events.

Here are a couple of sample reviews that can help you decide if AHS is the right fit:

AHS assigned Same Day Air to repair my main central ac unit. The technician, Rob, diagnosed the issue and made sure parts were ordered. [He also made sure] prompt install occurred. [AHS’s] same-day communication by text, email and phone is excellent

Here’s a review where things didn’t go as well:

The AHS-assigned contractor diagnosed my dripping bathroom faucet as normal wear & tear and recommended replacing the Moen 1224 Cartridge. The telephone authorization he received from AHS required me to pay the contractor $74.55 before he could proceed. I did so, and the job was completed. Later, I contacted AHS to ask why I was asked to pay the $74.55. I was told it was a non-covered cost in accordance with myShield Plus contract. I have not found a dollar limit for a faucet repair in my contract. I believe the AHS agent was in error and would like a refund. By the way, a replacement Moen 1224 cartridge retails for $15.62.

A representative responded to Joseph R.’s review, indicating that this charge was a mistake and would be fixed, but we don’t have an update on how long it took to resolve the issue.

The fine print: Terms and conditions you should know

American Home Shield’s sample contracts for each state are readily available online. Unlike many home warranty companies, its terms include improper installations, insufficient maintenance, unknown preexisting conditions, and damage due to rust and corrosion; but it’s important you understand what those terms mean.

AHS will cover improper installation for all covered items when you can’t detect the issue through a visual inspection. Unknown preexisting conditions are similar. If a malfunction pre-dates the start of your policy but isn’t otherwise noticeable through a mechanical or visual inspection, it may be covered.

American Home Shield vs. competitors

American Home Shield and Cinch Home Services are comparable in their comprehensive policies that include unknown preexisting conditions and perks, especially if you go for the top tier plans, but American Home Shield’s $50,000 coverage cap can’t be beaten by any other provider on this list.

However, AFC Home Club offers more flexibility with its three service call fees and four plan options. While AHS offers some degree of customization, its lack of an appliance-only plan may be a deal breaker for customers who can’t afford to live without their most-used appliances and may be unable to replace them right away due to limited cash flow.

If affordable appliance coverage is a priority, 2-10 Home Buyer’s Warranty offers a competitively priced plan that covers your kitchen appliances and nothing else, so you’re not overpaying for items that aren’t a priority for you.

All the companies on this list offer an online quote process, which is free and carries no obligations, but you may end up getting recurring sales calls, especially if you don’t purchase a policy. We recommend requesting quotes from at least three companies and choosing the option that best fits your needs.

American Home Shield competitor comparison

Methodology

We developed an impartial rating system to compare and rank home warranty companies. To do this, we determined the most important factors likely to affect consumers. We found that the number of covered items and the extent of that coverage, including coverage limits, were among the most important, but pricing wasn’t far behind.

We dug deep into each company’s reputation. To do this, we looked closely at customer reviews across BBB and Trustpilot, identified patterns of complaints and noted any active litigation. Companies with lower ratings on review sites and unresolved issues with consumers scored lowest.

We also secret-shopped by requesting sample quotes and talking to customer service representatives. Companies with knowledgeable representatives who could easily provide information consistent with the language of sample contracts scored better than those with representatives more focused on making a sale.

We arrived at these ranking factors after reading dozens of service agreements, interviewing experts and combing customer reviews for common complaints and praises.

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American Home Shield review: A comprehensive guide to cost and coverage