Owning a home can bring a sense of peace, pride, and accomplishment but it also requires preventive maintenance and upkeep. A great way to protect your investment is to purchase both a home warranty and homeowners insurance.
While these two policies may help you cover your home when unexpected issues arise, they don’t offer the same types of protection. You should be aware of the difference between home warranty and homeowners insurance to avoid confusion.
What is a Home Warranty?
Generally, home warranties cover repairs and replacement of major home systems that fail due to age or standard wear and tear. They can also provide homeowners access to professional service contractors.
Typically, this warranty covers components of the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, washer/dryer, and kitchen appliances at an extra cost. Home warranties plans and service fee vary by location and provider.
As long as they determined that your major home systems don’t have pre-existing damage, the service contractor will repair, or replace the system if necessary for the agreed upon service call fee as outlined in your policy.
A home warranty may cost a few hundred dollars a year but it’s a smart purchase. The protection can save you thousands of dollars in unexpectedly costly repairs.
What is Homeowners Insurance?
Homeowner’s insurance is a form of property insurance that covers losses and damages to an individual’s house and assets in the home.
It covers four areas: your home’s interior and exterior, damage to personal property, and liability coverage in case an accident injured a person at your house.
The most significant benefit of homeowner’s insurance is securing your investment. Proper home insurance coverage can eliminate the worry associated with structural damage due to severe storms, accidental fire, even slip and falls on the property. Typical homeowners insurance policies offer coverage for damage caused by fires, lightning strikes, windstorms, and hail.
Unlike home warranties, mortgage lenders require you have homeowner insurance that is suitable for your property.
Bottomline
A home warranty and homeowners insurance offer different types of coverage but they both offer protection that will give you peace of mind.
So, are you thinking about buying a home soon? Check out our Steps to Buying a Home Guide. Feel free to give me a call at 703-539-2053 or email [email protected] to schedule a private showing of this or any other property.
About the Author
The above article was written by Abraham Walker, Your Northern Virginia Real Estate Agent, helping clients market their homes to achieve high sales with a quick closing time is my main priority. He’s the co-founder of Ask A Walker and can be found on YouTube, Facebook, and HERE on this blog.
