Hey there, so I have a bit (well, more than a bit) of experience here. I have 4 policies on 4 of my rental properties.
I’ve had the policies in force between 1 and 5 years (based on when I purchased the rentals).
My tenants or I have filed probably 30 claims across the 4 policies.
2 of the claims were rejected, due to problems being caused by listed exclusions on the policies.
3 of the claims were not paid, because the tech could not identify the problem the tenants allegedly stated they had. (so I had to pay a service fee for nothing, and not worth it to charge the tenants given they’ve been paying on time and good tenants)
The remainder of the claims:
- No air conditioning or no heat, where they refilled the refrigerant, replaced circuitry, replaced blower motors, and last year they replaced an entire 4 ton combined heat/AC gas package unit at my cost being the deductible and permitting fees.
- Two hot water heaters fully replaced, with the cost being the deductible.
- Multiple plumbing stoppages, fully corrected, minus the deductible.
- An oven and a microwave repaired, and a different oven and microwave replaced, with a payment to me being approx. $400 each to purchase replacements (minus the deductible). (the ones I had were bought for approx $300 each) Then purchased new ones at Lowe’s.
- I’ve had dishwashers repaired, washing machines repaired, dryers repaired, minus the deductibles.
- Multiple other minor things from water issues, to garage opener issues, to lights not working, to electrical issues.
- I’ve had emergency service where the tech had to come out on 24 hours notice due to the issue being an emergency.
- I’ve had to have techs recalled a couple of times, due to issues with the first repair, and I was not charged a deductible.
I have NEVER had a claim rejected due to lack of maintenance or negligence.
First American.
I pay approx $500/yr per property, and I’d say if I combine how many years I’ve had the policies (different for each property) times the number of properties plus the deductibles I’ve paid, I’d guess I’ve paid $6k for the policies and around $2k for the trade call (deductible) fees. $8k in total.
Just for the HVAC repairs alone, I’d say realistically I’d have paid out $8-10K without the warranties. Forgetting about the rest of it (like hot water heaters), and the unbelievable time savings in getting contractors assigned and the tenants dealing with it without me.
And I say this at a time where First American is replacing a reversing valve in a HVAC unit (on a new rental) for $75, where the contractor told me his normal fee would be $902.
Absolutely a worthwhile expense, in my case, and honestly - First American has been reasonable.
