Your home warranty company said no. Be ready next time — and fight this one.
Millions of homeowners pay $400–$900 a year for a home warranty, and most only learn how it really works on the worst day: the air conditioner dies in July, the water heater lets go — and the company says no. Not maintained. Pre-existing. Over the limit. The denials are rarely about the breakdown; they're about paper — the maintenance records, photos, and inspection report you either have or you don't. This site builds that paper before you need it, and decodes the denial if it already happened. No upload. You answer plain questions; the math runs in your browser.
Check my readiness — free See the $39 Kit
Information, not coverage: we don't sell home warranties. We teach you to use the one you already bought.
Every company's contract has the same pressure points: a waiting period before coverage starts, a per-item limit (the cap) quietly set below what a replacement costs, and clauses that let them ask for your maintenance records when you appeal. Answer six questions and see exactly where your file stands — for your company, your plan.
The most common denial in the business. The fix isn't arguing — it's records. One major company's agreement (Choice, §E.5) says outright that when it reviews a denial it can demand your routine maintenance records and inspection reports. Holders who have them win the second look; holders who don't, don't.
They claim the failure was already there when your plan started. The answer is a baseline: a home inspection report and dated photos from move-in prove the unit worked when coverage began. No baseline, and it's your word against their technician's report.
Plans pay up to a limit per item — $500 on an appliance at one large seller, $5,000 on a system at another — and replacements cost more than the brochure implies. Knowing your cap before the breakdown is the difference between a repair plan and a surprise bill.
Included in the $39 WarrantyDecoded Kit
One payment. Yours to keep. For any home warranty company, any plan.
We read the published sample agreements and complaint records for the big sellers. Each page names the waiting period, the caps by plan, the clauses that decide claims, and the denial reasons that company is known for — dated and sourced, with the standing warning that your issued agreement controls.
The builder-warranty giant (a Frontdoor brand): structural warranties for builders, service contracts for resale homes — two different animals under one name.
Waiting period: 30 days · See its denial patterns
America's First Choice — the seller that lets you pick your own licensed contractor, which changes the claim-day protocol entirely.
Waiting period: 30 days · See its denial patterns
The biggest seller in the business — and the one whose sample contract we read line by line: $5,000 system caps, unknown pre-existing breakdowns covered, and an…
Waiting period: 30 days · See its denial patterns
The second giant — the company whose own agreement (§E.5) says it can demand your maintenance records when it reviews your denial.
Waiting period: 30 days · See its denial patterns
The $10,000-a-term seller whose fine print includes a repair-only plan that excludes replacement almost entirely — plan names matter here more than anywhere.
Waiting period: 30 days · See its denial patterns
The old-line seller (est.
Waiting period: 30 days · See its denial patterns
The fast-growing seller whose marketing promises more than most — the sample terms decide what that means at claim time.
Waiting period: 30 days · See its denial patterns
The real-estate-channel veteran (est.
Waiting period: 30 days · See its denial patterns
The budget seller with the thinnest caps in the business — $500 an appliance — and a clause that cuts payouts to $150 when maintenance records can't be produced.
Waiting period: 30 days · See its denial patterns
Already holding a denial letter? Run it through the denial decoder — pick the reason they gave and get what it means, whether it's fightable, and the first move.
Most denials come down to six reasons: a pre-existing condition, lack of maintenance, improper installation, a code violation, the coverage limit (cap), or the item simply not being covered by your plan tier. Each one has a different answer — the denial decoder walks yours, and this page covers the first 48 hours after a denial.
Yes — some contracts say so in writing. Choice Home Warranty's user agreement (§E.5) reserves the right to request routine maintenance records and home inspection reports when reviewing a denial. That single clause is why the evidence file exists: the time to gather records is before the claim, not after the denial.
Run the numbers, not the renewal letter: premiums and service fees paid, versus what the caps would actually pay on your oldest systems. A plan whose per-item limit is $500 does not protect a $2,500 refrigerator. The renew-or-cancel math.
Not the CFPB — home warranty companies aren't regulated there. Complaints go to your state's insurance department, licensing board, or attorney general — and the right door is different in every state (in Texas it's the licensing department, TDLR, not the insurance department). The 50-state complaint table.
No. Nothing on this site asks you to upload your agreement. The tools work from your company, your plan, and a few facts you know — and the kit's worksheets are built to be filled in from your own Plan Summary.