Is a home warranty right for you?

It seems that out on the web you get opinions on two sides of the spectrum. Either home warranties are harbingers of peace of mind, or they neatly chew spam with big teeth. (“neatly chew spam” is my way of saying “they suck” but, I have always hated the expression “they suck”, so I take the liberty of coining an expression for greater comfort and humorous possibilities.)

I am here to bring some clarity to this decision, speaking as a thoughtful customer.

The fact is that home warranties have limits. They have advantages and disadvantages just like any other product or service. They are the red-headed stepchild of the insurance industry. And they are misunderstood by those who purchase them. The more you are aware of where misunderstandings are likely to occur and where the warranty limitations are, the better you will be prepared to decide whether a home warranty is right for you, and the less your frustrations will be if you buy it and then have to use it.

Misunderstanding #1 The home warranty will cover everything in my home.

No, it won’t. You are mistaking a home warranty for home insurance. This is when you have to look carefully at terms and conditions and pay very close attention to limitations. Take note of whether pre-existing conditions are covered or not.

Misunderstanding #2 The home warranty will cover all costs of repairing/replacing covered items.

No, it won’t. Unfortunately, this is one of the things that home warranty companies could be a little more up-front about. The fact is, home warranties (H.W.) have dollar coverage limits, just like other insurance companies do, and if the costs of repairing/replacing go over those limits, then you will have to foot the rest of the bill. It would be very nice if customers knew this before they need the warranty rather than during the stressful process of requesting service to fix/replace a failed appliance or system.

Here’s a recent example. I have a H.W. with a company that will remain nameless (I’m using them as a typical example, neither bad nor good). My air conditioning unit broke down and the H.W.-sent service person declared it needed replacement. When I spoke with someone from the H.W. authorization department, she told me that replacing the 25-year old AC unit would require making a lot of modifications to our home, depending on how codes for AC had changed over 25 years and that although the H.W. would pay for the replacement of the unit, there would be additional costs that might be over the warranty coverage limits, and we should be prepared for out-of-pocket expenses. This information about coverage limits was news to me. Being the realistic person that I am, I realized that it would be best for me to know what those limits were and what typical costs were so that I would not expect more from the home warranty than it was obligated to deliver. (I’m trying to save myself aggravation, you see.) I also wanted to know how high those out-of-pocket expenses could get so that I would not be surprised or resentful when it came time to pay them. If those expenses turned out less, then I could count myself fortunate. She shared those expenses with me, and I was very appreciative.

I would like to expect amazing things from every person, service, or product, but I know that is not realistic. People, service, and products can only do so much, so I have to learn to manage my expectations. In the case of home warranties, if the companies that offered them would communicate clearly the dollar amounts of coverage limits, that would go a long way towards managing customer expectations. People are happy when they know exactly what to expect and they get it. Trouble happens when they expect home warranties to cover everything and then they have to be disappointed. People will understandably feel gypped.

Misunderstanding #3 The home warranty company should, can, and will repair/replace my __________ today or tomorrow.

No, it shouldn’t, can’t, and won’t. This can be the most disappointing thing for people to discover, so understanding this ahead of time is very important. The trouble is, when people find out home warranty companies shouldn’t, can’t, and won’t fix their appliances/systems the same day or the next day, they jump to the conclusion that the home warranty company is deliberately cheating them and putting them through misery. This is not true.

They shouldn’t repair or replace your _____ today or tomorrow because it takes time to figure out what is wrong and what to do about it. Since they don’t live in your home, they require the service person to act as their agent and determine what is wrong and pass that information along. It is just as foolish for a company to act without the facts as it would be for you to act without the facts.

They can’t repair or replace your ________ today because they have many customers to help. You aren’t the only one. If you were the only one calling for service, they could devote all their time to you. They are taking calls all the time.

They won’t repair or replace your _______ today because their decisions have to go through channels and be rubberstamped by the proper people.

Here are the hard facts of the matter. With the purchase of a H.W., the task of choosing a service company, diagnosing the problem, determining what should be done, and how much to pay has been outsourced from you to the H.W. company. Essentially you have paid a fee to relinquish speed of resolution and control of the process to the H.W. company in the hopes that it will cost less to do so. Homeowners must realize that instead of being able to call a repair service immediately, they will have to call the H.W. company to request service (takes at least one day). Instead of being able to call the repair company of their choice, they will have to accept whoever is sent by the H.W. company to diagnose the problem. Instead of being able to make the decision themselves to fix or replace the appliance or system, the H.W. company will make it. Instead of being able to ask for the repair to proceed immediately while the repair person is there, the homeowners will have to wait for the repair person to communicate with the H.W. company and for the H.W. company to make the decision. (This can take several days.)

As you can see, there is a real tradeoff of freedom and speed involved in obtaining a H.W.

It is true that the homeowners can still do an end-run around the H.W. company and call the service person themselves and pay for it themselves, but they should not expect the H.W. company to automatically reimburse them. The H.W. company is very cost-conscious and are inclined to look with disfavor upon service companies who are not in their preferred network.

The issue of this tradeoff should be very carefully weighed. In theory, it sounds great to pass the risk of substantial repair/replacement costs on to a H.W. company. However, in practicality, the slow speed of resolution can cause real human suffering in proportion to the importance of the system that fails.

For example, it would be great if our air conditioning system failures could be detected in the wintertime when we aren’t depending on it, but such is not the case. Instead, failure of air conditioning systems occurs or is discovered at the times when it is most needed and during the time when a slow resolution of multiple days is the most uncomfortable and inconvenient. Not only this, but it may happen that a freak accident causes widespread failure in a locale and then the H.W. company is inundated with service requests, which delays resolution even further. As I type, the air conditioning in my home has been out for six days as I wait for my H.W. company to authorize my A.C. unit’s replacement. It took me five days to learn that an exploding transformer in the Mesa area led to a fire, which led to a number of other people losing their A.C. units. This is during the monsoon season with temperatures above 100 degrees. My H.W. company has been absolutely swamped with service calls. I am not miffed about this. This is just part of having a H.W. To expect the H.W. company to service ME immediately when so many others are in the same position of need would be rank selfishness.

In short, before you buy a home warranty, you need to think carefully about how you will cope for multiple days if:
• your air conditioner fails during a heat wave
• your heater fails during a cold snap
• your water pipes burst
• your roof leaks
• your toilets overflow
• your refrigerator fails
• your dishwasher fails
• your clothes washer or dryer fails

A home warranty is not for you if you can’t cope with the loss of functionality of these items and systems for more than a day. This applies to families with very small children (Small children may not understand why they are so uncomfortable and protest loudly and at length.) It may apply to families caring for elderly parents in their homes. It may also apply to landlords who have to meet tight deadlines.

Who might a home warranty help? A home warranty might be for you if you recently bought a house and are short on cash to pay for expensive repairs. That time just after purchase and before you can save a tidy sum for emergencies leaves you particularly vulnerable to discovering problems that didn’t show up during home inspection. A home warranty can bear a good portion of that risk for you. Just remember the tradeoff you are making and be prepared to cope for multiple days in the event of sudden loss.

Review: The Prophecy by Hilari Bell (contains spoilers at the end)

The Prophecy, by Hilari Bell

Genre: fantasy fiction--contains unicorns, dragons, prophecies, and magic. Set in an undetermined kingdom somewhere in medieval times.

This appears to be the Hilari Bell’s fourth book. In a very broad sense, it is similar to Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown in that the misfit royal progeny goes out to save the kingdom from a gigantic dragon that is wreaking havoc upon the land.

Summary without spoilers: Prince Perryndon (informally called Perryn) is a scholar-prince who is loved by the palace servants, but mocked and maligned by his father, the arms master, and the palace guards. Studying to find a way to help rid the kingdom of an enormous marauding dragon, he finds a prophecy listing three things that should defeat it—a unicorn, a true bard, and an ancient sword of power. But his father won’t listen and locks him in his room. When he discovers a plan has been laid to assassinate him and betray the kingdom to their enemies, Perryn must find the strength of will and act on his own to fulfill the terms of the prophecy.

The main character, Perryn, is a weakling that becomes irked when he finds out early in the story that his enemy considers him a weak-willed boy who can’t do anything on his own. The criticism goads him to exert himself in all cases, even when others might think of giving up.

Readers are also introduced to some fascinating characters who help Perryn along, once he has bargained them into cooperating. We meet the bard Lysander, a skeptical worldly wise song-spinner who doesn’t believe Perryn is really a prince, Prism, a dirt-averse unicorn with the tendency to faint when confronted with danger, and the Sword of Samhain, which has a penchant for reminiscing loudly about glorious past battles.

At the beginning of each chapter, Bell has a little blurb that summarizes the chapter’s events. As a reader, it was strangely refreshing to have a little hint of what was coming, and I suppose if her readers were nervous people, they might find it comforting to know what was going to happen before it did. (In a way, these blurbs acted like a prophecy for readers, leading them along through the book, just as the prophecy leads Perryn to his heroic destiny.) It must be noted that this also makes the author’s job that much harder to deliver an interesting story that holds the reader even when the reader knows what will happen. I think Bell succeeds. So while the book never became really suspenseful, it still aroused in me a feeling of pleasant curiosity. And there is just enough of the unexpected—plot twists and quirky characters—at the right time keep me engaged.

One of the refreshing things about this story to me as a reader was that its tone remained earnest and sincere, rather than depending upon snark and sassy dialogue to maintain engagement in the story.

Another of the ways Bell has made this slay-the-dragon story different is to by making it into a quest that glorifies brain and creative problem-solving more than raw brawn. There is a deep current of respect for science and learning behind this story, even with unicorns, legends, prophecies, fire-breathing dragons, enchanted forests, ghosts, and magic swords.

There are two things that irritated me about this story. The first was that it ended too soon without completing one of the story arcs. The second was that it diluted the power of the prophecy plot device in an attempt to add a twist. These two problems prevented me from completely enjoying the book. The first problem caused me to throw the book from me in annoyance after reading the last page. The second problem was sensed in my subconscious and gradually wormed its way to the top after a day of thinking about it. (I will discuss these problems more in depth in the spoiler section.)

In all other respects, this story is pleasant. Ultimately it is about discovering the ability to make things happen, using brains to solve difficult problems, and refusing to get discouraged. This book is for younger teens interested in fantasy fiction.

All in all, I give it a B.


WARNING! SPOILER ALERT!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!




























Here I will more fully discuss the nature of the problems I found in this book. I do this for the benefit of the book’s author and any other authors who might stumble upon this post.

Incomplete Story Arc

As a reader, I wanted to see how relationship changed between the prince and his disappointed father after the dragon was slain, since the relationship was made into one of the important conflicts and motives in the story. I wanted to see the king’s initial disbelief, the slow trickle of proofs of Perryn’s valor coming in, and the king’s final acknowledgement that Perryn had something in him after all. The more messy and gradual it could be made, the more satisfying it would have been to me as a reader. It should have been in there. I was all set up for it. Near the beginning, on page 17, Perryn pleads with his father:

“How can I make you listen?”
“By making me,” said the king. “Come on. Give it a try.”

I wanted to see Perryn finally make the king listen, and when I didn’t get to see it, I felt cheated.

Prophecy Plot Device Diluted

As said before, I sensed this issue more on a subconscious level, but it gradually became clearer with thought that there was something wrong when the prophecy turned out to be false. It is a curious twist to be sure, but as a reader I felt betrayed. This is not a mere echo of the main character’s feeling of betrayal; it has basis in literature craft. Two of the literary purposes of prophecy are that it serves as motivation for great deeds, AND it intensifies the feelings of satisfaction (for both the book characters and the reader) upon achieving a difficult goal. There is deep satisfaction in fulfilling one’s purpose and destiny. Human beings deeply want to know that what they are doing is right, is meant to happen, and is part of a cosmic plan somehow. For a prophecy to accomplish its literary purpose as a satisfying plot device, the prophecy should not be found to be false and then be fulfilled anyway. This substantially dilutes the power of the device. Fake prophecies may be postmodern artistry, but it doesn’t satisfy the reader at the visceral level.

Parts I Liked

I don't believe in giving medicine without sugar, so here are some parts that I consider highlights of this story.

When the prince had his money stolen from him soon after his escape from the palace, I really started to get interested. I wanted to see how he would persevere without funds.

I was pleased when the prince bartered for the bard’s freedom by chopping wood. If the process of his learning to chop better had been stretched out a leeeeetle bit more, I would have been even more happy.

I appreciated the song the bard wrote for the prince. I was glad it wasn’t some stupid throw-away verse. It had really thought and sincerity in it, and the simple earthy truth of it touched me. “It’s the song of the ax/that’s the song of your soul.” Nice.

The fainting unicorn made me laugh out loud.

When the prince decides to go back to the palace to get more information, I was delighted. This renewed my interest substantially because it was the exact opposite of what was expected.

I liked that the book showed Lysander’s repeated exclamations of “I can’t believe you’re really Prince Perryndon!” when he realizes it really is true. This was so realistic and true to life it made me grin.

I enjoyed Perryn’s elaborate plan to kill the dragon after his friends are captured. I thought the actual method of killing the dragon was fitting and nicely scientific. I almost expected him to start singing the song Lysander had written for him as he did it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”