Taylor Moore

Last updated on Nov 02, 2020

Sears Home Warranty Review

Sears Home Warranty offers protection for a broad range of home appliances that wouldn’t be covered under your normal insurance policies. While a Sears Home Warranty is more costly than many of the other options on the market, its unique offerings make it a good choice for homeowners who own older homes or have lots of expensive appliances. 

Unlike other home warranties, which generally have lower caps on what will be paid out for repairs or replacements, the Sears Home Warranty offers a $10,000 liability cap per each claim (with a few exceptions) and comes with a 180-day workmanship guarantee. 

While Sears’ retail division has faced challenges in recent years and continues to close its stores to get the finances back on track, Sears Home Services is underwritten by an independent underwriting company — which means it largely functions separately from the rest of the company. Before you take out a policy with this warranty company, though, you’ll want to do your research. This includes reading the Sears Home Warranty reviews, looking over policies, and getting quotes to see if what it offers matches your needs. 

The Claim

“A Sears Home Warranty is a single protection plan that covers multiple appliances and systems in your home, regardless of their age, brand or where they were purchased.”

Is it true?

Yes. Sears covers all the major appliances and systems, such as central air and heat, plumbing, washers, dryers, refrigerators, and ovens — the majority of which is covered under a $10,000 cap per claim.

Product Overview

Best for

Homeowners who want a lot of appliances and systems covered; homeowners living in older homes

Not for

Homeowners on a budget

Features

$10,000 cap per claim

For the majority of appliances and systems, Sears will cover each claim for up to $10,000. Many other home warranty companies will tailor the liability cap for each item depending on the estimated repair or replacement cost, but Sears offers the flat $10,000 per claim, with an annual cap of $50,000. This is a great deal, especially if you’re living in an older home with items that you know will need repairs soon. The notable exceptions to this policy include pools and commercial or “ultra-premium” kitchen appliances, which have a $1,000 limit.

Comprehensive coverage

Sears offers three plans: the Appliance Plan ($49.99/month), the Systems Plan ($59.99/month), and the Whole House Plan ($69.99/month). While they’re all a little on the pricier side, they offer broad coverage of the most important things you’d need covered in your home. For example, the Whole House Plan covers refrigerators, washers, dryers, ovens, ranges, cooktops, and built-in trash compactors, as well as central A/C and heat, plumbing, ceiling fans, electrical systems, and garage door openers.

The company will also cover unknown pre-existing conditions and throw in other benefits for being under the Sears umbrella, like discounted oil changes at Sears Auto Centers (another survivor of retail Sears’ issues, although there will be fewer locations).

180-day workmanship guarantee

In the event of a faulty repair or replacement, Sears will waive the service fee for another technician to come out for up to 180 days. Compared to many other competitors that offer 30-day recall periods, this is a generous policy that prioritizes you as the consumer. Our only other pick that exceeds this guarantee is AFC Home Club, which we awarded “Best Workmanship Guarantee” for covering your appliances and systems for the life of your contract.

Possible drawbacks

Uncertain future

It’s no secret that Sears has been undergoing huge challenges in the marketplace for the last couple of decades. Because Sears Home Services is underwritten by an independent company (Cross Country Home Services), your home warranty coverage and customer service is still covered even as Sears filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2018 to restructure the company. Its retail future is still unclear, but for now, the home services wing of the business seems to be safe.

Low liability cap on pools and some premium appliances

The $10,000 claims cap doesn’t cover everything. Most home warranty companies place a limit on some appliances and systems, so this is par for the course. The exceptions to Sears generous cap include pools ($1,000 limit), commercial or “ultra-premium” kitchen appliances ($1,000 limit), systems that have been converted from coal-to-oil, coal-to-gas, or oil-to-gas ($1,500 limit), septic tanks ($500 limit to pump and $1,000 limit to replace), and hot water or steam heating systems, such as radiators ($1,500 limit).

The Competition

Sears Home Warranty vs. American Home Shield

Sears and American Home Shield are similar in that they provide coverage to all 50 states and charge identical service fees. However, AHS, which we named “Best Overall” in our Best Workmanship Guarantee, offers Build Your Own plans where you can customize which appliances and systems you want covered — a move that can bring down the cost of your plan significantly compared to Sears’ premium plans. On the flip side, though, Sears does offer higher liability caps ($10,000 per claim vs. $3,000) and has a longer workmanship guarantee (180 days vs. 60 days).

Sears Home Warranty vs. Choice Home Warranty

Sears offers higher liability caps than Choice Home Warranty. For example, if something goes wrong with your plumbing system, Choice would pay for up to $500 in repairs, while Sears would cover it for up to $10,000. Sears also has a longer workmanship guarantee of 180 days, compared to Choice’s policy of 90 days for parts and 30 days for labor.

Sears Home Warranty vs. The Home Service Club

The Home Service Club offers flexible coverage plans: the “Standard Coverage” will cover 18 of the most common appliances and systems, which can be extended with “Comprehensive Coverage” to 15 more categories. Sears only offers separate plans for Appliances and Systems, with the Whole House Plan clocking in at $69.99 per month. If you’re a new homeowner with fewer appliances and systems, you may be paying for too much coverage with a Sears plan.

Sears Home Warranty FAQ

Does Sears Home Warranty require a home inspection?

No. Activation of your Sears home warranty contract does not require a home inspection. You can sign up for a plan online or through the phone. From there, your plan will activate 30 days after registration.

Does Sears Home Warranty have a recall period for repairs?

Yes. Sears has a recall period, or “workmanship guarantee,” of 180 days. This means that the company will cover any faulty repairs or replacements for up to 180 days by waiving the service fee for a technician to fix the issue. With the exception of AFC Home Club, which offers a guarantee for the entire life of your contract, most other home warranty companies have guarantees of 30 or 60 days.

Is Sears going out of business?

While we can’t predict the future of Sears retail, we do know that Sears Home Services and its home warranty business was unaffected by the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed on October 2018 (company restructure). Sears Home Services is underwritten by Cross Country Home Services, an independent underwriting company, so it’s largely separate from the retail side, which has been closing stores over the past 20 years.

About the Authors

Taylor Moore Finance & Insurance Writer

Taylor Moore covers banking, investing, auto insurance, life insurance, homeowners insurance, and more as the Finance and Insurance Writer for Reviews.com. Her work has been published in Chicago magazine, Chicago Reader, and The Financial Diet, among other publications. After graduating from the University of Central Florida, she moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she currently lives with her cat.

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