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American Home Shield Review


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 4.7 / 5 (Excellent)
4,138 Customer Comments & Reviews - see all comments
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American Home Shield is a Tennessee-based company founded in 1971 to provide coverage on home appliances and systems in the United States through its network of home service professionals.

The company offers service contracts that cover the repair or replacement of major components of home systems and appliances. Customers can also purchase optional coverage for pools and spas, guest houses, home electronic systems, roof leaks, maintenance services, and more.

How Do We Rate American Home Shield?

Breakdown

4.8/5
Transparency
4.8/5
Claims Processing
4.7/5
Coverage Options
4.7/5
Additional Benefits
4.7/5
Customer Experience

Our Overall Rating: 4.7 / 5 (Excellent)

American Home Shield's coverage is among the most comprehensive we've seen in the industry. The company covers considerably more appliances and systems than its competitors and has fewer coverage limitations.

The company recently updated its plans—they now have three to simplify choosing the right one for your home. American Home Shield focuses on the repairs that offer the most value to consumers, removing items that are inexpensive to replace, increasing its coverage limits on appliances in its most expensive plan to reflect today's higher-priced, "gourmet" appliances, and adding roof leak coverage.

Coverage

Key Facts

Plan Types
Systems
Appliances
Combo Plan
Benefit Limit Type
Per Item
Typical Appliance Benefit Limit
$3,000
Typical Systems Benefit Limit
$0

Coverage Options - 4.7 / 5

American Home Shield offers consumers a choice of three plans, following a good-better-best model. Its ShieldSilver plan warrants systems only, but can be amended with certain add-ons, including pools, electronics, and guest houses. Its ShieldGold plan covers a range of systems and appliances, again with add-on options. Its ShieldPlatinum plan covers everything in the ShieldGold plan, plus roof leaks up to $1500 and some routine maintenance services. These include free HVAC tune-ups, unlimited top ups on your AC refrigerant, coverage for code violations including permits.

All told, American Home Shield covers 23 systems and appliances, considerably more than most of their competitors, and fully covers 11 of those items. There is no limit on the number of claims a customer can file over the year’s contract, either.

What does American Home Shield cover?

Covered Built-In Systems

  • Air Conditioning
  • Heating
  • Electrical
  • Plumbing
  • Water Heater
  • Instant Hot/Cold Water Dispenser
  • Doorbells
  • Ceiling Fans

Covered Appliances

  • Refrigerators
  • Dishwashers
  • Clothes Dryers
  • Clothes Washers
  • Ranges/Ovens/Cooktops
  • Built-in Microwaves
  • Freestanding Ice Makers
  • Built-In Trash Compactors
  • Garage Door Openers
  • Built-in Food Centers

Exclusions

For a full list of American Home Shield exclusions, check out this page.

Specialty Items

  • Guest Unit
  • Pool/Spa
  • Well Pump
  • Septic
  • Roof Leaks

Contract & Price

Contract Details

Annual Premium
Starting at $0
Minimum Contract Length
12 month(s)
Home Inspection Required for Contract?
No
Online Quote/Application

Contract & Price - 5 / 5

American Home Shield has a flexible pricing policy and offers three different coverage plans and two trade service call fee levels: $100 and $125.

This allows consumers to have input into the annual price based on their budgetary needs.

We requested a quote for a single family home under 5,000 square feet located in a medium-sized midwestern city. The minimum annual premium (Shield Silver Plan) was $59.99 per month. The maximum premium (Shield Platinum Plan) was $109.99. So AHS prices are somewhat higher than many competitive plans. Consumers should note that their final price will vary by plan, service call charge selected, and location.

Sample Contract

American Home Shield provides a sample contract for potential customers on its website: American Home Shield Sample Contract

Cancellation Policy

Customers can cancel anytime within their 30 day wait period and receive a full refund, and can cancel anytime during the contract term, as this is a non-binding contract.

Claims & Service

Claims

Service Fee
$100 and $125
Maintenance Records Required for Service?
No
24/7 Claims Department?
Waiting Period
30 days

Contractors & Service

Contractor Selection
In-Network Only
Contractor Network Size
14,000+ contractors
Number of Technicians
45,000 technicians
Service Recall Period
30 days

Claims Processing - 4.8 / 5

Consumers can submit a service request online 24/7/365. American Home Security does not require an inspection prior to purchase.

The company has a large network of service professionals and offers a 30-day workmanship guarantee on their services.

American Home Shield Reputation

Company Details

Year Founded
1971
NHSCA Membership
Number of Customers
1.7 million
Number of Employees
1,700
TrustPilot Rating
2.1 out of 5
BBB Rating
B
BBB Positive Reviews
392
BBB Neutral Reviews
50
BBB Negative Reviews
1,874
Date Collected
2023-07-24

Reputation - 5 / 5

American Home Shield has been in business since 1971, making it the oldest player in the industry. It has over 1.7 million customers.

In 1989, the company was acquired by ServiceMaster, an established firm that also owns Terminix and Merry Maids.

American Home Shield is accredited by the BBB and has a B rating. In this industry, negative customer reviews far outnumber positive ones.

Contact & Additional Information

Homepage URL
Company Phone
(888) 429-8247
Headquarters Address
150 Peabody Place, Memphis, TN, 38103
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 849, Carroll, IA, 51401
Year Founded
1971

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4138 Customer Comments & Reviews

Loading Reviews ...
josephwebber
3/7/2020
The service man was on time and did a thorough job. He was also very courteous. He explained what he needed to do to correct my problem. He cleaned up when he was done and gave me a written receipt. I use the AHS web site to request service and their response time is very quick.


J
Jackie W
2/28/2020
I have been a member with American Home Shield for may years. I have an issue and request help with this issue. I have a brand new GE oven as of July, 2019 which was shipped by your company with a shipper of your choice from Jackson, MS. They installed and wired the new ovens in my house. I have been using it since July. On MOn., 2/17/2020 the oven went out after I had used it for over 2 hours and it threw the breaker. My husband tried several times to switch the breaker back on and the oven popped. I contacted American HOme Shield on Tuesday morning on 2/18/2020 and have been waiting for a GE Rep to call me since last week. I called each day you can check my file for the notes,... Read More


M
Mikel
2/24/2020
Terrible service. They use LA appliance and they are the problem. But they won’t send a different technician out to diagnose the problem. 3 weeks since opening service repair on dishwasher!!


ecreekmore
2/20/2020
American Home Shield sent a HVAC contractor to check on my gas pack HVAC unit that had failed. The contractor quoted me $4200 in "non-covered" repairs and gave the warranty company a quote to cover the unit. The quote was not only high, but AHS said the contractor quoted only $970ish for the unit, bringing the entire quote to around $5680. I got a second quote from another unrelated contractor and they quoted me $3900 for the entire job, similar unit and all. After talking to the AHS contractor, the told me that American Home Shield would only allow them to reimburse the $970 for the unit because that was the price AHS has set, not the contractor. As you may know a HVAC unit does not... Read More


leilisadr
2/18/2020
To whom it may concern, I have a broken oven which I made a service call for more than two months ago, I got chrged for the service fee right away and a technician came to my house. He said he needs to order paerts and will be back in couple of weeks. It has been two montha and I have made many attempts to reach the technician and there is no answer. I have made more than seven follow up calls to Amercian Home shields, only once I was able to speak to someone in US. Most of my calls are answered by people in Philippines who keep apologizing and telling me that they will escalate the situation and I am still without an oven. My many requests to have a manager contact me and resolve this... Read More


munzmj
2/15/2020
I had a very good experience with American Home Shield. My washer started leaking water from the dispenser hoses. The technician came the next day to assess the problem. The day after that my ice maker started leaking and American Home Shield had another contractor assigned. Both problems are resolved, and I am happy.


M
Melissa M
2/14/2020
Have been waiting over 48 hours for the "authorization department" to review my claim for AC repair. I cannot get a service rep to give me any further information. This is Florida, and to wait 3 days for approval, let alone for work to commence, is unreasonable.


G
Goozoo
2/13/2020
They are fraud, will collect money from you but doesn't pay when there is a problem. You cancel account and they accept but they will still charge you and send you to collection.


pramzi100
2/12/2020
THE WORST COMPANY EVER! My refrigerator has been broken for 45 days. They keep sending these cheep contractors who are not certified and DO NOT KNOW how to fix things. The contractors they use have terrible reviews. They try to charge $100 each time they assign a different company. So far 3 different contractors worked on my refrigerator and none were good and able to fix it. They expect the contractors to fix the appliance without changing the broken parts so they save money!!!! STAY AWAY FROM THEM!


M
Mystic
2/12/2020
Worst company ever. Every time I would call I would get transfered multipule times and put on hold for forever. They sent out companies with horrible reviews who don't even fix or look at the issue properly, wanted me to wait 5 days when the hot water tank went out before someone would even come and look at it, not fix it, just look at it. Refused to send a different company when I called and said I wanted someone else because the reviews of who was going to come was so bad. Took me over an hour on the phone to cancel the warranty because of all the transfers and being put on hold. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!



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