American Home Shield vs First American Home Warranty
Are you debating if you should be using American Home Shield, First American Home Warranty, or neither one of them? Want to compare American Home Shield vs. First American in a way that will help you make educated decisions based on the real offering of either of these companies? Please feel free to use our comparison chart below and Review Home Warranties as a whole to help you make the right decisions.
| American Home Shield (AHS) | First American Home Warranty | |
|---|---|---|
| BBB Complaints (Last 36 Months) | 10,767 | 3,164 |
| Premiums | $35-60 | $28-$44,50 |
| Service Call Fee | $75-125 | $75 |
| Free second opinion | If different | Yes |
| Repair timeframe | 2 business days | 2 business days |
| Emergency service available | Yes | Yes |
| Limits | $1500 - $3000 | $500 - $3500 |
| Visit First American Home Warranty | ||
| Covers | American Home Shield (AHS) | First American Home Warranty | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attic fans | |||||||||
| Ceiling fan | |||||||||
| Cooktop exhaust fan | |||||||||
| Dishwasher | |||||||||
| Disposal | |||||||||
| Expand Table | |||||||||
| Visit First American Home Warranty | |||||||||
Looking for additional information for the First American vs American Home Shield?
There are plenty of similarities between First American Home Warranty and American Home Shield. Both are niche leaders in home warranties, and are owned by bigger companies that operate in other domains than home warranties. AHS is part of the ServiceMaster conglomerate that provides many residential services (as well as commercial). First American Home Warranty, officially named First American Buyers Protection Plan, is part of the AM corporation which mainly deals with insurance titles. As such, the two companies are as credible as they come in the home warranty industry.
Credibility doesn’t necessarily mean impeccable services, though. Both companies have received a lot of client complaints over the years. First American Home Warranty has been ranking at under 2 stars (out of 5 available) on most client review websites, and AHS has 2.5 stars on average. That isn’t specifically bad in comparison to the industry averages, most home warranty companies have been receiving very poor client reviews online (online reviews are a tad skewed, to begin with, it’s mostly disgruntled clients who would go above and beyond to leave a review) – but it, of course, indicates there are things to be improved. American Home Shield has also been sued more than once for a variety of reasons. Some of these lawsuits have to to do with the ethics of the real estate industry (paying kickbacks to real estate agents for client referral), but some actually deal with the essence of the service, claiming that American Home Shield rejects claims on a dubious grounds. All of these lawsuits were settled outside of court, but it’s still something to consider. First American also had its fair share of lawsuits. The one claiming they were sidelining women has been getting them with a lot of negative press.
When it comes to comparing First American vs American Home Shield in terms of plan offers, there is a very subtle difference. The two companies have a lot of things going for them and against them. For instance, both companies cover all major home systems and appliances, but American Home Shield is more flexible in terms of plan selection and service call fees, while First American offers only two home warranty plans and a set non-negotiable service call fee of $75. To learn more about industry plan options, check out our review of leading coverage plans available.
Read Also: What Are The Best Home Warranty Plans For Luxury Appliances and Systems?
Both companies have some of the highest coverage limits in the industry, with First AM covering several appliances up to $5,000 (no other company offers that!), while American Home Shield offers coverage of up to $3,000 on several items which is also very impressive. On the other hand, both companies have their cons. American Home Shield is notorious for its payment delays based on client feedback. To summarize, there is no “one fit all” answer on which of the two companies is better. They are both very credible companies with mixed opinions online, and several obvious pros and cons.
First American Home Warranty is one of our best-rated services
There is no simple answer about which company is better, First American or American Home Shield. Both companies are well-recognized in the industry, serving millions of American households in a number of states, and both have happy customers who have been subscribing to their services for years, and not-so-happy customers who complained about their services on various consumer reporting sites. There is a difference in pricing, but it’s not significant if you select similar coverage.
In 2019, First American Home Warranty has been nominated for the home warranty insurance awards and received a medal in the Best Value for the Money category. American Home Shield has also been nominated in several categories. However, it did not receive any awards in 2019.
We highly recommend reading our comprehensive home warranty reviews, which could help you with making a sober and wise decision in regards to the company selection. We also created several similar vis a vis comparison as follows Total Protect vs American Home Shield and AHS vs Choice Home Warranty.
We have rated each and every home warranty service providers, and we can say that unlike American Home Shield, First American Home Warranty made it to the top-5 of all the companies listed on our site. Our transparent rating system is split into several sections, so you can see the company’s strengths and weaknesses and compare each section of the review to the company of your choice.
More Than 10 Years on the Market
Most Comprehensive Coverage Available
Free Reservice Period for Parts
Emergency Service Available
Cheapest and Best Basic Plan ($34/m)
Choice Home Warranty ReviewClients from:
American Home Shield is one of the first companies that started providing home warranty services to homeowners and real estate agents. The company offers a variety of contracts, including customized plans.
American Home Shield ReviewClients from:
Almost-Nationwide Service
Majority of Client Reviews Online Are Positive
Clearest Terms and Conditions
Highest Contractor Professionalism
Best Gold Plan ("Platinum Care")
Select Home Warranty ReviewClients from:
Disclosure: ReviewHomeWarranties.com has referral agreements with some of the home warranty companies presented on our lists throughout this website, including our the above rankings. Referral income which we generate through these agreements helps us keep the content free of ads and accessible.
Would you like to see more alternatives?
We have reviewed and rated dozens of home warranty service providers, and we continue to review more and more of them. For each company, we carefully analyze and briefly summarize all the information collected from their website, the company’s representatives, and the customer reviews. In case you don’t Like First American Home Warranty for some reason, there is always an option to select from a long list of reputable companies. Please be sure to read the review in full, as well as the advertiser disclosure, in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
