Home protection is incredibly important, whether you’re buying or selling a home. This is often one of the biggest and most stressful transactions that you’ll face in your lifetime, so adding a layer of protection will help you to smoothly transition through it without some of the stress.
Old Republic Home Protection was established in 1974, meaning that people have been relying on their home warranties for just shy of 50 years. That being said, when it comes to something as important as your home, you don’t want to simply take other people’s word for it.
For this reason, we’ve taken a deep dive into the Old Republic Home Protection reviews and what they offer, so that we can give you a comprehensive look into what you’d be getting, should you opt for one of their plans. Stay until the end to hear our honest opinion on Old Republic Home Protection.
Using the Website
Let’s get right into our review with a quick overview of the website. From the homepage, you can log into a number of different portals depending on whether you’re a realtor, homeowner, or contractor. You can request services easily, find video resources to help better inform you, and read frequently asked questions, among other things.
Perhaps the most important page is the Home Warranty Brochure / Pricing one, however. Find your way to this page and you choose the state of which your house is in. Now, it’s important to note that the Old Republic Home Protection only offers warranties in 29 states, so the first thing you need to do is see whether you’re eligible for the plans.
Click on your state and find the tailored brochure detailing all of the plans as well as other useful information. Once you’re ready to purchase a plan, click the button at the bottom and you’ll be redirected to an application where you’ll fill out some basic information so you can receive a quote.
Overall, the website is very easy to use and navigate around. The brochures open as another tab so you won’t lose your original page, and everything is easy to find. Old Republic Home Protection is straight to the point and eager for you to use their website without any hassle.
Home Warranty Plans
Now, this is where the whole process gets a little confusing and individualized. Each of the 29 states that you can choose from have their own brochures. From what we can see, each brochure is almost identical to one another, however, the pricing may differ slightly from each other.
There are also some states in which you can choose from 12-month and 13-month CRES Preferred Home Warranty Plans, as well as the Old Republic Home Warranty Plans. However, these aren’t available for every state - some only have one option, some have two, and a select few have all three.
We’ll also be listing the prices of each plan, however, bear in mind that we’ve taken the information from the Florida brochure. This means that if you’re in a different state to Florida, your prices may vary slightly from what we’ve stated.
Old Republic Home Protection offers four different types of coverage plans - essential, standard, ultimate, and platinum.
Standard Coverage
Standard coverage is very popular as it is one of the least expensive options and still offers you a reasonable amount of coverage for your home and appliances. Let’s look at the things that are protected by this option, as well as what’s not.
The pricing for the standard plan ranges from $420 to $510, however, this is subject to change until you get your own individualized quote.
Heating Systems
All components of a heating unit are covered with either a replacement or an upgrade, as long as the heating system is under five tons per unit. This includes the heat pump, built-in wall or floor heater, and the ductwork, among other things.
While there are a number of things covered by the standard plan, there is also a list of components that aren’t covered, including the timers that don’t affect the operation of your heating system, humidifiers, and smart vents.
Central Vaccum
The power unit, including all electrical components and the motor, and the dirt canister are covered by the standard plan. However, the attachments, hoses, vents, removable parts, stoppages, and the accessories are not covered.
Plumbing
A lot of the components in your house referring to the plumbing are covered by this plan, including toilet tanks, bowls, ring seals, and flushing mechanisms. The drains, vent pipes, heaters, valves, and regulators are covered and protected with this plan.
That being said, things such as the removal of toilets, various fixtures such as bidets, faucets, and showerheads, are not covered. You will need to read the brochure to ensure whether you need these things covered within your plan, or whether you can live without them.
Air Conditioning
If your air conditioning system is less than five tons per unit, all of the components will be covered through this plan. Old Republic Home Protection will replace anything that needs doing, as well as anything else to ensure the system runs as efficiently as possible.
Portable units and gas air conditioning units are among the list of things not covered under the standard plan when it comes to your air conditioning unit.
Electrical Systems
Switches, outlets, fuses, and interior wiring are covered if you opt for the standard plan, however, light fixtures, bulbs, and doorbells are not. There are more components in the not covered section of the electrical systems, so make sure that you read the brochure beforehand to ensure that you know what you’re in for.
Garage Door Openers
This means that all the parts of the mechanical system that opens the garage door will be covered and replaced if necessary, however, the garage door itself, as well as remotes, light sockets, and rollers will not be covered.
Re-key Service
The new rekey service offers you a one-off option to rekey up to six locks, as well as deadbolts, with four copies of the keys. Sliding doors, broken locks, windows, and gates are not covered with this service.
Kitchen Refrigerator and Washer / Dryer
These components are also covered through the standard plan. Like all of the other sections, there are components covered as well as ones that are not covered. It’s worth noting that the Old Republic Home Protection will offer cash in lieu of repairs if certain parts are not available.
Essential Coverage
The essential plan offers everything that the standard option offers, except the refrigerator and washer/dryer coverage. The prices range from $310 to $400, depending on your home and its trade call fee.
Ultimate Coverage
Ultimate plan offers you everything that the standard plan does, as well as enhancements on the plumbing, heating systems, and air conditioning unit. You’ll also have coverage for a number of appliances such as a dishwasher, oven/range, smoke detector, and trash compactors.
The pricing ranges from $430 to $565, and Old Republic Home Protection will provide up to $250 per occurrence when you need a more expensive job doing on your house, such as the use of cranes for replacing a system.
Platinum Coverage
Finally, platinum coverage offers you everything that we’ve talked about above, as well as better plumbing coverage, and up to $1000 provided to you for bigger tasks that need doing to your home. These could be modifications to your home or the replacement of heating systems.
With the best coverage possible comes the highest pricing, with only one pricing option of $695.
Optional Home Buyer Coverage
Old Republic Home Protection also offers a number of different optional add-ons for your plan, including swimming pool equipment, fountain motors, and limited roof leak repairs for an additional price.
Pros
Plenty of coverage with all of the different plans.
You can add more cover for different parts of your home for a customized plan.
The pricing is very clear and there are no hidden costs.
You can find a brochure for each state so that nothing is generalized.
Plenty of happy customers.
Separate gateways for realtors, homeowners, and contractors.
It’s very easy to get a quote and navigate your way through the website.
Cons
The coverage is only offered in 29 states, so it may not be available to your area.
Each brochure comes with a long page of limits of liability, in which it details what aspects of your home are not covered in the plans.
Final Say
We think that Old Republic Home Protection is a good option for a home warranty if you’re looking for well-rounded coverage for a number of appliances in your home. With the number of plans to choose from, as well as the option to add different things to your plan, you should be able to find your ideal option for a competitive price.
Be sure to read the brochure thoroughly before committing to a plan though, as quite a few components are not covered with the plans. We would also recommend ensuring that you’re looking at the correct brochure for your state, as otherwise you may be disappointed to learn that your state is not covered by Old Republic Home Protection.
With that being said, there are a number of customer testimonials stating how impressed they were with the service and coverage they received from Old Republic Home Protection, so this is definitely a viable option for anyone looking for a reliable home warranty supplier.