Home warranty products

Base plans. Basic and systems protection run about $35 to $50 a month ($400 to $600 a year), appliance protection $35 to $45 ($400 to $500), and total protection $40 to $75 ($450 to $900). Roofing-focused coverage runs $30 to $50 a month ($350 to $600).

Pool and spa is the most expensive common add-on at $20 to $40 a month — $240 to $480 a year. Before adding it, look at your last three years of pool repair spending. If the add-on exceeds it, you are pre-paying for repairs you may not need, with a cap attached.

Septic and well pump matter mainly for rural properties where these are your water and waste systems rather than municipal services. Well pump coverage at $8 to $10 a month is cheap relative to a pump failure, which is one of the few add-ons where the arithmetic often works.

Roof leak coverage at $8 to $10 a month is worth scrutinizing hardest. Roof coverage in these contracts is typically narrow — specific leak repair, not roof replacement, and usually not damage from storms, which is an insurance matter. Read exactly what the roof add-on does and does not do before adding it.

How to choose

Price each add-on against your own repair history

Pool/spa at $240 to $480 a year should beat what you actually spend on pool repairs.

Well pump coverage is often the best-value add-on

At $8 to $10 a month against the cost of a failed pump, the math is more favorable than most.

Read the roof add-on very carefully

It typically covers narrow leak repair, not replacement, and storm damage is an insurance question, not a warranty one.

Add-ons carry their own caps

Every add-on has its own limit. Find it before you agree to the extra monthly charge.

Don't add coverage for things you'd just replace

A second refrigerator at $2 to $4 a month is cheap, but so is deciding you'd simply buy a new one.