The 5 Best Home Warranty Companies in Maryland | 2022

Home Service Research Team
·9 min read

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Best Overall

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Best Basic Plan

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Best Discounts

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Best Coverage Upgrade

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Best for Contractor Choice

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Best Plan Variety

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Best Membership Perks

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A home warranty is a type of home protection policy that helps you cover the costs of repairs and replacements for your home's systems and appliances. Having a home warranty in Maryland for your property can help ensure that if your air conditioning system, heating system, dishwasher, or another expensive home component breaks down due to normal wear and tear, you won't be left with thousands of dollars of repair bills.

Thinking about buying a home warranty in Maryland? Our guide to the best home warranty companies and providers will help you choose the right option for your property.

Maryland Home Warranty Companies

  1. Best Overall: American Home Shield

  2. Best Basic Plan: Choice Home Warranty

  3. Best Discounts: Select Home Warranty

  4. Best Coverage Upgrade: First American Home Warranty

  5. Best for Contractor Choice: Priority Home Warranty

#1: American Home Shield

American Home Shield is an established home warranty company with accreditation from the Better Business Bureau. Its policies feature higher-than-average coverage for your home's heating and air conditioning systems, and you can also customize your policy by choosing your own service fee.

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American Home Shield Plans

American Home Shield offers three policy options: the ShieldSilver™, ShieldGold™, and ShieldPlatinum™ plans. The third option offers additional features and increased coverage caps.

Optional Add-Ons

American Home Shield offers the following add-ons for your coverage:

  • Pool and spa

  • Guest unit <750 sq. ft.

  • Well pump

  • Septic pump

American Home Shield Cost

In addition to your monthly payment, you'll also pay a service fee each time you use your plan. You can choose a $75, $100, or $125 service fee when you sign up for coverage. Choosing a higher service fee can help you save on your monthly premiums, which might be the way to go if you don't anticipate having to use your home warranty often.

We recommend that homeowners in Maryland select the ShieldPlatinum Plan, which offers a more complete set of coverage for expensive home systems and appliances with generous limits. Maryland homeowners commonly see issues with their HVAC systems—thankfully, this major system is covered under all three plans.

Obtain your free quote from American Home Shield by completing an online form or by calling 844-529-9298.

#2: Choice Home Warranty

You might be surprised to find that many home warranty providers limit or deny coverage based on the age of your home. This can mean that your policy might be too expensive to be useful if your coverage limits are too low. As the median age of homes in Maryland is 40 years, this can be a very important factor to consider.

Choice Home Warranty won't deny you coverage based on the age of your home's items. If you live in an older home, this can make getting coverage easy. Choice's Basic Plan also includes a mix of home system and appliance coverages, which is usually only available on higher-tier plans.

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Choice Home Warranty Plans

Choice Home Warranty offers two plan options: a Basic Plan and a Total Plan. Below is a breakdown of what each plan includes.

Optional Add-Ons

Choice Home Warranty offers the following add-ons at an additional cost:

  • Roof leak

  • Septic system

  • Septic tank pumping

  • Well pump

  • Sump pump

  • Second refrigerator

  • Stand-alone freezer

  • Central vacuum

  • Pool and spa

Choice Home Warranty Cost

In addition to the price you pay per month, you'll also pay an $85 service fee each time you use your plan.

Get your free quote from Choice Home Warranty by completing an online form or by calling 929-400-6165.

#3: Select Home Warranty

If you're shopping for a home warranty on a limited budget, you might have a hard time finding an affordable policy. If you're looking for discounts for a home warranty in Maryland, consider a policy from Select Home Warranty. Select offers comprehensive coverage for less than $40 a month, as well as competitive service fees. The provider also offers free roof coverage with its plans, which is a rare perk to have in a home warranty. That is a roughly a $99 value for free.

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Select Home Warranty Plans

Select Home Warranty offers three plans: the Bronze Care, Gold Care, and Platinum Care packages. Let's take a look at what's included on these plan options.

Optional Add Ons

Select Home Warranty offers coverage for the following add-ons:

  • Central vacuum

  • Lawn sprinkler system

  • Pool and spa equipment

  • Septic system

  • Well pump

  • Sump pump

  • Stand-alone freezer

Select Home Warranty Cost

In addition to your monthly premiums, you'll pay a $75 service fee each time you use your coverage.

Get your free quote from Select Home Warranty by completing an online form or by calling 888-370-3956.

#4: First American Home Warranty

If you aren't sure about the current condition of your systems and appliances, consider a policy from First American Home Warranty. First American's unique "First Class Upgrade" option allows you to extend your coverage to include systems that were improperly installed or maintained, as well as limited coverage for building permits and system removal. First American also offers flexible payment options and 30-day money-back guarantees on its policies.

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First American Home Warranty Plans

First American has two plan options: the Basic Plan and the Premier Plan.

Optional Add-Ons

First American Home Warranty offers the following add-ons for your plan:

  • Central air conditioning system

  • Secondary refrigeration

  • Pool and spa equipment

  • Well pump

  • First Class Upgrade

First American Home Warranty Cost

You'll also pay a $75 service fee each time you use your plan's benefits.

Claim your free quote from First American Home Warranty by completing an online form or by calling 800-891-9778.

#5: Priority Home Warranty

Priority Home Warranty is one of the newest but fastest-growing home warranty companies in the industry. It focuses on providing affordable options for homeowners and efficient customer service through a simplified two-step online claims process, an online customer portal, and live tracking for claims.

Priority Home Warranty also has a unique contractor selection policy that allows customers to select their preferred local contractor and get reimbursed for the cost of hiring that contractor. This allows homeowners to move forward on a home repair or replacement by using a local technician they trust, while still being backed by Priority's 90-day workmanship guarantee.

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Priority Home Warranty Plans

Priority Home Warranty offers three plans: Systems Home Care, Appliance Home Care, and Total Home Care. The Systems Home Care plan covers major systems, such as your plumbing and air conditioning, the Appliance Home Care plan covers major appliances, including your refrigerator and dishwasher, and the Total Home Care plan covers everything in the first two plans.

Here's what each home warranty plan covers:

Optional Add-Ons

Priority Home Warranty offers the following 20 additional coverage options:

  • Ice maker

  • Second dishwasher

  • Second tankless water heater

  • Second clothes washer

  • Second clothes dryer

  • Second refrigerator

  • Second oven/range/stove

  • Second air conditioner

  • Standalone freezer

  • Septic pumping

  • Septic system

  • Water softener

  • Tankless water heater

  • Central vacuum

  • Sump pump

  • Well pump

  • Limited roof-leak coverage

  • Pool and spa

  • Saltwater pool system

  • Over 5,000 square feet

Priority Home Warranty Cost

Priority Home Warranty offers the Systems Home Care and Appliance Home Care plans at $33 per month each and the Total Home Care plan at $47 per month, regardless of location. Priority also offers 15-month payment plan options for those seeking a lower monthly fee. In addition to a monthly premium, Priority Home Warranty charges a $70 service call fee.

Here's a breakdown of our sample quote prices monthly and annually:

Priority Home Warranty is a good fit for homeowners who want to choose their own contractor or prefer an online customer service option, since the company's simple two-step claims process can be completed directly through the website. However, Priority has a long list of exclusions in its sample contract and also caps its payout for all major systems and appliances at $1,600. Therefore, higher-end homes may not benefit from what is only a moderate coverage amount in terms of industry standards.Get a free quote from Priority Home Warranty by filling out this short online form or calling 954-228-2343.

What to Consider for a Maryland Home Warranty

Located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, Maryland's position on the coast may make some home repair issues more common than others. Let's take a look at a few common coverage caps and considerations you might want to think about before you select a policy.

  • Workmanship guarantees: Many homeowners in Maryland live in older properties, which might make recurring repair issues and breakdowns more common. Workmanship guarantees ensure that you won't pay for the same issue over and over again if it occurs in a specific window of time. If workmanship guarantees are at the top of your priority list, consider a policy from a company like Choice Home Warranty, which offers longer guarantees.

  • Plumbing coverage limits: Maryland's variable climate and position on the coast can mean more harsh showers and weather. Flooding can make plumbing problems more common, which can be expensive to repair. Thankfully, plumbing systems are usually included in home warranty policies that include systems coverage. Be sure to compare coverage limits on plumbing systems before you choose a policy.

  • Coverage limits on air conditioning systems: Maryland's summers can be hot and humid. This extreme weather can put enhanced stress on your air conditioning system. If you have a central air conditioning system in your home, be sure to look for a policy with higher coverage limits for this system.

Home Warranty Rating Methodology

The Home Service Research Team at Better Homes & Gardens strives to provide unbiased and objective reviews to readers by compiling relevant information on home warranty companies and rating the providers on a variety of factors.

Here's what our review process looks like:

  • We examine each provider's website to determine plan details, coverage, customer service offerings, and other benefits. We also speak with company representatives to get more insight on plan details.

  • We read sample contracts from each home warranty company to analyze and compare coverage details, limits, and exclusions.

  • We read at least 100 third-party customer reviews for each home warranty company to determine the real-life benefits and drawbacks of each provider.

  • We gather cost information for a variety of home warranty plans in different states by completing online quote forms and speaking with sales representatives to simulate the quote process.

  • We revisit each company's offerings on a seasonal basis, ensuring that we include the most up-to-date information in our reviews.

We also created a 100-point rating system to score companies based on objective factors, such as plan options, coverage, and customer service:

Overall, the Home Service Research Team has reviewed over 70 home warranty companies to select the top-rated providers in the industry.