Two Types of Protection — One Big Difference
If you own a home, you’ve probably heard of both home insurance and home warranties. Many homeowners assume they’re the same thing, but they actually protect you in completely different ways. Understanding the difference can save you thousands of dollars when something goes wrong.
What Home Insurance Covers
Homeowners insurance (also called hazard insurance) protects your property against sudden, unexpected events like:
- Fire and smoke damage
- Severe weather (hail, windstorms, lightning)
- Theft and vandalism
- Water damage from burst pipes
- Liability if someone is injured on your property
Your mortgage lender requires homeowners insurance because it protects the structure of your home — the building itself. If a tree falls on your roof or a fire damages your kitchen, insurance helps you rebuild.
What a Home Warranty Covers
A home warranty (or home service plan) covers something completely different: the mechanical breakdown of your home’s systems and appliances due to normal wear and tear.
This includes things like:
- Your air conditioner stops cooling on a 95-degree day
- Your water heater fails and you’re stuck with cold showers
- Your refrigerator compressor dies and your food spoils
- Your furnace won’t ignite in the middle of winter
- Your dishwasher starts leaking all over the kitchen floor
None of these situations would be covered by homeowners insurance — because nothing “happened” to cause the damage. The unit simply wore out over time. That’s exactly what a home warranty is designed for.
The Gap Most Homeowners Don’t Know About
Here’s the reality: your homeowners insurance won’t pay to fix your broken furnace, and your home warranty won’t pay to rebuild after a fire. They cover completely different risks.
Most homeowners have insurance (it’s required by their lender), but many don’t have a home warranty — leaving them fully exposed to expensive mechanical breakdowns. And these breakdowns are far more common than fires or storms.
The average homeowner spends over $3,000 per year on home repairs and maintenance. A single HVAC replacement can cost $7,000 or more. Without a home warranty, those costs come straight out of your pocket.
Do You Need Both?
In short — yes. Home insurance and a home warranty work together to give you complete protection:
Home insurance handles the big, catastrophic events — fires, storms, theft.
A home warranty handles the everyday breakdowns — appliances failing, systems wearing out, things that happen in every home eventually.
Together, they mean you’re never caught off guard by an unexpected expense.
How Much Does a Home Warranty Cost?
Home warranty plans are surprisingly affordable. At Empire Home Protect, plans start at just $49 per month — a fraction of what a single major repair would cost. When you compare that to the potential $2,000-$10,000 cost of replacing a major system, the math speaks for itself.
Ready to close the gap in your home protection? Get a free quote from Empire Home Protect today.
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