Best Home Warranties in Maryland 2024

The best home warranties in Maryland give homeowners flexible service fee options, competitive premiums, high coverage limits and good heating system coverage. We compared over 180 quotes in Maryland and read through service agreements to determine which home warranty companies offer the best plans for homeowners.

How we chose the best home warranty companies in Maryland

Although most homeowners want coverage for similar items, each state brings with it a unique set of factors that can make some home warranty plans more relevant than others. Here are a few factors that we considered when choosing which home warranty companies are the best for Maryland homeowners.

AFC Home Warranty’s repair guarantee is one of the best we’ve come across — the company won’t charge you a second service fee if an approved repair fails during your service contract. Compared to many of its competitors’ 30-day and 60-day repair guarantees, AFC’s guarantee offers a much longer safety net.

What we like about AFC Home Warranty

We like AFC Home Warranty’s competitive monthly premiums and its service fee options ($75, $100 and $125). The company also has four plans available and doesn’t limit how much it’ll pay for approved repairs for HVAC systems.

What we don’t like about AFC Home Warranty

We don’t like that AFC limits its coverage to $500 each for plumbing and electrical systems, which is low compared with many competitors’ coverage caps. Additionally, the company’s cheapest plan doesn’t cover heating systems. Moreover, when requesting quotes on AFC’s websites, customers only see the service fee options of $75 and $125; customers who want a quote with a $100 service fee must call the company to get that quote. Lastly, the company has relatively low customer satisfaction scores online.

First American Home Warranty is our pick for the best company with high coverage limits. Unlike many competitors that cap their coverage for specific repairs, First American doesn’t limit how much it’ll pay for approved repairs for HVAC, electrical and plumbing repairs. The company also pays up to $3,500 for approved appliance repairs — this jumps to $7,000 with the most expensive plan.

What we like about First American Home Warranty

On top of no coverage limits for certain repairs, First American lets customers choose between two service fees ($100 and $125) and three comprehensive coverage plans. It also includes heating system coverage in its cheapest plan.

What we don’t like about First American Home Warranty

First American doesn’t have an appliance-only or systems-only plan, which means you might have to buy more coverage than you want. Additionally, First American’s online customer satisfaction ratings are lower than we like, according to Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau.

Read our full review of First American Home Warranty.

Our pick for the best basic plan coverage is Choice Home Warranty’s Basic Plan, which covers most major items except an air conditioning system, a refrigerator and a washer and dryer set. Choice’s Basic Plan covers more items than most of its competitors’ cheapest comprehensive plans.

What we like about Choice Home Warranty

Choice Home Warranty pays up to $3,000 each for approved repairs for HVAC, appliance, electric and plumbing systems, making its Basic Plan a bit more competitive as a lowest-tier option. Its plans are simple as well, adding a few major items for less than $10 a month if you want to go with the company’s more expensive option.

What we don’t like about Choice Home Warranty

Choice Home Warranty only has one service fee option at $100 per claim, which doesn’t give customers flexibility in their monthly premium amounts. The company’s repair guarantee is for only 30 days, and it has mixed customer satisfaction ratings online.

Read our full review of Choice Home Warranty.

Among the companies that made our list, Old Republic Home Protection has the average best customer satisfaction rating. Positive online reviews include mentions of efficient and helpful technicians and quick appointment scheduling.

What we like about Old Republic Home Protection

Old Republic’s coverage pays up to $6,500 each for heating and air conditioning systems, which is higher than many competitors’ limits. The company also includes heating system coverage in its cheapest plan. Old Republic also has two service fee options of $100 and $125, doesn’t cap its coverage for approved repairs of electrical systems, and covers up to $7,000 in appliance repairs with some plans.The company has good online customer satisfaction scores.

What we don’t like about Old Republic Home Protection

We don’t like that Old Republic’s cheapest service fee option is $100, which is more expensive than some of its competitors’ fees. The company’s repair guarantee is for 30 days (shorter than some of its competitors’ guarantees) and caps its coverage for toilet repairs to $600.

Read our full review of Old Republic Home Protection.

The cheapest service fee options among the companies on our list goes to 2-10 Home Buyers. With a base fee of $85, customers can “buy down” the service fee to $65 by paying a higher monthly premium or “save up” and go with a $100 service fee and cheaper monthly premium.

What we like about 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty

In addition to its competitive monthly premiums and flexible service fees, 2-10 offers a repair guarantee for the length of your service agreement. It also has $2,000 coverage limits for plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems, which are decent compared with its competitors’ coverage limits.

What we don’t like about 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty

We don’t like that you’ll have to buy a more expensive plan to cover a heating system, and its cheapest plan — for appliances only — doesn’t cover a lot of items compared to similar plans offered by competitors. The company’s online reviews for customer satisfaction could also use improvement.

Read our full review of 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty.

Unlike most of its competitors, Cinch Home Services doesn’t limit how much it pays for certain types of approved repairs. Instead, the company has a $10,000-aggregate limit, and it’ll pay for all approved repairs until you hit that limit. Many home warranty companies have aggregate limits but will cap how much they pay toward specific repairs, such as for HVAC systems. With an aggregate-only cap, you are likely to get more coverage for approved repairs that cost more than what another company might agree to pay toward that repair.

What we like about Cinch Home Services

Cinch Home Services has three plans and three service fee options at $100, $125 and $150, giving customers options for coverage and cost. Cinch also has a repair guarantee of 180 days to save you from paying another service fee if an approved repair fails.

What we don’t like about Cinch Home Services

Although it only has an aggregate coverage limit, the coverage cap is lower than some competitors’ aggregate limits — for example, 2-10 Home Buyers’s aggregate coverage limit is $25,000. The company’s three service fee options are higher than many of its competitors’ service fees, and it doesn’t cover heating systems in its cheapest plan, which is for appliances only. Cinch’s customer satisfaction reviews are also mixed.

Read our full review of Cinch Home Services.

Other home warranty companies we considered

These companies also provide home warranty plans in Maryland but didn’t make our list this year.

• American Home Shield.

• Home Warranty of America.

• Liberty Home Guard.

How much does a home warranty cost in Maryland?

Our research shows that the average cost in Maryland for a home warranty is $60.09 per month plus service fees. When comparing home warranty costs in Maryland, we requested quotes from four zip codes across Maryland for the companies we considered for this review. We compared over 180 quotes for home warranty coverage in Maryland. Here are the highlights of what we found:

• Average cost for a home warranty in Maryland: $60.09 per month.

• Cheapest quote: $28.91 per month.

• Most expensive quote: $100.00 per month.

• Average cost of cheapest plan: $43.90 per month.

• Average cost of highest plan: $77.04 per month.

• Median cost of cheapest plan: $46.04 per month.

• Median cost of highest plan: $69.00 per month.

Buying a home warranty in Maryland

The best home warranty for Maryland homeowners depends on several factors. Most homeowners need to consider their budgets, which items they want covered, how much they can afford in service fees for each technician visit and what coverage limits they’re comfortable with.

You pay a monthly premium and a service fee. You'll pay a premium every month but only a service fee when a technician visits your home. Not all companies charge service fees in Maryland, but they can be as high as $150 per service call.

Home warranties don't cover every repair. Similar to how homeowners insurance excludes certain repairs, homeowners warranties don't pay to fix everything. Your service contract should clearly outline what isn't covered by your plan, and some companies might have coverage specific to Maryland.

Most home warranty plans typically cover appliances and systems. Comprehensive coverage usually covers a mix of certain appliances and major systems, but which items are covered vary by plan. Some companies offer appliance-only and systems-only plans for more limited but specific coverage.

Home warranties usually don’t cover natural disaster damage in Maryland. It’s uncommon for home warranty companies to repair covered items that experience weather-related damage, such as appliances affected by floods. This is usually covered by homeowners insurance and clearly stated in home warranty agreements as an exclusion.

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