Home Warranty.
A common misconception that we hear frequently from home warranty customers is “it’s just like insurance, right?”
Wrong.
Home Warranty is completely different and is not structured or setup on a “claims” basis. So what is home warranty?
Home warranty is similar to purchasing an extended warranty for an item you are purchasing. For example, when you purchase a new iPhone, you can purchase AppleCare+, which will provide peace of mind that if something goes wrong, Apple will provide you with a new phone. However, there are certain exceptions and stipulations that are found in the terms and conditions of the AppleCare+ “warranty.” This is no different than purchasing a home warranty plan. You make either annual or monthly payments for your home warranty, and when you open a work order for service, the outcome of any work order is determined by the terms and conditions of your warranty plan AND the decisions made by the authorizations department at the home warranty company.
An important distinction must be made here: large home warranty companies have large departments that do not necessarily communicate with each other. Where we frequently run into trouble is when a customer tells us that the “Customer Service” agent promised them one thing, but the Authorizations Department reaches an unexpected conclusion, sometimes even a denial of service. When these situations come up, we find ourselves as the unfortunate “middle-man,” ready and able to provide the solution and the service, but not able to receive authorization from the warranty on one hand, and a disappointed customer who was expecting to not have to pay anything on the other.
They told me everything was covered!
Each home warranty company is unique, and each one has certain situations and scenarios where they outperform their competitors. If you would like us to share some of what we see as a team that has handled thousands of home warranty work orders, please give us a call.
A few notes to consider when Desert Rain Plumbing receives your home warranty work order.
Choice Home Warranty (Rely Home)
The Choice Home Warranty portal forces contractors to select a day and time as part of the process of accepting a work order. This creates a problem because the portal has zero ability to integrate with our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
So please, if you receive a scheduling related email from Choice Home Warranty, please DISREGARD those emails. We do not use their scheduling system. Their system does not let us dispatch our technicians or see what we have on our schedule. The only ways that we will schedule appointments are via a live phone call with our office staff, or via SMS text message. We do not and have never scheduled appointments via email.
When Desert Rain Plumbing is helping you with your Choice Home Warranty work order, DISREGARD any scheduling-related emails you may receive from Choice Home Warranty.
Old Republic Home Protection
Bear in mind that ORHP offers several different tiers or levels of plans to their customers. Which plan you are currently subscribed to has a major impact on what kinds of services and repairs will get authorized. ORHP also offers multiple “add-ons” that can extend your plan even further. If you’re unsure about whether or not something will get authorized, please contact ORHP and get clarification before opening a work order.