Same house, two different pieces of paper.
A warranty covers things that wear out. Insurance covers things that happen. This site is about your insurance policy after a loss.
| Home insurance (this site) | Home warranty (our sister site) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An insurance policy on the house itself, required by your mortgage lender | A service contract you buy voluntarily, covering systems and appliances |
| What triggers it | A sudden event: storm, fire, burst pipe, theft — things that happen | A breakdown from wear: the furnace quits, the water heater dies — things that wear out |
| What you fight about | Depreciation holdbacks, denial letters, scope, matching, deadlines | Claim readiness, evidence, denial reasons, contract caps |
| The regulator | Your state insurance department | Also state regulators (and, for some contracts, insurance departments) — the sister site maps the doors |
First — is yours insurance, or is it a warranty? A warranty covers things that wear out. Insurance covers things that happen. This site is about your insurance policy after a loss — storm, fire, burst pipe. A home warranty is a different product: a service contract you buy to cover breakdowns, sold by companies like American Home Shield or Choice. If that's what you have, use our sister site's free tool instead: WarrantyDecoded's claim-readiness checker — same company as us, built for that contract. If an insurer sent you a first check that came up short after a loss, stay here.