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AC Protection Plan vs. Multi-Appliance Home Warranty: Which Covers Your AC Better?
A multi-appliance home warranty is one contract that can cover a home’s appliances and its structural systems, such as plumbing and electrical. An AC protection plan covers your cooling system; Florida calls a written promise to repair, replace or maintain a product for a set period, for a separate charge, a service warranty.
Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.301: Definitions (home warranty associations); Florida Statutes § 634.401: Definitions (service warranty associations)
Terms vary within both, so the table puts what Florida law and state and federal consumer guidance say about each beside what to check in your own contract. It names no company and compares no prices.
Last reviewed · Reviewed by the Right Away Home Services service team
Side by side
| Question | Multi-appliance home warranty | AC protection plan |
|---|---|---|
| Who sends the technician | Multi-appliance home warranty It depends on the contract: Florida’s definition covers a company that pays the cost of the repair and one that furnishes the repair itself. Ask which yours does, and who takes care of repairs. Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.301: Definitions (home warranty associations); FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts | AC protection plan It depends on the plan: Florida’s definition covers a promise to perform the repair or maintenance and a promise to pay for it. Ask whether the company that maintains your system is the one that repairs it. Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.401: Definitions (service warranty associations); FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts |
| Maintenance visits included | Multi-appliance home warranty Florida’s definition is about repair or replacement after wear and tear or a defect, and doesn’t mention maintenance visits. Some contracts ask for maintenance records, so check what yours requires of you. Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.301: Definitions (home warranty associations); Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview | AC protection plan Maintenance can be part of the promise: Florida’s definition of a service warranty includes a maintenance service contract of a year or more. Check how many visits it includes and what each one covers. Source: Florida Statutes § 634.401: Definitions (service warranty associations) |
| Per-claim service fee | Multi-appliance home warranty Check yours: ask whether you pay a deductible or a service fee each time a technician comes out. Florida’s consumer guidance says to understand both before you buy. Sources: Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview; FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts | AC protection plan Check yours: ask whether any visit or repair carries a deductible or service fee. The FTC lists fees you pay each time a product is serviced among the costs to look for. Sources: Florida Department of Financial Services: Service Warranty Overview; FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts |
| Coverage limits per repair and per year | Multi-appliance home warranty Florida requires a home warranty to set out its exclusions, restrictions and limitations in boldface. Check there for a cap per repair or per year, and for age limits on older appliances. Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.312: Home warranty forms; required provisions; Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview | AC protection plan Check yours: ask whether it caps what it pays per repair or per year, and which parts it covers. The FTC’s advice is that anything not listed in the contract should be assumed not covered. Source: FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts |
| Replacing working parts to match a new one | Multi-appliance home warranty If it covers AC wear and tear but won’t replace other working parts to meet the manufacturer’s compatibility or efficiency requirements, Florida requires it to say so in boldface and to offer that coverage for an additional charge. Source: Florida Statutes § 634.346: Home warranty coverage requirements | AC protection plan Check yours: ask whether a repair that needs other parts replaced to match is covered, and which parts are listed. Source: FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts |
| Pre-existing conditions and waiting period | Multi-appliance home warranty Check your contract for a waiting period before coverage starts and for how it treats problems that were already there. Its exclusions and limitations are the boldface part. Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.312: Home warranty forms; required provisions; FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts | AC protection plan Check your plan for a waiting period before coverage starts and for how it treats problems that were already there. Source: FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts |
| How fast a technician comes in peak season | Multi-appliance home warranty Ask how soon a technician is scheduled after a claim in summer, and whether that’s in writing. The FTC notes that a difficult claims process reduces the value of coverage. Source: FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts | AC protection plan Ask how soon a technician is scheduled after you call in summer, and whether that’s in writing. Source: FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts |
| Who regulates it in Florida | Multi-appliance home warranty Sold by a home warranty association licensed under Florida Statutes chapter 634, part II, or by an authorized insurer. The Office of Insurance Regulation can order a company to stop using a contract that doesn’t comply with Florida law. It doesn’t regulate the price, and the contract must come with a written disclosure saying so. Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.303: License required (home warranties); Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview; Florida Office of Insurance Regulation: Warranties and Motor Vehicle Service Agreements | AC protection plan If the plan is a service warranty (chapter 634, part III), the company must be licensed by the Office of Insurance Regulation, which doesn’t file or approve its rates; the contract must come with a written disclosure saying so. A maintenance agreement written for less than a year, with no promise to repair or pay for repairs and no parts-and-labor discount over 20 percent, is outside that definition. Ask which yours is. Sources: Florida Department of Financial Services: Service Warranty Overview; Florida Statutes § 634.414: Service warranty forms; required provisions; Florida Statutes § 634.401: Definitions (service warranty associations); Florida Office of Insurance Regulation: Warranties and Motor Vehicle Service Agreements |
Questions to ask before you buy either
The same questions work for both, and the answers belong in writing.
Look up your AC’s warrantyIs it in writing, and can I read all of it first?
Florida requires both kinds of company to give you a complete sample of the terms before the sale if you ask (or point you to a website that shows them), and to deliver your contract within 45 days.
Sources: Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview; Florida Statutes § 634.336: Unfair or deceptive practices defined (home warranties); Florida Statutes § 634.436: Unfair or deceptive practices defined (service warranties); Florida Statutes § 634.312: Home warranty forms; required provisions; Florida Statutes § 634.414: Service warranty forms; required provisions
Who backs it?
Get the full name of the company responsible for your coverage; the paperwork may say “underwritten by” or “obligor.” If that company goes into receivership, no Florida guaranty association covers your contract or pending claims.
Sources: Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview; Florida Department of Financial Services: Service Warranty Overview; FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts
Is the company licensed in Florida for this product?
Check that it holds the Florida license for what it’s selling: a home warranty license or a service warranty license.
Sources: Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview; Florida Statutes § 634.303: License required (home warranties); Florida Statutes § 634.403: License required (service warranties)
What do I pay each time a technician comes out?
Ask about deductibles and service charges on top of the price, whether it costs anything to transfer the contract, and how long the coverage lasts.
Sources: Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview; FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts
Who does the work, and what do I have to do to keep coverage?
Find out how a claim is made and who takes care of repairs, and whether coverage depends on following the maintenance instructions.
Sources: FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts; Florida Department of Financial Services: Service Warranty Overview
What does the manufacturer’s warranty already cover?
Compare the plan with the parts warranty that came with your system: it isn’t good value if it doesn’t add coverage.
Sources: FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts; Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview
When a multi-appliance home warranty may suit you better
You have several older appliances and systems you want under one contract. A home warranty can cover a home’s appliances and its structural systems together; check any age limits.
Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.301: Definitions (home warranty associations); Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview
You’re about to sell. Florida lets a home warranty cover a home while it’s listed for sale, for up to 12 months and for a separately identifiable charge, and every home warranty can be assigned to the buyer.
Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.331: Coverage of property for sale; Florida Statutes § 634.312: Home warranty forms; required provisions
Or neither: if repairs are unlikely, the FTC notes that setting money aside in a savings account may be the better option.
Source: FTC Consumer Advice: Extended Warranties and Service Contracts
Next step
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Common questions
Is the plan our companies sell licensed?
Yes. It is a service warranty issued in Florida by a company licensed by the Office of Insurance Regulation as a service warranty association — the license Florida’s service warranty rules require (§ 634.403). You can look the issuer up on the Office’s company search before you buy.
Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.403: License required (service warranties); Florida Department of Financial Services: Service Warranty Overview; Florida Office of Insurance Regulation: Company Search
Is an AC protection plan a home warranty under Florida law?
Not necessarily. Florida’s home warranty rules don’t apply to a contract sold under the service warranty rules that covers only a home’s systems and appliances and no structural component.
Source: Florida Statutes § 634.301: Definitions (home warranty associations)
Does the state approve the price of either one?
No. Every home warranty and every service warranty sold in Florida must come with a written disclosure that its rate is not subject to regulation by the Office of Insurance Regulation.
Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.312: Home warranty forms; required provisions; Florida Statutes § 634.414: Service warranty forms; required provisions; Florida Department of Financial Services: Home Warranty Overview
Can I cancel either one?
Yes; both must include a cancellation provision. A home warranty canceled within 10 days of purchase refunds the full premium less any claims paid, minus an administrative fee of up to 5 percent; after that, it refunds 90 percent of the unearned premium, pro rata, less claims paid. A service warranty you cancel refunds at least 90 percent of the unearned premium, pro rata, less claims paid or repairs made for you.
Sources: Florida Statutes § 634.312: Home warranty forms; required provisions; Florida Statutes § 634.414: Service warranty forms; required provisions
Can a Florida home warranty exclude an AC repair because of rust?
Only if the rust or corrosion helped cause the breakdown. A home warranty sold in Florida may not exclude coverage just because rust or corrosion is present.
Source: Florida Statutes § 634.346: Home warranty coverage requirements
Sources and review
This page summarizes Florida law and state and federal consumer guidance. Your own contract sets your coverage.
Last reviewed · Reviewed by the Right Away Home Services service team