Cinch Home Services: Reviews And Pricing

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If you own a house or you’re thinking about buying one but hate the idea of dealing with the time and expense required for maintenance, a home warranty may be the way to go. Although various home warranty services are available, let’s take a look today at just one: Cinch Home Services. 

First, what is a home warranty and who might benefit from one? 

Most people are likely familiar with warranties that are tied to different appliances and electronics, for example. Home warranties – sometimes called home protection plans – aren’t tied to a specific manufacturer or appliance, like your refrigerator. These warranties are instead associated with categories of appliances, like major home systems or kitchen appliances.

Also, the age of your appliances or systems doesn’t impact a home warranty. So your appliances are covered for normal wear and tear long after its manufacturer’s warranty expires. 

Eventually, every system or appliance breaks down. It’s generally a good idea for homeowners to save anywhere between 1% and 3% of the purchase price of their home for maintenance each year, depending on the age of your home. It’s also Murphy’s Law that everything that can break will break at the same time. Be sure to review all the best home warranty companies as you make your decision. 

Based out of Boca Raton, Florida, Cinch Home Services has been providing home warranties for more than 40 years, previously as Cross Country Home Services. Cinch home warranty plans can make the repair costs of systems and appliances far less burdensome. 

Cinch offers three home warranty plans: one for appliances, one for built-in systems and one for complete home coverage. 

The monthly cost of coverage depends on the area where you live and the amount of your coverage deductible. The more you pay per month, the lower your deductible. All pricing quotes in this article are based on a home in the Metro Detroit area with a $125 coverage deductible. 

You’ll pay a deductible for each professional who fixes something. In the example the company gives on its website, if a plumber and electrician come out, their fees go toward separate deductibles. Subject to monetary maximums based on category as specified in your contract, service requests have no set limit. Read your contract carefully to make sure you’re aware of any exclusions in your area. 

Finally, there’s a waiting period before your coverage kicks in just to make sure you’re not buying the warranty after the oven broke. This is common with home warranty companies. 

We’ll get into each plan in more detail below, but here’s a chart breaking down what they cover: 

Appliances Plan 

This is going to cover your major appliances. Think clothes washers, microwaves, dishwashers, dryers and refrigerators. It’s important to note that this is the cheapest package available if you’re comfortable covering the built-in systems (electrical, water heaters, plumbing, HVAC, etc.) of your household on your own. Based on our sample $125 deductible, premiums were $34.99 per month. 

Built-In Systems Plan 

Systems coverage includes items like your electrical and plumbing systems and HVAC/air conditioning. These are some of the big-ticket items when it comes to repairs. In our pricing scenario, the cost of a built-in systems plan was $41.99 per month. 

In terms of pricing, this is in the middle ground between appliance coverage and whole home coverage. This is good if you’re not worried about paying for appliance replacement but consider home system repair a major expense. 

Complete Home Plan 

With the Complete Home Plan, you get everything included in the appliance and the built-in systems coverage. And there’s an additional perk: if you have a homeowners insurance claim, Cinch Home Services will reimburse up to $500 of your deductible. We haven’t heard of other home warranty companies doing this. Premiums for this Complete Home Plan were $50.99 per month with our example coverage deductible. 

Optional Coverage

You have the option of adding several optional items to your coverage plan, including: 

• Pool/spa
• Septic tank/pumping
• Well pump 

The pool and spa coverage includes the heater. Along with these items, there’s the option to add the Premier Upgrade Package. Under your normal coverage, systems and/or appliances are covered, but extra work that might be required to fix them beyond the appliance or system itself isn’t. Cinch Home Services gives the example of a new concrete slab needed under an air-conditioning unit or a permit that needs pulling.

Of course, it never hurts to check out what other experts say. Let’s look at some Cinch warranty reviews. 

U.S. News 

Awarded 3.6 stars out of 5, the U.S. News & World Report reviewer liked that you could get coverage from service providers anywhere in the contiguous United States. Only Alaska and Hawaii are excluded. Additionally, Cinch Home Services offers a 180-day workmanship guarantee. On the downside, U.S. News & World Report found the service fees to be a little expensive, although monthly costs were competitive. 

This Old House 

This Old House felt that it was easy to get a quote online. The home improvement brand also specifically mentions discounts that the home warranty company offers on new appliances. One downside that This Old House noted is that the number of add-on services you can get with Cinch Home Services is limited compared with the offerings of other home warranty providers. 

ConsumerAffairs

ConsumerAffairs gives Cinch a respectable 3.9 stars out of 5. Some common themes emerge from more than 170 customer reviews on ConsumerAffairs. People like it that plans start around $28 per month. They also enjoy the long work guarantee. On the other hand, customers often don’t care for the service fees that are higher than other comparable services. 

There’s a lot to like about Cinch Home Services. For starters, the coverage area extending across the lower 48 states is noteworthy in an industry where you often see random coverage gaps. Additionally, even partial reimbursement of the homeowners insurance deductible is a perk that many competitors don’t offer. 

Cinch Home Services also provides appliance discounts and a free water sensor, which can help detect leaks. Monthly pricing is competitive. Coverage for components and other parts such as knobs, doors and drawers is yet another plus. Cinch also has a program for real estate agents. 

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle and expense of home appliance and systems repair, a home warranty from Cinch Home Services could be a great option for you. The provider has plans starting at just under $28 per month. And the Cinch workmanship guarantee is longer than the industry standard of 30 – 90 days, extending to 180 days. 

You can also get appliance discounts, and it’s the only service we’ve encountered that offers $500 worth of homeowners insurance deductible reimbursement with its Complete plan. If you’re in the market for a home warranty, Cinch Home Services is worth checking out. 

Our writers perform in-depth research from various sources that may feature customer reviews and third-party ratings. These sources include – but are not limited to – Better Business Bureau (BBB) and U.S. News & World Report. We take into account company transparency and plan exclusions, as well as pricing, coverage options and any outstanding legal issues. Writers use this research to compose their reviews of each company.