Home Service Plans · Comparison
Keep your home warranty. Make it pay.
This isn't a “warranties are a scam” page. Most warranty holders are satisfied with their coverage. The problem is narrower — and it has your name on it.
The clause that decides your claim
Home warranty contracts require covered systems to be properly maintained. When a claim goes sideways, “lack of maintenance” is a named denial reason — roughly 13% of denials in This Old House's 2026 industry reporting, with pre-existing conditions cited even more often. Homeowners insurance has its own version: “wear and tear / lack of maintenance” sits on every list of common claim-denial reasons.
Both times, the burden of proof points the same direction: at you. And the published defense is remarkably specific — keep recent inspection reports, photographs, and maintenance records.
Your home warranty can deny a claim for “lack of maintenance.” Your insurer can call it “wear and tear.” Both times, the burden of proof is on you.
FDNS members get a dated, photographed record of every system in their home, four times a year. Keep your warranty. Keep your insurance. Just stop being the one who can't prove anything.
Side by side
| Home warranty | FDNS service plan | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An insurance-style contract that pays for covered repairs after something fails | A recurring membership: the same local team maintains your home on a schedule so fewer things fail |
| When it acts | After a breakdown — you file a claim and wait for dispatch | Before one — quarterly visits catch problems while they're small |
| Who shows up | A contractor from the warranty company's network — you don't choose | The same FDNS team, every visit |
| Paper trail | Claim records | A dated, photographed maintenance report every quarter |
| Bigger projects | Out of scope | Member pricing with a licensed GC — repairs through remodels, concrete & masonry |
They're complements, not substitutes: the warranty is the backstop, the plan is the upkeep — and the plan's reports are what keep the backstop honest.
What the record looks like
Every FDNS visit ends with a written photo report — what we checked, what we found, what we fixed, dated and photographed. See the report structure, or read everything the plan covers. For the fuller educational comparison of warranties, maintenance plans, and paying as you go, see our guide to all three models.
Warranty vs. plan FAQ
- Should I cancel my home warranty if I get a maintenance plan?
- Not necessarily — they do different jobs. A warranty is repair-cost protection after a failure; a maintenance plan works to prevent the failure and documents your home's upkeep along the way. Most warranty holders report being satisfied with their coverage. If you value the warranty, the plan is what helps you actually collect on it.
- Can a home warranty really deny a claim for lack of maintenance?
- Yes — 'lack of maintenance' is a named denial reason in the home warranty industry (about 13% of denials in This Old House's 2026 reporting, with pre-existing conditions cited even more often). The contract typically requires systems to be properly maintained, and the burden of proving that falls on the homeowner.
- Does this apply to homeowners insurance too?
- It can. 'Wear and tear / lack of maintenance' is one of the commonly cited reasons homeowners insurance claims are denied, and the standard published advice for fighting it is to keep recent inspection reports, photographs, and maintenance records. That is, item for item, what an FDNS quarterly report is.
- So what does the plan give me that the warranty doesn't?
- Prevention (quarterly visits by the same team), documentation (a dated photo report each visit), continuity (no rotating dispatch network), and an escalation path (FDNS is a licensed general contractor, so the crew that finds a problem can also quote and fix it — with member pricing).
- What does the plan cost compared to a warranty?
- Home warranties commonly run in the tens of dollars per month plus a service fee per claim visit. FDNS plan tiers are priced by home size — see the plans page for current pricing — and include four visits a year with the written report, rather than coverage that activates only when something breaks.
Industry figures from This Old House's 2026 home warranty reporting; always check your own contract's maintenance requirements. This page isn't legal or insurance advice.
Put your home on the record
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