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Great coverages and a great reputation, but a little difficult for average homeowners to secure
Updated March 7, 2023
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Owning your own home is a tremendous milestone in your life. It also comes with tremendous amounts of financial responsibility. Do you know what you’d do if one of your home’s major appliances or systems broke down? Do you know who you’d call to repair it? Better yet, do you have thousands — or tens of thousands — of dollars sitting around to fix it?
If you’re shrugging your shoulders, don’t worry. You’re not alone. That’s why home warranties are available. They’ll help you shoulder the financial burden of major home repairs so you won’t have to drain the kids’ college fund fixing your A/C. Today we’ll cover one provider in particular: Old Republic Home Protection. Old Republic has been protecting people’s most valuable investment since 1974. They offer comprehensive — if just a little expensive — coverage.
Pro Tip: The average cost of replacing an HVAC unit is about $8,000. If you don’t have that on hand, you might consider purchasing a home warranty.
Old Republic Home Protection’s Logo
Before we start talking about whether or not Old Republic Home Protection is right for you, let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons
So now that you have a bit of a snapshot of what Old Republic is and what it offers, let’s start by talking about the purchasing process. We’re going to assume you already know the difference between homeowners insurance and a home warranty, so we’ll just jump right into it.
The very first thing to understand about Old Republic is that it’s available in only 27 states currently. Those are:
If you don’t see your state here, you might consider checking out our review of Choice Home Warranty. It’s available everywhere except for Washington. (Sorry, Washington.)
If you do see your state, let’s move on to what it takes to actually purchase one of these home warranties.
In today’s day and age, you’d think purchasing a home warranty would be pretty straightforward, and for the most part, it is. You hop online, google the name of the provider, go to its website, select the coverage plan you want, enter your credit card info, and click “buy.” Easy peasy.
With Old Republic, it’s not so straightforward. You get the sense from their website that you need certain credentials to purchase a plan — specifically, a real estate license — and you’re going to run into a couple of dead ends as a regular homebuyer trying to purchase a warranty for a home you already own.
Pro Tip: If you have an Old Republic home warranty, you’re going to need to create an account to utilize the benefits. Don’t make the same mistake we did. You don’t need to create an account to purchase a new warranty. Just cut right to the chase and contact customer service.
Or at least we did. After spending some time clicking around and becoming frustrated, we finally picked up the phone and gave Old Republic a call. Remember in the olden days when we had to do that all the time?
Setting that aside, the person we spoke with was very helpful and explained to us that the company’s website is indeed geared toward folks in the real estate business looking to add warranties to property transactions, though it does sell individual plans directly to homeowners. She asked a few questions about where the home was located — that’s important — and its size. In about two minutes, we had a standard quote in our inbox.
Always make sure you read the fine print!
Let’s talk about this quote now, because there’s a bit to unpack.
There’s no other way to say this: Old Republic is kind of pricey. A standard plan in Georgia costs $660 per year, which is about on par with prices of other providers. In our review of First American Home Warranty, for example, we found its mid-tier plan to be the exact same price.
So why are we saying that Old Republic is expensive? Because its standard plan is a little bare-bones. If you want the added protection offered by its Ultimate (mid-tier) package, that will cost you $100 more per year.
Keep in mind that these costs are for a moderately sized home in Georgia. Old Republic’s coverages and costs vary pretty significantly depending on the state in which your home is located, so your mileage may vary.
| Protection | Standard | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| Heating system | Yes | Yes |
| Ductwork | Yes | Yes |
| Air conditioner | Yes | Yes |
| Plumbing | Yes | Yes |
| Electrical system | Yes | Yes |
| Garage door opener | Yes | Yes |
| Central vacuum | Yes | Yes |
| Rekey | Yes | Yes |
| Faucets | No | Yes |
| Toilet replacement | No | Yes |
| Water heater | No | Yes |
| Dishwasher | No | Yes |
| Oven | No | Yes |
| Cooktop | No | Yes |
| Range | No | Yes |
| Trash compactor | No | Yes |
| Microwave | No | Yes |
| Code violations | No | Up to $250 |
| Permits | No | Up to $250 |
| Haul-away | No | Up to $100 |
Pro Tip: Old Republic also offers an Ultimate package, which, for the most part, increases the limits of how much the company will pay for certain repairs. This varies significantly by state, so make sure you’re getting an estimate based on your location and really reading the fine print closely.
As you can see, the Standard package doesn’t cover nearly as much as the basic offerings from other providers. If you’re not familiar with home warranty protections, trust us. This is a little sparse. To get up to what we’d consider baseline, you really need an Ultimate package, which you’ll pay about $700 per year for, depending on your location.
And their add-ons really add up too. Here’s a sampling:
| Coverage | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| Ornamental fountain coverage | $100 |
| Outdoor kitchen | $125 |
| Water softener | $75 |
| Septic system | $100 |
| Guest house | $375 |
| Pool or spa | $300 |
| Additional refrigeration units | $75 |
If you modify an Ultimate package with even one middle-of-the-road add-on, you’re going to be paying at least $800 a year. See what we mean when we say it’s a little expensive?
Now the upside of this is that Old Republic does offer coverages for amenities usually overlooked by other home warranties — particularly items you might find in higher-end homes like outdoor kitchens and detached guest homes. This is something to consider if you’re living your best life and want to keep your luxuries protected.
Pro Tip: It’s generally a better idea to purchase a home warranty for a home that’s been around for a while. If your home is less than five years old or you built it yourself, your appliances and systems are likely still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. There’s no need to double up on protections.
We do want to pause here and repeat that these figures are for a Georgia quote. Your coverages and costs will likely look different if you don’t reside in the Peach State.
Now that you understand Old Republic’s protections, its prices, and its coverage area, let’s talk reputation. How good is it at what it does?
From what we can tell, Old Republic has a pretty stellar reputation. It has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and quite a few positive reviews there. Here’s one from Kristoffer U.:
I would like to say as a first-time homeowner, that I’m so happy with the customer service and care that my family and I received from Old Republic Home Protection. The plumber was so professional and knowledgeable. He was done so quickly, that I was super surprised. Whoever is choosing these people to deal with issues that us homeowners have, keep doing a fantastic job!
That said, there are also plenty of negative reviews. Keep in mind, though, that people are far more likely to complain about bad service than they are to commend good experiences. Overall, Old Republic has a three-star average out of five from just over 1,000 reviews on the BBB website, though on TrustPilot, things look better. Out of almost 9,000 reviews, it has an average of 3.7 stars out of five. That’s pretty good in our book.
With all that in mind, we probably have enough information to answer the final question: Is an Old Republic home warranty right for you?
There are quite a few home warranty companies out there, and they all have their pros and cons. You might be a good candidate for an Old Republic home warranty if:
If you don’t find yourself in any of these categories, there might be better, more affordable options out there. We’re not saying you should count out Old Republic entirely — it does offer great protections and has an exemplary reputation — but you should definitely shop around. Remember, Choice Home Warranty is one of our top picks for home warranties. You can read more about them in our Choice Home Warranty Review.
Yes. Old Republic does offer direct-to-homeowner warranties, but you’ll need to contact customer service to get a quote.
A standard plan from Old Republic is about average for the industry, but its protections are a little lacking. A more comprehensive protection plan is a little more expensive than most other providers’ plans.
Old Republic Home Protection has an outstanding online reputation; however, you should always make sure you understand your coverages. The standard protection plan has some pretty big gaps.
No. Old Republic home warranties are available in only 27 states, and their coverages and prices vary significantly based on location.
No. There are significant differences between homeowners insurance and a home warranty. Generally speaking, home insurance protects the structure itself, while a warranty protects a home’s systems and major appliances.
