On Wed, 7 Sep 2005 20:58:21 -0500, "TURTLE"
scribbled this interesting note:

wrote in message
roups.com...

We have a home in the sf bay area, california.

Need recommendations of good home warranty companies.

I have heard of scams and horror stories. Some have said that it is
not worth the money.

Any suggestions, pointers, happy stories, sad stories .
What to ask ? look for ?

This is Turtle.

snip a typical story of why to never buy optional "insurance" on
appliances

Start putting the premium amounts in the bank and you will probley be ahead in
the long run.

TURTLE


That is not probability. It is a certainty. How much is a home
appliance insurance policy per year? $400? I don't know. How often
does a $400 appliance that would be covered by this kind of policy
actually fail? Once every year? Not really. Once every two years?
Nope. Let's see, a water heater will last a decade or more, a HVAC
system at least that long or double in some cases. Your refrigerator?
Another decade. Dishwasher? The same, or longer. Washer and dryer?
Ten, fifteen, twenty years. Toilets? You can keep rebuilding them
yourself for pennies per year-they are simple devices to maintain.

And that is the point with most of these appliances. They are simple
to maintain, and if you don't know how or lack the equipment (as in
the case of HVAC), would you rather have someone out who is working
for an insurance company or would you rather have someone out who is
working for you?

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of basic information most
homeowners don't possess about how their homes are put together and
how they actually work (and that includes the things in the home as
well.) A water heater is simple to remove and replace. The hard part
is just the labor in physically removing the old one from the closet
and putting the new one in. Most HVAC problems can be avoided if
people just keep the filters clean and keep the outside unit clean. A
refrigerator is a simple piece of equipment which, if it acts up, is
also easy to fix with some basic tools and information and a nearby
parts house. If a dishwasher fails, just replace it-they aren't hard
to take out or install. A washer or dryer is even easier, but let's
say the motor fails on the electric dryer...replace it yourself! An
$80 motor is far cheaper than a $400 dryer! And the list goes on and
on.

It is the law of averages and the house always wins. That's why most
gamblers go broke. In this case, the house is the home appliance
insurance company and the homeowner is the gambler. In every case,
over time, the insurance company will win. If the homeowner had just
put the premium money in a savings account (or CD, or Index Fund,
etc.) the homeowner would still have that money and some interest (or
dividends) on top of it, and the ability to pay for these kinds of
repairs without the need for a third party.

Don't buy an insurance policy on the appliances in your house. Unless
you just enjoy watching your money fly out the window!


--
John Willis

(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)