What Does American Home Shield Cover? Tiers, Limits, and Add-Ons

American Home Shield covers the repair or replacement of major home systems and, on higher tiers, kitchen and laundry appliances when they break down from normal wear and tear. What American Home Shield covers depends on the plan you choose: ShieldSilver covers systems only, ShieldGold adds nine appliances, and ShieldPlatinum raises the dollar caps and adds roof-leak repair, HVAC refrigerant with no limit, and a yearly tune-up. Every plan comes with per-item dollar caps, a flat service fee each time a technician is dispatched, and a list of exclusions that decides whether a given claim actually pays.

A home warranty is not homeowners insurance. Insurance handles sudden damage from fires, storms, and theft. A warranty handles the washing machine that stops spinning and the compressor that quits after ten summers. The two products sit next to each other; they don’t overlap.

What Each Plan Tier Covers

AHS sells three plans, and each one builds on the one below it.¹

ShieldSilver is systems-only. It covers heating, air conditioning, ductwork, interior plumbing, interior electrical, water heaters, garage door openers, and doorbells. No appliances.²

ShieldGold adds nine appliances to everything in Silver: refrigerators, ranges and cooktops, ovens, dishwashers, built-in microwaves, garbage disposals, instant hot and cold water dispensers, washers, and dryers. Each appliance is covered up to $2,000.¹

ShieldPlatinum doubles the appliance cap to $4,000, adds roof-leak repair up to $1,000, provides unlimited HVAC refrigerant, includes one pre-season HVAC tune-up a year, and pays up to $1,000 for code-required modifications and permits during a covered repair.¹

All three plans cover the same 14 systems in detail, including air conditioning units, heating systems, ductwork, interior electrical lines, breaker and fuse panels, ceiling fans, exhaust and attic fans, doorbells, garage door openers, plumbing lines, toilets, faucets, whirlpool tub components, and water heaters.¹

HVAC and Ductwork

Covered heating and cooling equipment includes permanently installed units up to 5-ton capacity: forced-air furnaces (gas, electric, or oil), heat pumps, mini-splits, geothermal units, package units, electric baseboard heaters, wall-mounted heaters, and floor furnaces. Ductwork coverage reaches leaks and breaks in plenums, vapor barriers, dampers, damper controls, registers, and grills. If a covered repair requires an upgrade to meet current SEER, HSPF, or refrigerant standards, AHS pays for that upgrade.³ Window and portable units, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, fireplaces, pellet and wood stoves, fuel storage tanks, and home purification systems are not covered.⁴

Electrical

Interior wiring, 110-volt outlets, light switches, main breaker and fuse panels, ceiling fans, hard-wired doorbells, and built-in exhaust, bathroom, attic, and whole-house fans are all covered. Lighting fixtures, meter boxes, home generators, DC or low-voltage wiring, and wiring for security systems, intercoms, AV equipment, or computers are not.⁵

Plumbing

Interior plumbing lines, toilets, faucets, valves, whirlpool tub components, and water heaters (including circulating pumps and thermal expansion tanks) are covered on every plan. Stoppage clearing is included up to 100 feet from the access point. Stoppages caused by roots, collapsed or damaged lines outside the home, and situations requiring a technician to pull a toilet or access a roof vent are excluded.⁶

How Much Will AHS Pay

Every covered item has a dollar cap, and there is an overall ceiling across the contract year.

HVAC and ductwork: $5,000 per system.³
Plumbing or electrical: $3,000 per system.⁷
Appliances on ShieldGold: $2,000 each.
Appliances on ShieldPlatinum: $4,000 each.⁷
Roof-leak repair: $1,000.⁷
Pool and spa equipment: $3,000.⁶
Well pump: $1,500.⁶
Aggregate limit: $50,000 across all claims per contract term.⁷

Some sub-categories carry lower caps. Geothermal and water-source heat pumps, along with glycol, hot water, and steam circulating heating systems, are limited to $1,500 rather than $5,000. HVAC refrigerant is capped at $10 per pound on ShieldSilver and ShieldGold; ShieldPlatinum removes the limit.⁴

Optional Add-On Coverage

Six items can be added to the base plan:

Pool and spa equipment, up to $3,000. If the pool and spa don’t share equipment, only one is covered.⁶
Electronics, through an Allstate Protection Plan covering TVs, computers, tablets, gaming consoles, smart home devices, printers, routers, and desktop speakers. Claims are capped at $2,000 each with a $5,000 annual aggregate. Cell phones are excluded.⁸
Well pump, up to $1,500.
Septic system ejector pump, up to $500.⁶
Guest unit.
Roof-leak repair for ShieldSilver and ShieldGold (already included on Platinum).⁹

Roof-leak coverage excludes metal, green, mobile home, condo, and townhome roofs. It also won’t cover leaks from skylights, chimneys, vents, solar panels, gutters, or downspouts.⁶

What AHS Won’t Cover

The exclusions matter as much as the coverage. AHS won’t pay for breakdowns caused by:

Cosmetic damage such as dents, scratches, or worn finishes that don’t affect how an item works.
Misuse, abuse, or physical damage.
Weather and natural disasters, including floods, freezes, fires, and electrical surges.
Routine maintenance tasks, such as replacing HVAC filters.
Items under an active manufacturer warranty or government recall.
Secondary damage, like water damage to flooring from a burst pipe or food spoilage from a broken refrigerator.¹⁰

Smart home systems, outdoor kitchens, chimneys, fireplaces, and hazardous material remediation such as mold removal are also outside coverage.¹¹ Component boundaries matter too. Garage door opener coverage, for example, pays for the motor and torsion springs, but not the door itself or its tracks.⁶

Pre-Existing Conditions

AHS’s “Shield Assurances” cover unknown pre-existing breakdowns, as well as breakdowns tied to insufficient maintenance, improper installation, or improper prior repairs. Coverage applies regardless of an item’s age, and no home inspection or maintenance records are required to enroll.¹²

The limit: the pre-existing issue must be “undetectable.” That means it would not have shown up through a basic visual inspection or a simple mechanical test (turning the item on and off). If a visual check would have revealed missing parts, structural damage, smoke, or unusual sounds, the claim can be denied.¹²

Filing a Claim and What You Pay

Monthly premiums vary by plan, location, and the service fee you pick. Rough ranges:

ShieldSilver: $19.99 to $39.99 per month
ShieldGold: $39.99 to $59.99 per month
ShieldPlatinum: $69.99 to $89.99 per month¹

Each service request carries a flat fee of either $100 or $125. The higher fee lowers your monthly premium, and vice versa. The fee is charged every time a technician is dispatched, even if AHS later denies the claim.¹¹

You can file a service request through the MyAccount portal around the clock or by calling 833-706-2863. ShieldGold and ShieldPlatinum customers can also use the AHS app to video chat with repair experts before filing. A 30-day waiting period applies after sign-up before any claims can be filed.¹³ Once a request is in, AHS assigns a technician from its contractor network, and the technician is expected to make contact within 48 hours to schedule the visit.¹¹

If the item can’t be repaired, AHS replaces it and hauls away the old unit at no extra charge. You can take a cash payout instead, though the payout reflects what AHS would have paid through its contractor network, including negotiated discounts, so it may fall short of retail cost.¹³¹⁰ Repairs carry a 30-day workmanship guarantee: if the same problem returns inside that window, AHS sends a technician back without charging another service fee.¹¹

Which Homes Qualify

Contracts run 12, 24, or 60 months and auto-renew monthly or annually until canceled.⁶ Eligible properties include single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhomes, condos, and mobile homes.¹⁴ Coverage for rental properties is available.¹³ Homes larger than 10,000 square feet are not eligible.¹⁵ Pricing and availability also vary by state and zip code, so the AHS website asks for your address before quoting a plan.

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Move.org. American Home Shield Review