Pat DeFeo with Colorado Home Warranty discusses their policies and service options

Interviewer: Today we're talking with Pat DeFeo, Vice President of Colorado Home Warranty. Welcome to the show.

Pat DeFeo: Nice to be here Dan, thank you.

Interviewer: We've talked a lot about home warranties, and realtors purchasing home warranties for clients, or what a home warranty is. Today I kind of want to talk about things that are included in your policy and things that are excluded. My wife and I were trying to decide if we wanted to buy a home warranty policy for our house and we started immediately going over, well, what's it going to cover?

Pat DeFeo: Okay.

Interviewer: Let's start there.

Pat DeFeo: Okay. The standard policy on our home warranty covers all the mechanical systems in the house to include: the furnace, the water heater, all the kitchen appliances to the built-in microwave, garbage disposal, ceiling fan, sump pump, garage door opener, plumbing leaks, electrical issues, stoppages, a panel. Sub panels on the electrical, we dont have on our standard coverage, that's it. Or we have optional coverage.

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: For buyers, that is washers and dryers...

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: ...spas...

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: ...if you have a hot tub, gas fireplaces...

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: ...and air-conditioners.

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: I mean, we have we also have some for well pumps and septic, but that's for up in the hills.

Interviewer: So my wife says to me, "So what do you think could go out like relatively soon?" And I said, "Well...

Pat DeFeo: Anything.

Interviewer: ...you know the garbage disposal's kind of old." I say, "We havent had the air conditioner furnace, air conditioner serviced, in quite some time, thats a possibility, and maybe the hot water tank." I said, "But I dont think the air conditioner is covered," and the first thing she says is, "Why?"

Pat DeFeo: Well, most, okay. We're in Colorado, now newer homes now have air conditioners or swamp coolers.

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: Not every house has a swamp cooler or an air conditioner, so to keep our prices low, we don't add them into the standard policy. We add them, we have them as add-ons, if you have that, if you have that thing.

Interviewer: All right, so give me an idea if I want to add air conditioning?

Pat DeFeo: If you wanted to add air conditioning, air conditioning coverage is an additional $75.

Interviewer: That's it?

Pat DeFeo: That's it.

Interviewer: Wow! That's like a service call.

Pat DeFeo: It's like a service call, exactly, and with this new 13 sear, it's very prudent to have AC coverage on your house.

Interviewer: Okay, one more question then, and so, then the washer dryer is optional, but somebody would say, well doesn"t everybody have a washer dryer? Why would that be option?

Pat DeFeo: Not every house is sold with a washer and dryer.

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: A lot of people take their washer and dryers with them.

Interviewer: Right.

Pat DeFeo: I mean, every case is different, but it's not a standard thing that's left in the house.

Interviewer: Well, it's a good option because I suppose if you are buying it as a real estate agent for a buyer or seller or whatever, that you may be able to save some money and be excluded, but if you're a home owner like me who wants a warranty program, and not so buying and selling their house, you might want to add in the washer and dryer.

Pat DeFeo: Yes, you would. We have a lot of realtors that have our warranty on their homes.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Pat DeFeo: And they are covered, everything is covered.

Interviewer: Well, yeah, I already got burned down and so I am not going to, not going to go down that road again.

Pat DeFeo: Don't go there.

Interviewer: All right, any other things that we should know about optional add-ons? And how expensive do they usually range? Is it mostly $75 to add something on, or...?

Pat DeFeo: $60 if you have a gas fireplace, $50 if it's for washer and dryer, and $150 for a hot tub spa.

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: Roof--we have limited roof coverage.

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: It's $60. It patches the roof. It doesn't replace the roof, so if you have a leak, it just patches where the leak is, and we have septic pumping for $45 and well pump.

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: If you are on the hills, you know, for $75, so the most expensive we have is $150 for spa or a hot tub.

Interviewer: Okay and a standard policy where you talked about all the inclusions, what are they usually?

Pat DeFeo: $250, yeah.

Interviewer: For a year?

Pat DeFeo: Yeah, for a year.

Interviewer: Okay.

Pat DeFeo: And we have 15-month option as well. I mean, we have lots of options, but basic policy is $250.

Interviewer: Thanks, Pat.

Pat DeFeo: Thank you.

Interviewer: I appreciate you being here.

Pat DeFeo: Bye now.