Home owner warranty insurance is a type of home owner insurance that works much like, well, a warranty. When you take your HDTV out of the box, the warranty will cover any replacements or repairs you need, for as long as the warranty covers. Likewise, a home owner warranty insurance policy, also known simply as a home warranty, covers any repairs you may need done on your home.

This is essentially a service contract, rather than a traditional insurance policy. Where an insurance policy covers up to a preset monetary amount in the event of loss, a home warranty will cover things like plumbing, electrical wiring and appliances against general wear and tear.

Home warranty contracts don’t actually cover all home repairs, they don’t cover everything from moldy drywall to reroofing, because a lot of home maintenance has to do with regular cleaning and caretaking. If your gutters keep falling to pieces because you refuse to clean them out, for instance, then you can’t really expect a home warranty to cover that.

On the other hand, a warranty will generally cover anything that you can pretty much expect to happen regardless of how well you care for your home. You can get a warranty that covers pipes that need tightening, repairs and replacing now and then, electrical wiring that needs to be replaced, flooring that needs to be maintained and so on.

Unlike an insurance policy that will have you paying monthly for your coverage, many warranties will work on an annual premium, which is usually quite reasonable, and a small service trade fee per incident. In the long run this tends to be a lot less expensive than hiring a repair person every single time you have something that needs fixing in your home.

Some companies will allow you to cover two repairs with a single trade fee, but don’t count on it. Make sure that you read your contract so that you know exactly what you’re getting into. The last thing you need is to be paying full price for a contract that doesn’t offer full coverage.

And of course, proper care and maintenance on the part of the homeowner is pretty much a given for any warranty contract. All the same, these warranties can be a big help in keeping your home in good condition over the long haul.