A home warranty is a service contract that covers the repair or replacement of many of the most frequently occurring breakdowns of home system components and appliances.  These are offered by a number of companies and are very common as a benefit offered to the buyer of a residential property as a way of guaranteeing that a buyer is not hit with unusual or unexpected expenses.  Unfortunatly, the buyer should be very aware of what is actually covered within these warrantys.  In many cases, major appliances will not be covered based on the type of install or the age of the appliance.  As discussed on this site, there are many ways that a home warranty company will find to not pay the policy holder!