Finding high-quality stocks to invest in can be time-consuming, but it is an effective way to outperform the market. The Motley Fool Stock Advisor can help you invest in individual stocks with two new stock picks each month and weekly updates.

My Motley Fool review can help you decide if this stock research platform can help you become a better investor.

Summary

Motley Fool is a well-respected source of stock investing ideas. Stock Advisor is well known for offering two monthly picks to reduce your research time to invest in quality stocks as well as a depth of investment insights. 

Pros

• Two monthly stock picks
• In-depth research
• Full access to all active recommendations

Cons

• Layout can be overwhelming
• Not for short-term stock trades
• Annual fee can be high for some investors

What is Motley Fool?

Brothers Tom and David Gardner launched the Motley Fool in 1993 by researching individual stocks and giving investment ideas to ordinary investors. It provides buy-and-hold investment strategies instead of short-term trading, so you don’t have to constantly make trades to earn potential profits.

While no investment strategy is risk-free, you may appreciate this strategy if you believe that “time in the market is better than timing the market” by buying high-quality stocks.

To help investors achieve this goal, Motley Fool Stock Advisor is the service’s best premium newsletter. It recommends two new stocks each month and has several hands-on research tools. Analysts believe these stock picks can outperform the market for the next three to five years.

I enjoy the Stock Advisor insights as they take a long-term time horizon. Since you hold stocks through bull and bear markets, this investment process isn’t as time-consuming as short-term trading. It can also be potentially less risky, but still requires risk management and sound research.

Stock Advisor is the best fit for most portfolios, whether you’re a new or experienced investor. The service suggests a minimum portfolio balance of $25,000 to maximize your membership and maintain a diversified portfolio.

When you’re ready to buy a stock recommendation, you can buy shares through the best online stock brokerages for trading stocks.

How Does Motley Fool Stock Advisor Work

Stock Advisor launched in February of 2002 and is The Motley Fool’s most popular service due to its budget-friendly cost and numerous stock insights. This service typically costs $99 for new members the first year and provides two new stock picks each month from growth industries.

Current Special: Special $99 Stock Advisor Introductory Offer for New Members– *Billed annually. Introductory price for the first year for new members only. The first year is $99 and renews at $199.

You can also access customizable stock lists to explore the best opportunities among previous recommendations quickly. These lists provide 20 additional investment ideas, and I check them regularly and highly recommend new users do too.

As a multi-year Stock Advisor subscriber, these lists help me invest in more stocks. However, not every investment makes money, and you should only allocate up to 5% of your portfolio per idea.

The service wants investors to strive to hold 15 Motley Fool recommendations initially. Ultimately, Stock Advisor members should own at least 30 stocks.

According to the Motley Fool, the total performance of the Stock Advisor portfolio has been 396% since its launch. The S&P 500 has only returned 115% over the same period (as of March 28, 2023).

This impressive track record is why Motley Fool is so popular, as many active investors lose money in the long term.

To be transparent, not every Stock Advisor suggestion is profitable. For example, multiple active recommendations from 2021 and early 2022 have underperformed the market during the recent bear market.

When comparing stock picks, I read the Fool’s commentary and perform independent research. It’s also essential to decide whether the company fits your investment strategy or if you need more diversification.

Investment Strategy

What makes Motley Fool different than most investing newsletters is its “buy and hold” mindset. Each recommendation has an anticipated holding period of at least three years.

Many other newsletters advise using trailing stops to reduce downside risk. Stock Advisor will hold stocks through sharp corrections if the stock remains a good long-term investment.

You won’t see ETF or mutual fund recommendations in Stock Advisor. However, you will see many investing ideas for stocks in these industries:

• Tech
• Medical
• Banking
• Online shopping
• Alternative energy
• Consumer staples

While not every monthly recommendation makes money, and recommended stocks are naturally more volatile than an index fund, many have relatively low volatility.

You will likely be familiar with many of the names that Stock Advisor recommends. But you will also discover names that might become the next Amazon, Google, or Apple stock.

These stocks are growing and tend to be leaders in their industry. Some earn dividends but are more volatile than a “dividend aristocrat.” Some of the most successful picks include Shopify, Amazon, Netflix, and Tesla.

The recommendations come from a variety of industries, so you can easily maintain a diversified portfolio. Thankfully, many investing apps now offer fractional investing and commission-free trades, so you can nibble on multiple recommendations.

Stock Advisor Portfolio Allocation

Most Stock Advisor recommendations are growth stocks in these sectors:

• Information technology (35%)
• Consumer discretionary (20.5%)
• Communication services (13.4%)
• Health care (9.2%)
• Industrials (8.8%)
• Financials (7.8%)
• Consumer staples (1.8%)
• Materials (1.8%)
• Energy (1.8%)

With its current asset allocation, the Stock Advisor stock picks perform well when tech stock prices are on an uptrend. However, the performance lags when investors prefer safety and companies with less perceived risk.

Sector rotation is cyclical, and a multi-year investment commitment can help you avoid selling early by timing the market. The service issues hold and sell bulletins when a stock is unlikely to outperform in the long run.

One of the best reasons to consider Motley Fool Premium is the ability to track the performance of each active and closed recommendation. Many competing newsletters don’t reveal their performance as transparently.

How Much Does Stock Advisor Cost?

Motley Fool Stock Advisor costs $99 for the first year, including a 30-day risk-free trial period.

After the first year, your subscription renews at $199. This annual cost is competitive with other investing newsletters. However, most Motley Fool alternatives only make one monthly pick.

Stock Advisor is an entry-level newsletter and is the Fool’s cheapest product. It’s the best service for most investors because of its affordable price and balanced risk tolerance. To be clear, it’s my favorite premium product.

More aggressive products cost from $299 to $1,999 per year. You can also read free market commentary articles that may feature stocks the premium services currently recommend.

Key Features

Stock Advisor gives you several ways to find investing ideas.

Starter Stocks

To help you start investing, Stock Advisor provides a list of ten “Starter Stocks.” The stock picking service also refers to them as “Foundational Stocks” and reviews the list quarterly to change the recommendations potentially.

These stocks come from various industries and can be a good addition to your portfolio anytime during the year. They are usually industry dominators and can be less risky than the monthly stock picks.

Motley Fool believes these stocks are a good fit for most new investors ready to buy their first individual stock. The stock-picking service recommends buying some Starter Stocks plus the monthly picks.

When I first joined Stock Advisor, I browsed this list to find investment ideas I could add to my portfolio between the monthly picks. I still refer to it regularly.

Each stock pick receives a risk tolerance level:

• Cautious
• Moderate
• Aggressive

Not many investing newsletters maintain multiple model portfolios. This foundational portfolio is an excellent resource for new and long-time subscribers.

Two Monthly Stock Picks

The new monthly stock picks arrive on the first and third Thursday of the month.

Each stock pick comes with a summary that is easy to understand and can be read in several minutes. You can also watch videos in live chat to discuss the new recommendation.

I like the flexibility, as many investment newsletters only include a written commentary and don’t accept reader-submitted questions that help you learn more about the stock.

The research report includes these details:

• Summary of what the company does
• Key financial stats
• Why Motley Fool likes the stock
• Best reasons to buy the stock now
• Potential business risks

Reading the report gives you a good idea of why you might invest in the monthly stock pick. You can also read the latest earnings call transcripts and other research articles for the Stock Advisor recommendations.

I also appreciate that the Stock Advisor caters to a particular investing style:

• Team Hidden Gems: Stock picks with a lower risk appetite but strong long-term potential. These suggestions are the first pick of the month.
• Team Rule Breakers: Better for investors with a higher risk tolerance, as these companies can have a smaller market cap and be more volatile. These picks are still not as aggressive as the Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter thought.

Top-Ranked Stocks

Each month, Stock Advisor updates its “Top-Ranked Stocks” list (previously Best Buys Now) of the ten active recommendations that can be worth buying shares of first. These stocks have the highest conviction rating to beat the stock market over the next five years.

This list contains the best open positions with different investing styles. The report explains the entry price and underlying reasons for buying shares now, so you understand the potential rewards and risks.

The monthly report provides a brief write-up containing these sections:

• What the company does
• What we like now
• Who this stock might be for
• Who this stock may not be for
• What factors is Stock Advisor watching

You can expect the newest picks to make the list for most weeks. However, you can also see recommendations that Stock Advisor suggested over a year ago.

These suggestions can help you get exposure to more companies and industries if the new recommendations are not a good fit or you’re ready to invest in several ideas.

Watchlist

“My Stocks” is an interactive watchlist and portfolio tracker that tracks the performance of previous recommendations and those that your Motley Fool subscription doesn’t currently recommend.

In addition to tracking the stock’s price history, this feature lists any articles and stock rankings where the Motley Fool mentions the company. Reading this content can help you research potential holdings and monitor stocks you own.

You can customize your rankings to display specific data to help evaluate potential investments and existing holdings.

Personally, I don’t invest in every monthly pick for various reasons, but I add certain companies to the watchlist to track their performance. This feature prevents me from overlooking potential investment ideas.

Portfolio Strategies

Receiving multiple stock recommendations can make it challenging to build a diversified portfolio that also fits your risk tolerance. I was overwhelmed at first and wish these GamePlan tools were available then.

The Portfolio Strategies feature is an asset allocator that can help you choose an optimized blend of stocks, ETFs, and cash for your investing style (cautious, moderate, aggressive).

This tool is similar to a stock screener by highlighting Motley Fool stock recommendations that can fit your portfolio well. These picks come from any premium service you subscribe to.

This focused guidance can be more effective than trying to pick the best Starter Stocks and top-rated stocks. Stock Advisor also features index fund ETFs to provide diversification with low fees.

Premium members can interact with other Motley Fool members in the CAPS community. This online discussion board is similar to Bogleheads.

Instead of focusing on index funds, CAPS lets you read and share opinions about specific stock tickers or copy the investment portfolio of other members.

You can also see which stocks are most popular with Fool members. These stocks can differ from what’s in the Stock Advisor portfolio.

I like visiting this forum to see what other subscribers say about the Motley Fool recommendations. You may also see chatter about non-recommended stocks to find companies to invest in or avoid. Yet the best reason to consider a premium subscription is for the two monthly picks.

Investment News

Motley Fool also publishes many free investment news articles each day. Some articles focus on a specific stock, and others discuss an investing theme. If an article mentions a stock you’re watching, you receive a notification when the Fool mentions the ticker.

As a paid member, you also receive exclusive analyst insights. These articles can be good follow-up information after reading the initial buy report. You can also discover new investment ideas for stocks outside the portfolio.

Investing in individual stocks requires more portfolio monitoring than passive investing. Stock Advisor can text and email investing alerts for stocks you’re watching.

Investment Guides

As a new investor, there is a lot to learn about investing and retirement planning. Motley Fool has several resources providing general investing information. You can read guides on how stocks work, asset allocation, and retirement planning.

I like that your Stock Advisor membership includes access to the Rule Your Retirement content to plan for life beyond your working years. Stock Advisor also sends regular emails highlighting sections of the Motley Fool investment philosophy.

Fool Live

Motley Fool offers free and members-only investing podcasts. In addition to reading the stock pick summary, Stock Advisors can listen to an in-depth podcast about the company or general investing topics.

Premium subscribers can also access the Fool Live dashboard, which features live, real-time video programming each day. This service, like CNBC, can help answer your investing questions and inform you about the latest market events.

These podcasts are enjoyable if you’re more productive with listening than reading. For example, you may listen to these while exercising or driving.

Other Motley Fool Newsletters

Motley Fool offers several newsletters in addition to the entry-level Stock Advisor. These other newsletters cost more but provide more insights. You might consider them if you’re an aggressive investor or have plenty of free cash.

Epic

For $499 annually, you get five monthly recommendations for top growth stocks from Motley Fool Rule Breakers that are smaller and more volatile than the Stock Advisor but have more upside potential. You also receive picks from the Hidden Gems and Dividend Investors services.

It’s common for the Rule Breakers service to invest in a stock first. Stock Advisor will recommend the stock after the initial rapid growth and volatility phase passes. This level balances growth, value, and overlooked stocks for more diversity.

Epic Plus

Investment portfolios above $100,000 receive nine monthly recommendations for value, international, and thematic trends. Further, consider this service if you trade options. The annual cost is $1,999.

What Others Are Saying About Motley Fool

Here is the experience that other investors have with Motley Fool.

Trustpilot

This service has a 3.7 out of 5 Trustpilot score with over 8,900 reviews.

“I find that after Buy recommendations, little effort is expended tracking a stock’s progress. Sell recommendations are exceedingly rare, and when they occur, it’s after a significant loss has already occurred.

These comments are based on the last 18 months of membership and have nothing to do with the recent correction. There is a balance between Buy and Hold for 5 years vs. admitting it’s time to pull out of a prior recommendation.” – Leo G.

“I subscribe to the Stock Advisor service and greatly appreciate the investment information I receive. It has been very helpful in my taxable investment portfolio of stocks outside my retirement mutual funds. I often listen to the periodic (~1-2 times/month) additional investment webinars offered. But it does get a little annoying the upselling that occurs for additional services and costs, with numerous emails.” – Potsy

Better Business Bureau

The Motley Fool has a 1.26 out of 5 rating with 80 reviews. The ratings were approximately 3.2 out of 5 stars pre-2024. Common complaints include a string of unsuccessful investments during a bearish period, a potentially high renewal price, and constant promotions to upgrade to higher levels.

“The quality of the recommendations and research is very good and unbiased, and most of it is accessible to those of us not born into any wealth. I like being able to make my investing decisions with no pressure from anyone and doing my own follow-on research.” – Tanya C. 

“I don’t have the time or energy to research companies myself, so I pretty much buy stocks they recommend and usually learn something about most of these companies along the way. Not every stock they have suggested has been a winner for me, but I can’t complain. Overall, I’m very pleased with the results I have gotten.” – Greg G.

Motley Fool Alternatives

These alternatives to Motley Fool Stock Advisor can be a better fit if you want a more active trading strategy or extra freedom to research stocks and funds without a model portfolio.

• Actions Alerts Plus: Has a target holding period from six months to over one year. Receive stock ratings, portfolio guidance, and a monthly call to ask your investing questions.
• Morningstar Investor: You can receive independent analyst ratings and reports for most stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. There isn’t a model portfolio, but there are many ratings lists.
• Seeking Alpha: Read bullish and bearish reports from independent contributors, get stock ratings and interactive charts, plus track your existing portfolio. Unfortunately, you won’t receive a model portfolio or monthly stock picks.

FAQ’s About Stock Advisor

These questions can help you decide if Motley Fool is worth it.

Summary

Motley Fool is a well-respected source of stock investing ideas. The Stock Advisor newsletter’s two monthly picks reduce your research time to invest in quality stocks you can hold for several years.

You will also find investment ideas from various sectors that you may not have the time to research.

Recommended Reading

Source link

Aegis General Insurance Agency offers travel insurance plans under its Go Ready Insurance subsidiary. This provider provides a suite of customizable plans instead of one-size-fits-all plans and coverages.

With Aegis travel insurance, you can choose from single-trip and annual multitrip policies, as well as cruise-specific plans.

Here’s what to know about this travel insurance plan that gives you flexibility starting at a mid-range price.

Through Aegis, you’ll find a handful of travel insurance plan tiers:

The best part about Aegis is its array of coverages and upgrades that let you build a bespoke travel insurance plan. Even if you opt out of the options coverages, Aegis travel insurance plans include what you’d expect from comprehensive policies:

Aegis also offers CFAR coverage, but only as an add-on upgrade to an existing plan purchase. A CFAR upgrade helps you recoup 50%–75% of non-refundable trip costs if you cancel at least 48 hours before your departure.

Based on a seven-day vacation to Mexico from October 1–7, 2026, for a 45-year-old traveler from Illinois, here’s a policy and coverage overview.

Like any other travel insurance plan, Aegis’ policy specifies general exclusions that wouldn’t be covered under its plans. Below are some exclusions that would be covered in the event of a loss:

Based on the data we pulled across multiple insurers for the same traveler profile, the average basic-level coverage was $80.

Aegis’ travel insurance lowest-tier plan, Choice, was priced at $69, cheaper than approximately two-thirds of the plans we compared.

For the same sample trip, Aegis also offers other plans, ranging from $74 for Priority Plus to $94 for the Cruise Plan.

To choose the right plan for your needs, consider where you’re visiting, how you’ll get there, and the activities you’ve planned on your itinerary.

The Cruise plan, for example, can help you access higher coverage limits that might come in handy during a seafaring journey. For example, a $750 per person coverage — versus $250 per person limit under the Priority Plus plan — if you missed your cruise due to a delayed or canceled flight.

Ultimately, deciding which plan makes the most sense for you entirely depends on your personal preferences, risk tolerance, and trip details.

Yes, Aegis travel insurance specialists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week regardless of your time zone. Their multilingual associates can be reached any time of day at the following phone numbers:

Aegis offers its Stress Less Benefits which help you avoid further disruption to your trip in the event of a covered event. Just call its 24/7 Emergency Assistance Team and they can assist by helping you navigate your plan’s coverages and paying medical and emergency providers upfront.

Each plan has its own list of Stress Less Benefits. For example, with Go Ready Choice, Stress Less is available for trip interruption, medical and dental events, and emergency assistance to name a few.

If you need to file a claim for an event that’s outside of your policy’s Stress Less Benefits, you’ll need to go through the typical claims process. Here’s how:

The biggest advantage of Aegis travel insurance is that you can build a plan that best fits your preferences. If you have an unpredictable work schedule, for example, the Choice plan has an optional Cancel for Work Reasons upgrade.

Addas a preferred source on Google

Source link

American Home Shield’s video chat lets some customers talk with a repair technician to repair small issues on their own. This can save homeowners $100 or more in service fees for each skipped service call.

But choosing video chat over an in-person appointment brings the risks of misdiagnosis and denied claims. After reading customer reviews and digging through Reddit threads about the video chat feature, I can confidently say it’s not a good option for every homeowner.

With the potential risks and limits on how the feature works and who can use it, some customers are wondering if swapping an in-person repair for a video chat is really all it’s cracked up to be. So I decided to look deeper into the home warranty industry’s newest technology and give you a look before you join a video chat.

Video chat offers more hands-on homeowners a way to potentially skip the wait and service fee that come with home warranty repairs. Using the video chat and filing a claim for a repair are separate steps. American Home Shield isn’t replacing in-person repairs with a video chat.

Video chatting with technicians might be a new feature for American Home Shield, but the process behind it has been around for a few years. Frontdoor, Inc., the company that owns American Home Shield, added video chats with repair professionals to the Frontdoor app in 2023. Now, it says it’s adding the feature to the American Home Shield app to save customers money and time if they can fix an issue on a video chat.

Depending on your situation, the American Home Shield video chat option might be a good step to take before filing a claim and paying a service fee. But like all things, there are drawbacks to keep in mind as well.

Here are a few highlights that make it worth considering:

Things to know before starting a video chat include:

You can start a video chat through the American Home Shield app on a smartphone or tablet. The app puts you in line to connect with the first technician that’s available and has experience repairing your appliance or system. For example, you’ll be connected with a plumber if you want to chat about a toilet that isn’t flushing.

Once you connect with a technician through video chat, you explain your problem, and they try to help figure out how to help you fix your appliance or system. It’s up to you if you do the repair while you’re on the phone with the technician. If the repair sounds too complicated or you’re not certain it’s safe to do it on your own, you can tell the technician. In that case, they’ll send notes to American Home Shield about your conversation, and you can submit a claim for a technician to visit your house.

The video chat won’t always connect you with a repair technician immediately. If the technician you need isn’t available right away, the app will send you a push notification to tell you when a technician is ready to chat.

The video chat holds your spot for three minutes once a technician is available. If you don’t join in time, the technician moves on to the next customer. If you miss your chance to talk with a technician, you can get back in line for a video chat, and the app gives you priority over other customers.

But why choose a video chat if you’re already paying American Home Shield to cover your repairs? Because it could save you a service fee.

Because video chat is free for customers with American Home Shield’s ShieldGold and ShieldPlatinum plans, getting a virtual diagnosis and fixing a small issue on their own could save a homeowner $100 or more on a service fee.

But that’s not a guaranteed fix. If the repair professional can’t help you through the American Home Shield app, you’ll need to file a claim for a technician to check out your appliance or system in person.

American Home Shield’s website says the repair technicians who talk with customers through the video chat feature are professionals with an average of 20 years of experience in repairs. Depending on the problem you’re having, the person will likely be experienced in plumbing, electrical, HVAC, appliance or general repairs.

An emergency, such as a burst pipe flooding your bathroom, is not the time to use a video chat. An in-person repair by a professional is likely to be what you need to save your floors from more damage.

But if you’ve got a little problem — say your dishwasher won’t run a full cycle or your garbage disposal hums but doesn’t spin — that might be a candidate for a video chat.

American Home Shield advertises the video chat as a way to save money by avoiding a service fee. So if you’re not sure if a problem is worth the service fee that you’ll have to pay for an in-person repair, you can use video chat to find out.

You don’t have to fix it yourself, even if the technician thinks you can. You can always file a claim for an in-person visit.

If it’s going to be a while before a technician can make it out to look at your appliance or system, you can do a video call instead. An easy fix that a technician can walk you through is faster than waiting two weeks for a plumber to have an opening.

This might sound obvious, but you’re going to need to be comfortable with the ins and outs of a video chat. You might need to troubleshoot your microphone or swap your front and back camera so the technician can see the problem.

If you’re confident that you can navigate a video chat, using the technology might be worth trying. But it’s probably a hard pass if any of the situations above sound intimidating.

American Home Shield says you don’t have to have tools nearby, but the expectation is that you’ll make your own repair to get the most out of the video chat.

If it’s something as simple as tightening a few screws or clicking a reset button, most of us can probably manage that. But if you can’t remember which way to turn a screwdriver without whispering “righty tighty, lefty loosey,” be honest with the technician. They can help you decide if the suggested repair is too much for you to do comfortably.

A video chat could also be helpful as a quick check that your appliance or system actually needs a repair before you commit to paying a service fee. Then you can research if your plan will cover that repair.

The repair technician can’t tell you if your plan will cover the repair you need though. Only American Home Shield can.

Video chat is free for customers with the ShieldGold and ShieldPlatinum plans, and you can use it as many times as you want throughout your contract term. Customers with a ShieldSilver plan don’t have access to the video chat feature.

As it turns out, quite a bit can go wrong. I put on my Nerd glasses, dug through customer reviews, Reddit threads and the fine print of American Home Shield’s sample contract. And there are a few things that stood out to me as potential red flags that homeowners should know.

Video chat limits how much a repair technician can see or hear, which means they can make mistakes they might not have made if they were there in person. One customer’s review shared that a video chat led to a wrong diagnosis, and American Home Shield denied the claim. The customer pushed back to get a second opinion, which found the real reason for the issue. The customer said that American Home Shield eventually covered the repair.

American Home Shield’s sample contract says customers can request a second opinion within seven days of a denied repair. But getting a second opinion means more waiting and hoping the second diagnosis isn’t by video session as well.

American Home Shield can require you to let a repair company use a video call instead of make an in-person visit.

Your hands are the ones doing the work when you use the video chat, even with a technician walking you through the repair. This is important because you could accidentally damage an appliance or system if you do something wrong, even if you’re following the technician’s instructions.

American Home Shield’s sample contract states that it covers improper repairs. So I asked the company what would happen if a customer damaged a covered item during a video chat.

“American Home Shield would not deny coverage based on an Expert interaction,” Rian Buckley Goodwin, senior director of product and strategy at American Home Shield, said by email.

But that coverage doesn’t apply to items that are already excluded from your contract, as one homeowner discussed in their online review. While on a video chat with a repair technician to troubleshoot garage door issues, the homeowner’s garage door failed and bent its track. The reviewer said American Home Shield refused to repair the track, likely because it is excluded from American Home Shield plans.

The takeaway: If you break a non-covered item while repairing a covered item on video chat, American Home Shield won’t fix it.

If video chat keeps a repair technician from seeing how bad things really are, the technician might recommend a small fix instead of solving the actual problem. The repair would be a bandaid while the real problem gets worse. In this case you could end up with a much bigger and more expensive issue later on.

For example, if a technician says over a video chat that your garbage disposal is backing up from a clogged drain, they might tell you to run some Drano down the drain to clear it out. But if the actual problem is a leaking pipe, you could wake up the next morning to warped flooring.

Even though American Home Shield has only offered the video chat option for a little over a year, customers have already taken to the internet to share their experiences with it. And they have mixed opinions about the feature.

Some customers who like the video chat feature say it’s an effective and convenient option that’s helpful for troubleshooting issues, and others say the technology works well.

A few online reviews mention the technicians on video chats confirming that customers needed to have a repair company come to their homes to repair items. And others say the video chat option helped them fix an issue quickly instead of waiting to schedule a technician visit.

But some customers feel like American Home Shield is trying to get out of doing repairs. One customer didn’t like the feature and was frustrated about having to pay a monthly fee for access to help fixing her items when she wanted a repair technician to do the work.

Other customers highlight the potential for the video chat feature to cause problems when filing claims. As with the customer reviews I mentioned in the section above, the feature can backfire if a technician misdiagnoses a problem or a video chat leads to more damage that American Home Shield then uses as a reason to deny future claims.

American Home Shield is staying ahead of competitors by offering video chats as a first step in handling repairs. While it might be helpful for some homeowners, the risk to their coverage keeps me from saying it’s a tool every customer should use.

I think video chat could be useful for customers who want more information before paying a service fee. With a professional opinion in hand, you could read your service agreement and plan details to see if the suggested repair will be covered. This might help you avoid a denied claim after paying a service fee for a house call.

Video chat is also a convenient feature for homeowners who feel up to doing lighter repairs on their own and just want the comfort of someone telling them they’re doing it right. Having the feature in your back pocket might boost your confidence in these situations.

But after more than two years of reading home warranty contracts and customers’ experiences with denied claims, I’m uncomfortable with any homeowner repairing a covered item. If you make a mistake that damages the appliance or system further, you’re in a situation that could give American Home Shield a reason to deny future repairs on the item. That’s too big of a risk for most homeowners.

My verdict: Confident and handy homeowners who understand the risks can give American Home Shield’s video chat a try. But customers who are hesitant to do more than basic home maintenance or want the reassurance of having a repair technician on site are probably better off sticking to the old-fashioned way of submitting a repair request.

Addas a preferred source on Google

Source link