I bought my first home over 12 years ago.  It was a foreclosure we bought from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD.  One of the benefits of buying this HUD home was that it came with a home warranty.  As a previous renter, I had never heard of a home warranty.  It didn't costs me anything so why not, I thought.  

I got the paperwork in the mail for this home warranty about a week or so after we moved in. It stated that the warranty paid for any major repairs to my home or the appliances.  I called because this sounded too good to be true.  I asked the representative if they would really cover the used refrigerator I bought from the corner repair store and she said "Yes!"  She said, if it could not be repaired, then they would replace it.  I couldn't believe it.  The one concern , we had about being homeowners was gone due to this home warranty.   

My spouse has been unemployed since January and needless to say the little nest egg, we have put away for emergencies is gone.  This summer our air conditioning went out.  We called our home warranty company and they sent a repair person.  We paid our $50 fee and they fixed the air conditioning.  We were sure glad that we kept up the home warranty. 

There are many companies to chose from varying in annual fee (which can be paid monthly for a little higher premium), service charge and products covered.  Your home does not need to be brand new and there is usually a 30 day waiting period before items are covered. I recently did a re-assessment of our coverage and found a company who covered more items for less annually and the service fee is lower.  It's worth doing your homework.  Whatever company you choose, it's better to have one than not to...