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Not every broken home system or appliance is repairable. Sometimes, Old Republic Home Protection (ORHP) must replace covered systems and appliances with brand new equipment. Out with the old, in with the new.
But what kind of appliance can you expect to receive when we determine a replacement is necessary?
ORHP’s plan states the following under Limits of Liability (section 1, paragraph N):
“This plan does not cover… matching dimensions, color, or brand. We are responsible for providing installation of equipment comparable in features (that affect the operation of the system or appliance), capacity, and efficiency only. If feature is no longer available, our obligation is limited to equivalent unit based on available existing features. We may install a lesser capacity unit (water heater, HVAC unit, etc.) if the projected output, recovery time, or efficiency of the replacement unit is equal to or greater than that of the existing unit being replaced.”
This article breaks the coverage down so you’ll know what to expect when a covered item needs replacement!
The Guarantee: Features, Capacity, and Efficiency
Your replacement home system or appliance will have features (that affect the operation of the system or appliance), capacity, and efficiency comparable to your old, non-operational unit.
The features must affect the operation of the system or appliance, for example, the convection setting on your oven or a multi-speed motor on your furnace. Without those features, the oven and furnace won’t work as intended. However, suppose your system or appliance has other features that don’t affect the core function, like the media control panel on your refrigerator. In that case, we cannot guarantee the replacement refrigerator will have a media control panel.
In some cases, an appliance’s features are no longer available when ORHP makes a necessary replacement. Since the option is unavailable, we can only replace the old equipment with an equivalent unit based on available features. Most of the time, this applies to very old home systems and appliances with antiquated features.
Capacity refers to the size or expected output of the device, like the inside cavity size of an oven, gallon volume of a water heater, or tonnage of an air conditioning unit.
Efficiency is the electrical usage of a system or appliance. For example, air conditioning units measure efficiency in SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating).
Old Republic Home Protection ensures that replacement equipment is of equal to or greater capacity and efficiency. However, a replacement system/appliance with a lesser capacity is acceptable if the projected output, recovery time, or efficiency is equal to or greater than your previous system or appliance.
Matching Dimensions, Color, and Brand
Old Republic Home Protection cannot guarantee that replacement appliances will be the same dimension, color, or brand as the previous unit. As much as we try, it’s not always practical, or possible, to provide a one-to-one replacement.
If we cannot locate a comparable system or appliance with matching dimensions, you are responsible for the cost of structural modifications necessary to install new equipment. Unless you have Platinum Protection! Platinum Protection helps reduce modification costs by providing up to $1,000 per plan to make necessary duct, plenum, electrical, plumbing, and carpentry modifications, including necessary relocation of covered equipment and/or the correction of code violations to affect a covered repair or replacement. Platinum Protection adds incredible value to already strong coverage.
Out with the Old, In with the New
We agree: malfunctions stink. But you can rest easy knowing that Old Republic Home Protection will install a new unit that’s comparable in features, capacity, and efficiency when replacements are necessary.
