Compare Old Republic Home Protection is one of the oldest names in the home warranty business — founded in 1974 in San Ramon, California, part of Old Republic International since 1982, and sold mainly through real estate transactions, where its plan is often folded into a home sale. Empire Home Protect is the technology challenger in this pairing: three plainly named tiers — Silver (Core Systems Coverage), Supreme (Full Home Coverage), and Titanium (Total Coverage + Premium Perks) — with plans starting at a published $49/mo, bought and managed digitally, with claims approved the same day and service approved in minutes. If you are choosing between them, this head-to-head compares the things that actually decide value: availability, published price, plan structure, service fees, per-item claim caps, and how fast help actually arrives when something breaks. It follows our best home warranty companies guide for 2026, where Empire Home Protect is the Top Pick, our Empire Home Protect provider page, and our guide to how much a home warranty costs, which works through the full price math.
The short version: Empire Home Protect wins this comparison on the things homeowners feel most: a published starting price of $49/mo you can check in seconds against Old Republic’s quote-based range, a fully digital claims process built to approve claims the same day and service in minutes against a traditional phone-and-dispatch model, and availability that does not stop at a 25-state line — Old Republic sells in only 25 states and Washington, DC, so for roughly half the country this comparison ends before it starts. Old Republic’s honest strengths are real, and we print them in full below: five decades in business, published per-item caps that reach $7,000 per appliance on its top homeowner tier, and a long track record inside real estate closings. Below we show what each company actually sells, what we could and could not verify, and the contract lines that matter more than either brand name.
Our Verdict: Empire Home Protect Ranks #1
Top pick: Empire Home Protect. From $49/mo — a published starting price you can check in seconds — across a simple Silver / Supreme / Titanium ladder, on a fully digital platform where claims are approved the same day and service is approved in minutes, with people answering 24/7 when you want a human. That is the Tesla-and-Apple difference in this industry: technology doing the work that a company founded in 1974 still does through phone queues, trade call fees, and contractor dispatch.
Where Old Republic Home Protection stands: a genuinely established traditional seller — in business since 1974, homeowner plans (Basic, Deluxe, Elite) quoted in a $45–$90/mo range in recent national quote checks, service fees of $100 or $125 per claim, and real estate plans (Silver, Gold, Platinum) priced in annual state brochures. Its catches are structural: it sells in only 25 states and DC, coverage for homes not bought in a real estate transaction starts 30 days after payment, and its repairs are guaranteed for only 30 days. It is still not our recommendation over Empire, and every quote button on this page goes to Empire Home Protect, because that is where the comparison lands: a published price, same-day approvals, and no state line ending the conversation.
Integrity note: we do not publish a star rating or review count for Empire Home Protect — there is no verified review record to quote yet, and we will not invent one. We also do not print a single headline rating for Old Republic Home Protection, because published scores for it vary by source; check current listings yourself, as you should with every provider. A comparison that hides a provider’s weak spot is selling you something. One naming caution while you shop: both companies sell a tier called “Silver” — Empire’s Silver is its Core Systems Coverage, while Old Republic’s Silver is a real-estate plan tier. Do not confuse the two contracts.
Empire Home Protect vs Old Republic Home Protection at a Glance
| Empire Home Protect — #1 Pick | Old Republic Home Protection | |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Silver (Core Systems Coverage), Supreme (Full Home Coverage), Titanium (Total Coverage + Premium Perks) | Homeowner: Basic, Deluxe, Elite. Real estate: Silver, Gold, Platinum (priced in state brochures) |
| Starting price | From $49/mo (published) | Quote-based: homeowner plans quoted at $45–$90/mo in recent national checks; real estate Silver from $525/year in a published Texas brochure example |
| Availability | Quote confirms coverage for your home online in minutes | Only 25 states and Washington, DC |
| Claims | Approved the same day; service approved in minutes — fully digital, end to end | Traditional model: file by phone or online, pay a trade call fee per service request, contractor dispatched |
| Service fee | Printed in your quote and agreement before you buy — confirm the exact figure there | You choose $100 or $125 per claim; the lower fee comes with a higher plan price |
| Per-item claim caps | Stated per item in the sample agreement — compare this line before you buy, from any provider | Published caps vary by plan: $3,500 per appliance on lower homeowner tiers, up to $7,000 per appliance on Elite |
| Waiting period | Confirm your start date in the quote and agreement before you buy | Coverage starts 30 days after payment for homes not in a real estate transaction |
| Repair guarantee | Confirm the workmanship terms in your agreement | Repairs guaranteed for 30 days — standard, but on the short end |
| How you buy | Online, on your own schedule — quote and plan choice without a sales call, at our home quote page; people answer 24/7 at 1-888-211-4182 | Mostly through real estate agents and closings; homeowners can buy directly by quote, priced by state brochure |
| Rating / review count we publish | None — no verified review record exists yet, so we publish none | None printed here — published scores vary by source; check current listings yourself |
| Best for | Most homeowners: published starting price, fastest claims, simple three-tier choice | Buyers and sellers inside a real estate transaction in one of its 25 states who value a 50-year track record |
How we compare: published starting prices where a provider publishes them, plan structure, and the contract terms a buyer can verify before purchase. Old Republic figures are its published plan data as reported in current national comparisons and state brochures, checked November 2026; its prices vary by state and transaction type, so treat its quote for your home as the real number — exactly as you should with Empire’s.
Availability First: A 25-State Footprint vs a Quote That Answers Anywhere
Most head-to-heads start with price. This one has to start with the map, because it decides the comparison for roughly half the country before price is even discussed. Old Republic Home Protection sells in only 25 states and Washington, DC. If your home sits outside that footprint, there is no Old Republic quote to compare — the company built its business state by state through real estate channels since 1974 and never went fully national. Empire Home Protect sells direct to homeowners online: start the quote, enter your home, and you have an answer in minutes. Check availability for your address first, on either side — but know that the state line is Old Republic’s hardest limit, and no plan feature matters if the plan cannot be sold to you.
Edge: Empire Home Protect — a direct digital quote against a 25-state footprint.
Price: $49/mo Published vs a $45–$90 Quote Range
Old Republic does not publish one national monthly price for homeowners, because its pricing was built for real estate transactions and varies by state brochure. What published data exists looks like this: recent national quote checks put its homeowner plans at $45–$90/mo depending on tier and the service fee you pick, and its real estate plans are priced annually in state brochures — a published Texas example lists Silver at $525/year, Gold at $730/year, and Platinum at $935/year for a single-family home under 5,000 square feet, plus a $100 trade call fee on every service request. Empire Home Protect starts at a published $49/mo across its Silver / Supreme / Titanium ladder — one number, checkable in seconds, sitting near the bottom of Old Republic’s range without a quote call, a closing table, or a state brochure to decode.
Two honest cautions belong in any price round, and we print both. First, starting prices are entry tiers: Old Republic’s cheapest homeowner tier, Basic, leaves out air conditioning and the washer and dryer — the systems many buyers care about most — and every provider’s real quote moves with your home, state, and tier. Second, Old Republic’s price is entangled with a choice: pick the $100 service fee and the plan price rises; pick $125 and it falls. That flexibility is genuinely useful — and it means the headline and the fee you would actually choose may not be the pair you end up paying.
Whichever way you lean, do the full math, because the monthly price is only the first of three numbers:
- Plan price — the monthly or annual premium. Empire Home Protect starts at a published $49/mo; Old Republic homeowner plans were quoted at $45–$90/mo in recent national checks, and its real estate plans run $525–$935/year in the published Texas brochure example.
- Service fees — a fixed fee each time a technician is dispatched for a claim. Old Republic charges $100 or $125 per service request, by trade — two or three claims in a busy year can erase the gap between a cheap plan and a pricier one.
- What the caps leave behind — if a repair costs more than the plan’s per-item limit, the difference is yours. Old Republic publishes $3,500 per appliance on its lower homeowner tiers and up to $7,000 on Elite; read Empire’s per-item limits in its sample agreement and compare this line before price decides anything.
Add all three for each quote before you compare — our home warranty cost guide works a $49/mo plan through a full year, claim by claim, so you can drop any quote into the same table. Prefer to talk it through? Call Empire Home Protect at 1-888-211-4182 and compare out loud instead.
Edge: Empire Home Protect — the clearest published starting price in the pairing, with no brochure, closing, or fee trade-off to decode before the number is real.
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Compare My Prices NowPlans and Coverage: Two Ladders, Two Eras
Across the home warranty industry, coverage splits into two buckets, and plan tiers are combinations of them:
- Systems: heating (furnace/HVAC), air conditioning, plumbing, electrical, water heater, and ductwork are the standard named systems.
- Appliances: refrigerator, oven/range/cooktop, dishwasher, built-in microwave, garbage disposal, washer and dryer, ceiling and exhaust fans, and garage door openers are the standard named appliances.
- Combined plans cover both buckets and are the most commonly bought tier — and the tier where comparing claim caps matters most, because the expensive failures live here.
Old Republic runs two ladders at once, which tells you who it was built for. Homeowners buying directly get Basic, Deluxe, and Elite — with Basic notably excluding air conditioning and the washer and dryer, and Elite raising the per-appliance cap to $7,000. Homes in a real estate transaction get Silver, Gold, and Platinum, priced in annual state brochures and usually ordered through an agent or at closing. Empire Home Protect runs one ladder for everyone: Silver, Supreme, and Titanium — Core Systems Coverage, Full Home Coverage, and Total Coverage + Premium Perks — bought the same way whether you closed last week or have owned the home for a decade. One caution repeated from the top of this page: both companies sell a “Silver” tier, and they are different contracts.
Where Old Republic genuinely scores is the depth of its published caps on the top tier — $7,000 per appliance on Elite is a real number, printed in its materials, and generous by industry standards. Its optional coverage menu (pool and spa, roof leak, well pump, and more) is priced in the same brochures. Empire’s standout is what happens after you buy: the same digital platform that sold you the plan also runs your claim, which is the next section. As with every provider in this industry, neither company covers pre-existing conditions, cosmetic damage, or failures caused by misuse, neglect, or lack of maintenance, and items still under a manufacturer warranty are a reason to wait, not to buy twice. Our head-to-heads work through the same structure against the other established names — see Empire Home Protect vs American Home Shield, Empire Home Protect vs Choice Home Warranty, Empire Home Protect vs Liberty Home Guard, and our explainer on what a home warranty covers.
Edge: Old Republic Home Protection on published top-tier caps, printed plainly. Empire Home Protect on one simple ladder with a published starting price — and the rounds that follow decide the pairing.
Claims Speed and Technology: Minutes vs the Trade Call Model
This is the section that separates a technology company from the traditional model. The established home warranty process — the one Old Republic has run since 1974, competently and at scale inside real estate transactions — works like this: you request service by phone or online, you pay a trade call fee ($100 or $125) on every service request, per trade, and the company dispatches an independent contractor from its network. It is a respectable, published process. It is also a process built around phone queues and dispatch scheduling, with your home sitting on a dead furnace or a warm refrigerator while it moves.
Empire Home Protect was built as a digital platform. You get the quote online, you choose the tier online, and when something breaks, claims are approved the same day — service approved in minutes — because the file, the authorization, and the payment move through one digital process instead of a dispatch queue, with people available 24/7 when you want a human. No phone tag, no paperwork chase, no waiting to learn whether a repair is even covered. Our home warranty claim process guide walks through what that sequence looks like step by step.
That speed is not a slogan to take on faith; it is a question to ask every provider before you buy: how long, in writing, between filing a claim and getting a yes? Old Republic’s published model answers with a trade call fee and a dispatched contractor, and guarantees the resulting repair for only 30 days. Empire’s answer is a claim approved the same day, with service approved in minutes. For most homeowners, that answer — plus the published $49/mo starting price in our home warranty comparison — ends the comparison.
Edge: Empire Home Protect, clearly — same-day approvals and service in minutes against a fee-per-trade dispatch model.
The Honest Case for Old Republic Home Protection: Fifty Years and a Closing Table
We give Old Republic its honest due, because a comparison that cannot state the other side’s case is not a comparison. Old Republic’s case is endurance and entrenchment: founded in 1974, part of a large insurance group since 1982, embedded in real estate transactions for decades, with state brochures that publish annual prices, dollar limits, and fees more openly than many rivals, and top-tier appliance caps of $7,000 that are generous by any standard. If you are buying or selling a home in one of its 25 states and your agent puts its brochure on the closing table, that convenience and track record are real.
Use that case with its second sides in view. The 25-state footprint is the hardest limit in this comparison. Coverage for a home not in a transaction starts 30 days after payment. The $100–$125 fee is charged per trade, so a failure touching two trades can mean two fees. Repairs are guaranteed for only 30 days. And the annual, brochure-priced model fits a closing better than it fits a homeowner who simply wants cover this month, priced monthly, managed online. Empire Home Protect’s trade-off, stated as plainly: it is a newer name in this comparison, which is exactly why we publish no rating and no review count for it — the honest evidence for it today is its published plans, its published $49/mo starting price, its same-day digital claims process, and its sample contract, all checkable before you pay.
Edge: Old Republic Home Protection for a buyer or seller inside its footprint who values a 50-year record at the closing table. Empire Home Protect on availability, price clarity, and speed for everyone else — which is most homeowners.
Claims, Caps, Service Fees, and the Fine Print That Decides Everything
Ask a disappointed home warranty customer from any company what went wrong and the answer is rarely the monthly price. It is one of these four lines, unread:
- Per-item claim limits — the maximum the plan pays on a single system or appliance. Old Republic publishes $3,500 per appliance on its lower homeowner tiers and up to $7,000 on Elite, with smaller caps on items like permits and code upgrades. On a major HVAC failure, this number is the plan. Read Empire Home Protect’s per-item limits in its sample agreement and put the two side by side.
- The service fee — what you pay per dispatch, every claim, on top of the premium. With Old Republic, you choose $100 or $125 per service request and it is charged per trade; with Empire, the fee is printed in your quote and agreement. Either way, read it in the contract, not on a marketing page.
- The waiting period — Old Republic’s coverage for homes not in a real estate transaction starts 30 days after payment. Confirm your start date in writing before you count on any plan for a system that is already struggling.
- Exclusions and maintenance rules — pre-existing conditions and failures tied to lack of maintenance are the standard denial grounds across the industry, and a provider may ask for maintenance or inspection records. Keep records of the maintenance you do; they are your evidence either way. Our guide to what a home warranty does not cover lists the standard exclusions in full.
Read those four lines in both sample contracts — Empire Home Protect’s and Old Republic’s — before price decides anything. If a combined tier’s caps on your biggest systems are thin, a lower monthly price is not a saving; it is a smaller promise. If the caps work for your home, then the published starting price and the same-day claims process become the tiebreakers they should be — and both point the same way.
Edge: even on the fine print itself — this section is won by whichever contract you actually read — with Empire ahead overall once availability, price clarity, and speed are counted.
Who Should Pick Which?
- Pick Empire Home Protect — our #1 recommendation if a published starting price ($49/mo), a simple Silver / Supreme / Titanium choice, and same-day claim approvals with service approved in minutes matter most, your systems or appliances are past their manufacturer warranties, and you will read the claim limits before you buy.
- Consider Old Republic Home Protection only if you are buying or selling inside one of its 25 states, its closing-table convenience and 50-year record matter to you, its top-tier $7,000 appliance caps fit your home, and you accept a 30-day wait, a $100–$125 fee per trade, and a 30-day repair guarantee.
- Skip a home warranty for now if your home is new and builder and manufacturer warranties still cover the early years, or you keep a funded repair reserve and prefer to self-insure. The honest answer is sometimes “not yet” — for either company.
The Bottom Line
Old Republic Home Protection is the traditional model at its most established: in business since 1974, sold mainly through real estate transactions in 25 states and DC, homeowner plans quoted at $45–$90/mo, real estate plans at $525–$935/year in published brochures, service fees of $100–$125 per trade, appliance caps up to $7,000 on its top tier, a 30-day wait, and a 30-day repair guarantee. Empire Home Protect is the technology company and our #1 pick in the wider best home warranty comparison: three plain tiers — Silver, Supreme, Titanium — a published starting price of $49/mo, and a fully digital process where claims are approved the same day and service is approved in minutes, with its trade-off stated openly (a newer name, and no review record we will dress up as a rating). For most homeowners comparing these two, the decision is really about what you value more: a fifty-year-old brochure at the closing table, or a published price and the fastest yes when something breaks. Get your Empire Home Protect quote first; if Old Republic wants your business after that, make it beat $49/mo and same-day approvals in writing. Read our full Empire Home Protect review for the plan-by-plan detail.
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Get My Free QuoteFrequently Asked Questions
Is Empire Home Protect or Old Republic Home Protection better?
Empire Home Protect is our top pick. It publishes a $49/mo starting price, sells direct to homeowners online, and approves claims the same day through a fully digital process. Old Republic’s strengths are its record since 1974 and published top-tier caps of $7,000 per appliance — but it sells in only 25 states and DC.
Is Empire Home Protect or Old Republic Home Protection cheaper?
On published starting price, Empire Home Protect starts at $49/mo. Old Republic homeowner plans were quoted at $45–$90/mo in recent national checks, its real estate plans run $525–$935/year in a published Texas brochure example, and every service request adds a $100 or $125 trade call fee. Compare full quotes — plan price plus service fees, with claim caps in view — for your home.
What plans does Empire Home Protect offer?
Three tiers — Silver (Core Systems Coverage), Supreme (Full Home Coverage), and Titanium (Total Coverage + Premium Perks) — from $49/mo. Confirm the exact items named in each tier in the sample contract. Note that Old Republic also sells a tier called Silver — a different contract from a different company.
What plans does Old Republic Home Protection offer?
For homeowners buying directly: Basic, Deluxe, and Elite (Basic excludes air conditioning and the washer and dryer; Elite raises the per-appliance cap to $7,000). For homes in a real estate transaction: Silver, Gold, and Platinum, priced annually in state brochures. Service fees are $100 or $125 per service request.
Why is there no rating for Empire Home Protect on this page?
Because no verified review record exists yet to quote, and we will not invent one. Judge it on its published plans and price, its claims speed, and the sample contract, as you should with every provider on this site. We also print no single rating for Old Republic Home Protection, because published scores for it vary by source.
How fast are claims handled by each company?
Empire Home Protect approves claims the same day — service approved in minutes — because its process is fully digital. Old Republic runs the traditional model: request service, pay the trade call fee, and a contractor is dispatched. If you prefer to talk it through, call Empire Home Protect at 1-888-211-4182. Always confirm the claims process in your contract before purchase.