Georgia Regulator Bars Home Warranty Company for Failing to Secure Bond
A home warranty firm is now prohibited from doing business in Georgia after a cease-and-desist order was issued, the state insurance commissioner announced.
Choice Home Warranty did not secure a $100,000 surety bond as required by law, despite warnings from regulators, Insurance Commissioner John King said in a bulletin.
The bond requirement helps ensure that Georgia consumers are protected in case a warrantor cannot pay out claims, the notice reads.
People that have purchased a home warranty from Choice will remain covered through the term of the contract, and no action is required from consumers, King noted.
Officials with Choice Home Warranty, based in Edison, New Jersey, could not be reached Friday morning. The company may be best known through its advertisements and website, which include pitchman and actor Richard Karn, of the Home Improvement television sitcom that was popular in the 1990s. Choice acquired another firm, Home Warranty of America, in 2022, according to a news release.
The announcement came two days after Oklahoma’s Insurance Department issued a cease-and-desist order against First Premier Home Warranty Corp. The firm has not been licensed to operate in the state, the department said.