What Select Home Warranty Claims Reveal About When Things Break

Select Home Warranty’s claims research offers homeowners and housing professionals a closer look at when household systems fail, which problems emerge, and how usage patterns shape repair demand.

A broken appliance can feel random, but viewed across thousands of claims calls, household failures begin to follow recognizable patterns. Research released by Select Home Warranty shows that the timing of a call can reveal nearly as much as the equipment involved, from problems saved up over the weekend to appliances placed under pressure by holidays and extreme temperatures.

For homeowners, contractors, and real estate professionals, those patterns can help explain when repair demand is likely to rise and which household systems may deserve attention before their busiest season begins.

Monday Becomes the Week’s Repair Day

Monday accounts for 20.2% of all calls in Select Home Warranty’s data, compared with 9.5% each on Saturday and Sunday. The Monday call index reaches approximately 1.4 times the average across nearly every category, suggesting that many homeowners discover or tolerate problems during the weekend, then report them once the workweek begins.

Some issues accumulate more noticeably than others. Roof leaks have a Monday index of 1.52, while clothes washers and stoves or ovens each reach 1.49. For contractors and service teams, the pattern offers a practical view of when customer demand may be heaviest.

Seasonal Demand Goes Beyond the Weather

Heating and cooling systems produce the most dramatic seasonal swings. Per-day claim activity for heating systems was 26.5 times higher in January than in July during 2025. Air-conditioning claims peaked in June at 17.7 times their January low.

Other seasonal increases appear to reflect when homeowners begin using dormant equipment. Lawn sprinkler claims peak in April at 5.3 times their December level, likely because problems become visible when systems are restarted after winter. Ceiling fan claims also rise during heat waves, increasing 29% as homeowners switch on fans that may have sat unused since the previous summer.

Some appliances remain remarkably consistent. Clothes dryer activity varies by only 1.07 times between its January peak and May trough, while clothes washer activity varies by 1.11 times. Laundry equipment, according to the data, fails at a nearly steady rate throughout the year.

Holidays Put Kitchens Under Pressure

Holiday gatherings create their own claims patterns. On Thanksgiving Day, stove and oven calls rise to 2.70 times the seasonally matched baseline, while garbage disposal calls reach 2.56 times the baseline. The most common oven complaints involve units that will not heat or have nonworking heating elements. Disposal calls center primarily on leaks rather than jams.

Labor Day brings a different combination. Refrigerator claims reach 1.43 times the normal August and September baseline, while stove and oven claims rise to 1.39 times the baseline.

Calls also arrive later during major holidays. The overnight share increases from 8% on normal days to 10.3%, with activity between 10 p.m. and midnight running 1.17 to 1.34 times the usual level.

The Data Also Identifies Strong Performers

Claims research can highlight positive appliance outcomes alongside common repair issues. LG dryers recorded a “will not start” rate of 7.3%, the lowest reported among the dryer brands studied. LG dishwashers also posted the lowest rate of dishes not being cleaned, at 11.6%.

Bosch dishwashers recorded the lowest leak rate in the category at 9.5%, compared with a 15% category baseline. That finding carries particular relevance because dishwasher leaks can affect cabinetry, flooring, and surrounding materials.

By releasing claims data, Select Home Warranty gives homeowners and housing professionals a clearer picture of how household repair needs develop. Individual failures may still arrive without warning, but collectively, they reveal when homes face the greatest strain and where preventive attention may be most useful.