Sewer Backup Insurance

By Devon Monache


If you've ever experienced a sewer backup in your home, you know what a mess it can create. When there is excessive snow melting or higher than average rainfall in a certain area, this can make the drainage system overloaded, and it can cause a sewer backup. The waste water flows back, through the pipes, into your home. The damages that can be caused by sewage water in the home is a health risk, and obviously can damage your home quite severely. The costs of the cleanup are quite high, and it has to be done immediately. While there are some steps you can take to prevent sewer backup damage, the only way to financially protect your family and home against sewer backup damage is to buy insurance.

Fortunately, sometimes the waste water flows into your tub or sink and that prevents it from going on the floor, however if it is backing up into the toilet, it overflows quickly since it is full of water already. The bacteria laden water can get all over your home, and it can also damage your furniture or other possessions.

Those with insurance policies from traditional insurance companies will likely find that their policy has an exclusion for sewer backup damages. Often it's available as a rider at an additional cost. Sewer backup is common in some areas that have regular flooding, so in these places, insurance companies offer only an extremely limited amount of coverage for these damages. This limit may or may not be sufficient to cover the cleanup, let alone the replacement of damaged goods. Often drywall and carpets will need to be torn out, and replaced. There are also valuables that many people store in the basement, and these replacement costs can add up significantly.

When sewer waste water enters a home and causes damages, the homeowner benefits greatly from having a sewer backup rider on their home insurance policy. Your home insurance policy will pay replacement costs for property damage if they settle losses on a replacement cost basis. There are some insurance policies that use a coverage system based on cash values. Damaged items will be replaced not on the full cost, but on their depreciated value.

Cities will very rarely claim responsibility for sewer backups, it's up to the homeowner. A rider must be purchased to cover the costs of damages caused by sewer backups, unless the policy states otherwise. The chance of a sewer backup in your area will be calculated, and after this, the price will be determined accordingly. Damages that will be covered have their limits, and they will have their own deductibles, with these riders. The insurance company and the policy itself will outline what limits are in place.

Repair and maintenance of the sewer line that runs out of your home and connects to the city's main line in the street is not the city's responsibility, it is the homeowner's, and many do not know this. The property owner is responsible for maintaining the sewer line to the street or public right of way, as owner of the line, they are expected to maintain it.

Sewer lines can become obstructed, they can have cracks form, or they can just wear down and collapse, due to the passage of time. You may not have a clue that this kind of damage is occurring. But one severe rainstorm may be all it takes to bring the problem to a head.

Typically, sewer backup is not covered by a home or business insurance policy, so to be safeguarded against these unfortunate circumstances, the purchase of a rider is necessary. Make sure that you take the steps needed to have adequate protection.




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