Sunday, 25 August 2013

Insurance Coverage For Sewer Backup Damage

By Devon Monache


When a sewer backup occurs inside a home, it creates a very filthy and disgusting situation. Sewer backups can occur when a drainage system simply can't handle unexpected volumes of water from a major rainstorm or a sudden snow melt. The extra water in the pipes starts to back up, and it flows the opposite direction into your home and onto your floor. When sewage flows into your home, the damages can be very expensive and messy to clean up, and also there are health implications. Immediate cleanup is required, and can be very expensive. The best way to protect yourself from the financial implications of a sewer backup in your home is to get extra insurance in case of this problem, and to take some actions to prevent it.

The tub or sink can just fill with the excess water sometimes, but if it goes through the toilet pipe, it will flow over the edge more quickly since it is full of water, and this situation can happen with no warning. Your home can be damaged by a backup, and the waste water carries bacteria that can be dangerous to your health.

If you're insured with a traditional home insurance provider, you may discover that sewer backup is excluded from the base policy. It can usually be added to the policy with a rider, which comes at a higher premium rate. 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. The cost of repairing damages or the replacement of possessions will not always be completely covered by the policy's limit. Carpeting needs to be replaced after, and many times, new drywall will also need to be put in. And think about the cost to replace all of the belongings kept in your basement.

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. Coverage on some kinds of policies is paid out on the cash value of the items. If that's the case, your policy will pay only the depreciated value of any damaged items.

Cities will very rarely claim responsibility for sewer backups, it's up to the homeowner. Unless sewer backup is mentioned specifically in your home insurance policy, a rider must be purchased to be covered in case of damages from this cause. The cost varies with your home's risk for a backup. Damages that will be covered have their limits, and they will have their own deductibles, with these riders. The limits vary with the type of policy coverage and the insurer.

The responsibility of maintaining and repairing the sewer line from the house all the way into the street is the responsibility of the homeowner, even though the majority do not even have knowledge of that fact. The homeowner actually owns the sewer line underneath their home that connects to the street, so repairs and maintenance on it is their responsibility.

Sewer lines can become obstructed, they can have cracks form, or they can just wear down and collapse, due to the passage of time. It can be difficult to know if the line is damaged. But one severe rainstorm may be all it takes to bring the problem to a head.

Again, most homeowner and business insurance policies do not cover sewer backup unless specific sewer backup coverage is added to the policy. Do what is necessary to ensure that you are covered.




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