Anonymous wrote:My insurance has something that says, "Water Back Up and Sump Discharge or Overflow Coverage" Does this include that or am I looking for something separate?

That coverage does not cover the replacement of your water line, you need separate coverage for that.

My insurance has something that says, "Water Back Up and Sump Discharge or Overflow Coverage" Does this include that or am I looking for something separate?

I got it and six months later my 100-year-old pipe sprung a leak. I paid nothing for them to tear up my lawn down to the street. The only out-of-pocket was fixing the landscaping after they left, because they put down grass seed but wouldn’t replace my Azalea. Still a total bargain IMO.

Anonymous wrote:Dominion Electric offers it through a special add-on ($7.99/month) but my neighbors say they don't cover if it is Orangeburg Pipe (which is huge in our area of Fairfax County).

How am I supposed to know if I have Orangeburg? I need to call them.

dig a test pit

I wish we had purchased it. When ours broke it was 7k. It had lasted almost 100 years! If you don't think yours has been replaced in the last few decades I'd buy it.

We have sewer line policy with Erie and our agent (sells multiple provider lines) said Erie’s covers more than most.

Dominion Electric offers it through a special add-on ($7.99/month) but my neighbors say they don't cover if it is Orangeburg Pipe (which is huge in our area of Fairfax County).

How am I supposed to know if I have Orangeburg? I need to call them.

Get it, but be prepared to go to battle to get it paid.

We had a break in our line from roots growing in that backed up the entire house. As the crew was digging, they broke the line in a second place. The company then tried to say we weren't covered because there were two breaks, even admitting they did one of the breaks. They gave us the run-around for four days as they "escalated" the claim, thinking we'd cave and pay for it ourselves because we had no sewer service.

When I threatened to call the state attorney general, they decided they'd repair it.

Three years later, we started to see signs of trouble again, so we paid to have the entire thing replaced. I don't like to worry when I flush.

Anonymous wrote:I was just discussing this this morning with a plumber. I'm in Virginia and the Dominion insurance is what would be offered here. He said that until a few years ago, it was great. They would replace the entire sewer line if there was a problem or it reached the end of its lifespan. But they sold the policies to another company that keep reducing the benefit. Now, they will only replace the portion that is broken and backing up.

So, read the fine print.

+1. My parents encountered this issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in del ray and had the water line insurance

Sure enough we had a leak and they replaced the entire line for free

Guys doing it said it would have been 8 grand to do. Cost us two years of 7 dollars a month

Pretty good return if you ask me!

Does it have a deductible? Do they replace anything else like yard work, driveway, sidewalk, etc?

Mine has no deductible but only covers up to $10,000.

Anonymous wrote:You can get a rider on your homeowners for BACKUP of sewers and drains, NOT for failure of the sewer and water line.

OP get the insurance. Replacing the water line is several thousand dollars and they do fail.

Not true, Erie offers it in one of their more expensive home insurance packages.

Anonymous wrote:I live in del ray and had the water line insurance

Sure enough we had a leak and they replaced the entire line for free

Guys doing it said it would have been 8 grand to do. Cost us two years of 7 dollars a month

Pretty good return if you ask me!

Does it have a deductible? Do they replace anything else like yard work, driveway, sidewalk, etc?

Anonymous wrote:You can get a rider on your homeowners for BACKUP of sewers and drains, NOT for failure of the sewer and water line.

OP get the insurance. Replacing the water line is several thousand dollars and they do fail.

This.

We had the sewer line insurance when we were in Del Ray (neighbors had to replace their line) and then we didn't re-start it when we moved to McLean. Doh! Had to shell out $14k to redo the water line and sewer line when the water line to the house broke and water was rushing down the driveway.

Yes, the insurance only covers the repair, but that may be all you need; and I would have liked to have only been paying $2/month and not had a surprise $14k bill that had to be paid immediately because we no longer had water to the house.

Tell all your friends - this insurance is totally worth it. Even with new sewer and water lines, we got it just in case. It's a horrible thing when it breaks, and we will always have the insurance from now on.

Anonymous wrote:I was just discussing this this morning with a plumber. I'm in Virginia and the Dominion insurance is what would be offered here. He said that until a few years ago, it was great. They would replace the entire sewer line if there was a problem or it reached the end of its lifespan. But they sold the policies to another company that keep reducing the benefit. Now, they will only replace the portion that is broken and backing up.

So, read the fine print.

I heard the same for Va. I don’t carry it because I figure I’d replace the whole line if/when it fails.

You can get a rider on your homeowners for BACKUP of sewers and drains, NOT for failure of the sewer and water line.

OP get the insurance. Replacing the water line is several thousand dollars and they do fail.