Your home is protected. But what about the underground utility lines?
Chances are you have underground utility lines that bring water, power and communications to your home. And you might be surprised to learn that damage to these service lines—such as pipe freezing or tree root invasion—is often your responsibility, not the service provider’s. What’s more, when something goes wrong, repairs can get expensive.
Safeco’s Service Line coverage is an affordable way to protect yourself from service line failures related to many causes of loss, including:
- Wear and tear
- Mechanical Breakdown
- Tree or other root invasion
- Rust and Corrosion
- Freezing or Frost Heave
Service line coverage is an extra layer of protection that is designed to protect homeowners in the event that service lines or pipes coming into the property are damaged. For a small additional premium, this coverage can be packaged with your homeowners insurance. It is an incredibly small price to pay for peace of mind. If something goes wrong, service line coverage will help cover the costs of repairing the damaged service lines or pipes you, as the homeowner (not the service provider), are already responsible for.
Picture this scenario – You’ve just purchased a home and gotten settled in. Then suddenly your toilets won’t flush and sewage is oozing up through your shower drain. Doesn’t that sound awful and expensive?
It is, and it actually happens more frequently that you might think. If you are lucky, your sewer line is just clogged and can be quickly cleared by a plumber. If you are not so lucky, the sewer line from your home to street has collapsed, and you are now looking at some huge repair bills – even up to $20,000!
The worst news? Many home insurance policies don’t cover this!
Finally, an insurance solution- Service Line coverage
Several insurance carriers including Safeco have begun to include endorsements for Service Line coverage on their home insurance policies. Not only is this more cost effective than the specialty policy, but it also is included with your home insurance premium which is quite convenient. The coverages are similar but do vary somewhat by insurance carrier, in some cases other services outside your home will also be covered such as water, electricity, etc. Please ask us if your carrier offers this coverage, as well as what is covered if you add it, and we will be happy to give you the exact cost and coverage amounts.
If your home is older than 30 years, it is well worth considering adding Service Line coverage. A few dollars a month, could save you thousands in costly repairs. A word of warning though, these policies do exclude coverage if you already know there is a problem with the line. So if you want to have this coverage, do it before you have a problem.
