You may be struggling to know what to do if my sewer backs up?
Most insurance policies do not cover sewer backups, you will be fighting with the city for years trying to make progress with them and in most cases, they will only cover a few thousand dollars. However, there is a secret about sewer backups. 99% of all sewer back up are not actually sewer back up's!
Is sewer backup covered by homeowners insurance?
The answer is Yes... and No.... Most policies exclude sewer backup's from their policies however you can add a sewer backup endorsement to your policy. This will allow for limited coverage for a sewer backup. But... if you know your policy and what a sewer backup really is you might not have needed that endorsement anyway.
Can you sue a city for sewer backup?
Does sewer backup have a deductible?
Generally, you will always have a deductible on your claim. However, this may be modified by an endorsement for this specific peril. One thing to remember is that the deductible is applied to the loss, not the settlement. What does that mean? It means if you have 10k in coverage a $1k deductible and a 12k loss the deductible is applied to the 12k and the 10k is the policy limit and is what will be paid because it was applied to the total amount of the loss.
what does sewer backup insurance cover?
Most sewer back up endorsements covers water that backs up into the house from the city lines or overflows and escapes a sump pump. Then it will generally cover the damages caused by the Sewer Backup up to the extent of the policy limits for this coverage. You may find your self with a basement flooding insurance claim being denied if you don't have the right coverages or endorsement and you don't know the difference between a sewer back up and sewer overflow. You need to have an expert on your side to make sure you get the backup of sewer and drain insurance coverage you were promised.
Ok so here is the reality more water damage or sewer claim denied are wrongfully denied because you said the wrong things to the wrong people and you did not even know what you were saying to begin with. Why? Because you are not an insurance expert and have never read your policy let alone began to understand what it says or means. You see per your policy it excludes a sewer overflow from a clog that happened off of the residence premises. That means if it clogs at the city sewer lines there is no coverage. However, if the clog happened because your kid clogged your toilet and it overflowed then there is coverage or if the clog happened in your sewer line on the way to the street.
Who's Poop is it anyway!
This is a game that I like to play when dealing with a sewer backup claim. If it is your poop that is called a sewer overflow and the full policy limits apply. If its your neighbor's poop floating around your living room. That is a sewer backup and you had better have a sewer backup on your policy or you'll be fighting the city.
Is sewer backup insurance worth it?
Just imagine yourself cleaning up your neighbor's feces and who knows what else out our your kid's bedroom. You probably will have your answer. That being said you want to make sure you have an advocate on your side. Most insurance policies cover the cost of experts to assist in the settlement of their claim. Claim Rangers sends our bill to the insurance company and it comes out of the claim settlement.
For a free consultation give us a call 855-262-7707
For more water damage insurance claim tips visit www.claimrangers.com