Question on "insurance" for lines from house to road

[TheOtherMe]

My gas company has been sending me all kinds of mail about buying insurance from them that would cover fixing the water and gas line if something goes wrong.

Coverage is offered up to $7,000 annually for gas line and up to $8,000 annually for water line.

I do live in a duplex so I think the cost would be split.  Our lines are tied together not far from the houses and then it's one line to the street.  

They are offering insurance for 1/2 price for 12 months so $5.86 for a year and then $11.74.  

Also have an option to cover only water or gas, not both.

Is this something I need?

This is when I wish I didn't own a home or lived in a condo.

ETA:  This is per month.

[jerseygirl]

The cost is REALLY cheap. SURE THATS for a year? Not monthly?
Why not get the coverage. Probably won’t need to use it but you’ll be really happy if needed.

[Tennesseer]

I recently received something similar from a company called American Water Resources Of Tennessee.

For a monthly fee of $3.49 a month, the total protection amount is $10,000 per occurrence: up to 5,000 per occurrence for water service line repairs and up to an additional $5,000 per occurrence for water service line repairs to street and public sidewalk repair. If the cost of repairs goes over $10,000, the homeowner is responsible for those costs.

Have not looked into the fine print yet. Must respond by 12/31/2023.

[mollyanna58]

Is there a deductible?

Some Homeowners insurance companies now offer service line coverage. It generally covers all buried service lines for a reasonable cost. You could check with your carrier.

[TheOtherMe]

No deductible, but a 30 day wait.  

I will need to call my insurance company before I do this.

It's a company called Homeserv, USA.  Will check them out, too.

[Pink Cashmere]

Dec 19, 2023 18:42:31 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I recently received something similar from a company called American Water Resources Of Tennessee.

For a monthly fee of $3.49 a month, the total protection amount is $10,000 per occurrence: up to 5,000 per occurrence for water service line repairs and up to an additional $5,000 per occurrence for water service line repairs to street and public sidewalk repair. If the cost of repairs goes over $10,000, the homeowner is responsible for those costs.

Have not looked into the fine print yet. Must respond by 12/31/2023.

I got those a couple of years before I moved. IIRC, there was some controversy at the time, because they came in envelopes with “The City of Memphis” stamp on them, to make it look more “official” or whatever, like it was the City saying it was something you needed to do. I specifically remember having a conversation with a supervisor at my job about it.

They way they were sent out back then, once I realized it was something like insurance, under the guise of being something official from the city, was an immediate turn off for me, and I didn’t look any further into it. I don’t like games like that, so never even considered whether it was actually something I might be interested in.

Please report back after you look into the fine print.

[Pink Cashmere]

I worked with a lady that at least 10 years ago, who started seeing a lot of weird looking flies in her house. They ended up being identified as “sewer flies”, I think. Long story short, something had happened with some buried pipes on her property, and that’s what was causing the issue with the weird flies. Over $20k OOP  and a lot of digging and who knows what else on her property (I can ask for details if anyone really wants to know, but I specifically remember the $20k cost lol), the problem was fixed, and no more weird flies in her home.

Because that was at least 10 years ago, idk exactly when, but at least that long, I can’t imagine how much whatever was wrong back then would cost today to fix.

[TheOtherMe]

It comes in an envelope with a return address of the utility company.  I did not like what I saw on BBB website, so I won't be doing this.

I will talk to my insurance company to see if coverage is available.

[daisylu]

I'm no expert, but I would think this would covered under your homeowners insurance. Plus this smells like spam/scam to me.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

A few years ago, we had a water leak in the line that ran from the road to the house…..it was about 10’ from the edge of the garage.  I do not remember the cost to repair it very much.  I’m pretty sure the water bill that we received from the leak was way more than the leak repair.

[soupandstew]

These policies are offered by utility companies and cities across the country - they aren't a scam but neither are they necessarily a good deal.  The first thing to do is think about how likely you are to incur an expense, how capable you are of handling it from your emergency fund, and whether you have other coverage through your homeowners policy.  

Most of the insurance policies like this being offered in my area cover gas and water lines only, not sewer.  Our homes were built in the 50's and 60's and yet gas line leaks are very rare (unless an idiot cuts through it while putting in a pool), and water line leaks uncommon.

I have "service line coverage" in my homeowners policy but I checked and it only covers damage to my water, sewer or gas line as a result of another covered loss.  That means if I have a covered loss such as a hurricane, tornado, fire etc. and the water, sewer or gas line is damaged in that event, I'm covered.  AS A GENERAL RULE, HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE DOES NOT COVER NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR DUE TO AGE.  It's like my roof, I'm covered if a hailstorm wipes it out, but not for it just getting old and sad.

What Pink Cashmere friend experienced is a failure of her home's primary sewer line which is usually the result of age and pipe deterioration. I live in fear of that happening as replacement is at least $20,000 and probably another $5,000 for restoration of landscaping.  And my homeowners doesn't cover it.  

Here, these plans run about $10/month for both water and gas line.  We don't buy it.  

[TheOtherMe]

I am not going to buy it but I will check with my insurance agent.  I know she told me that at the next renewal, I have to switch to another company on homeowner's insurance because my roof will be 15 years old and the current company will only pay a depreciated amount.  

So unless a big storms hits very soon, I will have to change companies.  I am sure that will come with an increase in the premium, too.

[finnime]

I didn't buy this coverage here in Massachusetts but did in Maryland. That neighborhood was built in the 1940's and several of my neighbors had service pipe failures that cost a lot to repair/replace. For about $13/mo the coverage included sewer pipes. It seemed like a good idea given near neighbors' experience. I never did put it to use.

[TheOtherMe]

Houses on my street started being built about 20 years ago.  I am guessing the lines went in at that time as it was a former farm and had no lines.