Sewers

Will my new homeowners insurance pay for.....?

I just bought a new home on October 17th and had it inspected. I was only in the home for 6 days and already the sewer is clogged up and had to have a plumber out who said I would need all new sewer lines because mine were full of roots and it would cost around $1500, which I don't have. Would my home insurance cover this, or at least some of it???

Public Comments

1. The will probably pay for the cleanup, but NOT for the repair. I would get a second opinion on the cost of the repair... call Roto Rooter : http://www.rotorooter.com/
2. Did you buy this house brand new? If so, I would contact the construction company on the house. I am not sure if homeowner's insurance will cover this.
3. Your insurance will probably not cover the cost to repair your sewer lines. However, any damage that resulted from the sewer backing up should be covered. You may want to look at the paper work from your house closing. Many include home warranty coverage for one year from purchase date. Good luck
4. The insurance would probably pay for the damage, but not the repairs (like others have already stated). However, I'd contact the real estate agent to find out if any problems with the sewer were ever disclosed. It's possible, but not probable that this is the first time there have been issues if the lines were that bad. You may even want to check with the inspector to see if this was something they check. The reason I say this is because the prior homeowner is required to disclose any issues like this to a prospective buyer. If they were aware of the problem and did not disclose you, you might be able to seek legal action against them. Not recommending that you get "sue" happy, but something to look into if you find the house becoming a money pit with other issues like this.
5. First step is to read your contract. There is a section that deals with "losses we cover." Read it and the accompanying "losses we do not cover" section very carefully. In most contracts, accidental release of water is covered, but there are often exclusions for back-up of water (unless you purchased this coverage separately as an endorsement to the policy - often called sump pump or water backup). If you have questions, you should contact your agent (assuming you purchased through an independent agent). If coverage would not be afforded, do not file a claim The next place to look for help is your warantee. At purchase you should have been offered the option to buy a homeowner's warrantee. If you purchased this coverage, it will likely cover the damages and repairs minus a small deductible. If you didn't purchase that coverage, likely your home inspector did not check for this while he did your home inspection. You can check CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange - see your agent about this) to see if a related claim was ever filed. Definitely get a second opinion about the cost of repair. I hope you get your issue sorted out - best of luck!
6. Nope. I've seen TONS of these claims denied. It's particularly prevelant when you have terra cotta pipes. Problem is, sewer lines are NOT in the house - they are outside of the house so they aren't covered. Also, the only "loss" is a maintenance issue - there isn't any damage to the house, ya know? Here's a thought, though - did the homeowner know that there was a root problem, and fail to disclose it? You might have a lawsuit against the prior owner - you might be able to make THEM pay for the repair, if they knew there was a problem and didn't disclose it.