Do you have a basement? Did you know that sewer & drain back up, or sump pump failure is not covered? Yep, no coverage. You have to add it by endorsement to your policy to have that coverage. And the coverage is for both the building and personal property in your basement combined. If you have a finished basement with a bunch of furnishings $10,000 in sewer, drain, and sump pump failure coverage is NOT enough. It may cost more than 10K to get the water out and dry out the structure. Leaving all the repairs and personal property replacement on your shoulders. Run and look at your home policy, if you have a basement and don't have coverage or a very low amount, re-think that coverage for your home. And for you want to know it all nerds, like me here is a breakdown f why it is not covered under your home policy contract.
1. The intention of homeowners insurance is to cover average losses that are accidental and or an act of God. We all pay in with our carriers and our carriers pay claims out of that premium pool.
2. There are several exclusions and limitations of coverage throughout the home policy because they can't cover just everything it would be an unaffordable product that no one could have. And we all need coverage, so the policy covers most common home losses like wind, hail, fire, theft, accidental discharge from a plumbing member or appliance.
3. The back up of a sewer line, drain, or sump pump failure is caused by an on slot of water that causes the sewer line to back up, a drain to back up, or a sump pump to possibly fail. That is a catastrophic risk much like earthquake and flood. Thus, why it is not covered on the home policy and can only be added by endorsement as an additional coverage you pay additional premium for.
4. You would not file a flood claim on your home policy because flood is not covered. Neither is the back up of a sewer line, drain, or damage resulting from a failed sump pump. If you have a basement that is a higher risk, not all people have basements so to cover your additional exposure properly, you need the sewer, drain, and sump failure protection to give you the coverage you need. Now you know, if you have a basement, you have an additional risk exposure you need to insure. - Heather Harris
Heather Harris
I’m Heather Gibson Harris, owner of Brookson Insurance, which I started in 2009 after a career as a claims adjuster for personal home and commercial insureds. My career has been my passion for many years, especially my time in catastrophe claim work.