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What is sewer and water backup coverage on your homeowners insurance policy?
Water backup coverage is an additional, optional coverage that you can choose to purchase on your homeowners insurance. This coverage can help pay for damage done by water that has backed up through your sewer, sump pump drains or other similar means.
What does water backup coverage cover on your homeowners insurance policy?
Water backup coverage helps pay for damage from water due to back up. It can help pay for the removal, the construction and the remediation of whatever damage was done by the water that was backed up. Water backup can occur for a number of different reasons.
Here’s a list of things that generally are covered under water backup coverage:
- City Pipes
- Blockage
- Gutter System Backup
- Damaged Sewer or Drain
- Sump Pump Overflow
- Tree Roots
As always look at your specific policy to make sure you know which things are covered and which things are not. However, the majority of those things are covered under most insurance policies. If you purchase the water backup endorsement.
What does water back backup coverage not cover on your homeowners insurance policy?
Water backup coverage will not pay for water damage that occurs from outside water sources, such as floods and natural disasters. This is water that is coming from outside the home and is not covered. You can buy separate policies, flood policies that cover these things.
However, this is not a coverage under the water backup endorsement. Some policies will not pay for the replacement or repair of the water backup source. In other words, what this means is if your sump pump fails and breaks and therefore water backup damage occurs and damages your home, this endorsement will pay for the damage done by the water, but it will not pay for the broken sump pump, it will not replace the broken sump pump, just the damage done because the sump pump failed or broke.
Do you need water backup coverage on your homeowners insurance policy?
Most likely, yes. And keep in mind this is a coverage that you have to select. It is not going to come automatically. However, if you have a two story home, if you have a basement, if you have an older home or if you have a sump pump, you need water backup coverage.
How much water backup coverage do you need on your homeowners insurance policy? How much you need depends on your specific circumstance, the size of your home, the value of your home, the risks at your home, assessing the potential damage that could occur. Should there be a water backup situation.
Most policies offer the endorsement that starts at $10,000 and there’s a lot of companies that go all the way up to $100,000. So it’s important to assess your own specific scenario and situation and then determine how much coverage you need.
How much does water backup coverage cost on your homeowners insurance policy?
Water backup coverage is a coverage that is generally very inexpensive. It does not cost that much for most policies. If you add on the endorsement, starting at $10,000, you’re only going to pay about $30 a year for this valuable coverage. Of course, as you raise that limit from 10,000 to 20 to 30 to 40 to 50, the price will go up.
However, for the value that this endorsement ads, it is well worth the money. As always, we recommend you consult and work with an independent insurance broker. They can take a look at your specific scenario and help you craft a policy that is specific and the best policy for you dealing with price and coverage.