Home Insurance Coverage Questions: Sewer Back-Up Coverage

We’ve all experienced heavy rains and we can all agree that there’s no better feeling than coming back to a warm and dry home. However, when that amount of rain overwhelms drainage sewers, water only has one place to go: straight into your home.

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Why You Should Add Water Backup Coverage to Your Homeowners Insurance Policy

As extensive as the damage can be, it’s not typically covered by the standard homeowner’s insurance policy. Sewer backups are also not covered in the flood protection provided by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is why it’s important to invest in water backup insurance.

What is Water Backup Insurance?

Also known as sewer backup insurance, water backup insurance must be purchased as an extension of your standard homeowners insurance policy. Water backup insurance offers coverage for any damage done by raw sewage backing up into your home.

Sewer backup insurance also offers coverage if your sump pump were to overflow and cause damage to your home as well. Did you know that scenario is also typically excluded in a standard homeowner’s insurance policy? 

Water backup coverage also offers loss of use coverage, which provides you with clean accommodations while repairs are being made for your home to be safe to occupy again. 

Do I Need Water Backup Coverage?

The average cost of water backup coverage ranges from $50 to $250 annually, depending on your risk exposure and the limits you select.

However, when compared to how much a sewer backup incident would cost you, the coverage seems priceless. According to sewage industry experts, the average cleanup cost is approximately $7.00 per square foot of the affected area. This means that your 1,000 square foot basement would cost you around $7,000 to clean and repair.

There are many misconceptions on who really needs sewage backup coverage. Regardless of whether you live on top of a hill or if you don’t have a basement, the risk is always present. In fact, between 2009 and 2013, water damage claims accounted for more than a quarter of all homeowners property damage insurance claims.

Don’t subject yourself to being unprepared should disaster strike. If raw sewage were to contaminate your home, it’s always best to be prepared to avoid dealing with the financial fallout and cleanup on your own.

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