[NSFW] i have issue

Hi everuone,

Are there any insurance folks here?

Tree roots got into the sewer line which has resulted in sewer backing up into the house.The plumber said the section has to be replaced to the tune of almost 4K!

Need to know if property insurance will cover for something like this. Or am I totally stuck with the bill?

thanks,

maxbale said:

Hi everuone,

Are there any insurance folks here?

Tree roots got into the sewer line which has resulted in sewer backing up into the house.The plumber said the section has to be replaced to the tune of almost 4K!

Need to know if property insurance will cover for something like this. Or am I totally stuck with the bill?

thanks,

Click to expand...

Is it worth making a claim for only $4k? If you make a claim on your homeowners insurance for that small amount it is still going to count as a claim. It will be on your CLUE report and will hit your rates for home owner's insurance and car insurance.

maxbale said:

Hi everuone,

Are there any insurance folks here?

Tree roots got into the sewer line which has resulted in sewer backing up into the house.The plumber said the section has to be replaced to the tune of almost 4K!

Need to know if property insurance will cover for something like this. Or am I totally stuck with the bill?

thanks,

Click to expand...

I think that depends on your specific policy. There might be a rider that covers stuff like the roots growing into your sewer line.
Most basic homeowners policies probably don't cover a blocked sewer. But my guess is it would cover if a toilet back up and caused
damage in the house. Just my own personal assessment. Get your policy out and read it over.

maxbale said:

Hi everuone,

Are there any insurance folks here?

Tree roots got into the sewer line which has resulted in sewer backing up into the house.The plumber said the section has to be replaced to the tune of almost 4K!

Need to know if property insurance will cover for something like this. Or am I totally stuck with the bill?

thanks,

Click to expand...

Check with your insurance agent. They should be able to tell you. Depending on insurance company it won't necessarily go against you. I've made a claim with mine and it didn't change anything. 4k isn't a small amount to me, and probably not to you either.

maxbale said:

Hi everuone,

Are there any insurance folks here?

Tree roots got into the sewer line which has resulted in sewer backing up into the house.The plumber said the section has to be replaced to the tune of almost 4K!

Need to know if property insurance will cover for something like this. Or am I totally stuck with the bill?

thanks,

Click to expand...

It depends on your policy, but even if it does cover it, you'll have to pay the deductible first. If it does, it should not appreciably raise your rates, however.

Before you call them, call the City. The problem may be on their side and they may fix it, or have a program that splits costs with you. Plus, the City should have a powerful roto-cutter that can cut through roots.

And, 4K sounds a little high, unless they're planning on replacing your entire sewer line. Basically, you just need to find a guy with a backhoe to trench the area and then the plumber can get down there and replace a broken line.

But, until the line is actually exposed, you really don't know what you're dealing with. The caveat here is that if you're in a very, very old house that has cast or clay lines, you really might need to replace them entirely.

I would call the City before putting a lot of faith in the plumber's opinion.

It’s not a ficus tree is it?

Rexedgar said:

It’s not a ficus tree is it?

Click to expand...

No. Didn't you read the OP?

It's the common Shit-Eating tree.

I live in a 100 year old house. We had this exact problem 2 years ago. The 100 year old sewer line finally broke, collapsed and the roots clogged it up. Had to have it replaced from under our cellar, all the way out to the sidewalk.

In our case, no the insurance paid nothing. 100 year old sewer pipe, they didn't want to hear about it. They looked at it as 'normal household maintenance' that is the responsibility of the home owner. Me.

BUT it is free to call them and ask. Give them a call, maybe you'll have better luck.

poweRob said:

No. Didn't you read the OP?

It's the common Shit-Eating tree.

Click to expand...

Off topic: Nice first post on a political debate forum!

maxbale said:

Hi everuone,

Are there any insurance folks here?

Tree roots got into the sewer line which has resulted in sewer backing up into the house.The plumber said the section has to be replaced to the tune of almost 4K!

Need to know if property insurance will cover for something like this. Or am I totally stuck with the bill?

thanks,

Click to expand...

Probably not. It’s maintenance like roofing and paint.

I have a caveat, if I may, and this is for all adults who have insurance, which is, well, all adults.

Make sure that your insurance company properly codes your claims when sending them to LexisNexis. My car insurance went up like $150 a month, with no wrecks, no tickets, and no at-fault claims. When they couldn't explain why, I started shopping for another insurance company. They ran my CLUE report and said that there were 4 accidents on there, and they were all registered with no fault indicator.

What that means is that when the report gets sent to LexisNexis, a fault indicator should tell LN whether you were at fault, or not at fault for a claim. Obviously, not at fault means that your policy is not going to go up, and if you are insurance shopping, your new quotes won't be astronomical. If they are registered "at fault," you are screwed. You are going to pay a lot. If there is no fault indicator at all, the new insurance companies are going to run your claims history and see that you have a claim that is listed as "no fault indicator." Basically, what this means to you, the consumer, is that you are guilty until proven innocent. The insurance company has to charge you the amount that you would be charged if you WERE at fault, and then once you can prove to them that you were not at fault, they will adjust your premiums.

Our new insurance company wanted to charge us almost as much as our mortgage payment, until we proved to them that we were not at fault for the claims, and then they lowered it back to a more normal rate.

Bottom line - don't trust those bastards to do the right thing, because chances are, people are just asleep at the switch, not caring that failure to include that fault indicator could harm someone financially.

** to check this, simply contact LexisNexis and ask them for a report. If you call them, they will help you over the phone as well.