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February 13, 2009 at 7:43 pm #589782
chefMemberWe had a massive raw sewage leak from a broken pipe underneath our house this week, and from all appearances, it had been going on for at least 2 weeks before we discovered the source of the “smell”. However, it was determined to be a “sudden burst” and not a slow leak over time.
In any event, our homeowner’s insurance finally sent out a crew to clean out the crawl space, etc… but our adjuster is indicating that homeowner’s policies NEVER pay to repair the broken pipe – only the damage clean up is paid for.
Does this make sense to anyone? We are out of pocket $3k for the plumber’s bill and now fighting with the insurance to reimburse us for that. Seems to me that they would want to fix the pipe as part of the process to prevent it from happening again.
Anyone else out there ever had a similar problem or dispute with their insurance company?
February 13, 2009 at 7:54 pm #658053
inactiveMemberOh chef –
I’ve NOT had that happen, but I’m sure going to be following this thread to see what others have to advise you.
What a pain! And, so gross to boot! It has me thinking: I replaced all of my water lines from the street in and all of the pipes through the house. But, I did not EVER consider the sewage line. Uh. Oh. Is this the same as “side sewage” which I hear about, or it different? Maybe some feedback from good plumbing companies too would help?
Here’s to hoping you get this all cleaned up and resolved ASAP!
February 13, 2009 at 8:22 pm #658054
JimmyGMemberWell, about 12 years ago our side sewer was blocked by a neighbors tree roots and our insurance paid the total replacement and clean up costs.
Their rationale was that it’s cheaper for them to pay for it to be replaced than to continually pay for clean-up in our basement when it could (potentially) back up again.
But last summer our neighbors side sewer gave out after 50 years and his homeowners would NOT pay.
February 13, 2009 at 8:52 pm #658055
TammiWSMemberI had a similar thing happen a couple years ago on Christmas. Sewer began to backup in the basement and turned in a claim and they paid for the guys to come out and clean it up and put in the machines to dry it out and seal the basement but would not pay for the pipe fix itself. That was like 3K if I recall from the plumber in WS?? I think I had to pay for the snaking as well? But they did pay on a claim for water damage to the furnace to replace that….
It had to do with the leak starting outside of the house – which in this case it happened in the huge pipe 2 feet away from the exterior of the house (root damage). I argued it was still on my property which I pay insurance on but they wouldnt budge.
The plumber was encouraging me to replace the whole line from my house to the street to the tune of 15K or so. I havent done so that.
As a side note, I also once had the line behind the toilet break and water ran all through my house for a day while at work. I turned that and the sewer line in as claims and a year later was dropped and had to go on high deductible insurance for three years. It DOUBLED my insurance rates for three years so determine how much that might cost you to fix vs. turning in as a claim.
Good luck!
February 13, 2009 at 9:59 pm #658056
chefMemberThanks for the replies. This was an old concrete sewer pipe under our house – not a side sewer. I find it interesting that our policy says that the company will provide all “necessary repairs” to prevent future damage as a result of a covered loss. Seems to me they’d want to fix the hole in the pipe so they don’t have to keep pumping out raw sewage.
And yes Dood – the smell was gagging (we initially thought it was sewer gas from a bad seal under the toilet) but once the smell started coming out of our kitchen cabinets we knew we had a bigger problem!! I don’t know how these poor plumber and clean up people do it on a daily basis!!
We are waiting to hear the final word from the adjuster and will keep everyone posted. I asked the adjuster the other day that if my water pipes froze during the winter under my house – would they cover everything? He said they only pay to clean up the water damage – not fix the pipe – and that most homeowners policies are similar. So I advise everyone to get a hold of their agents and find out what your rights are in the event of any kind of pipe breakage.
February 13, 2009 at 10:30 pm #658057
wundrgrrrlParticipantAnd yes, be aware of what the insurance industry refers to as “nuisance claims”. These are the relatively small value claims that probably cost more for them to handle than the loss itself. A $3000 claim is small to them… and if followed by another claim within a window of time it can potentially lead to non-renewal, higher rates or increased deductible amount.
My parents experienced a similar issue a few years ago and we learned all about that topic!
February 13, 2009 at 11:27 pm #658058
alki_2008ParticipantI hate to bring up this topic, but have you checked for “toxic” mold?
I had a sewer back-up claim a few years ago that wasn’t properly cleaned up (ie, dried) for a few days and the mold had developed on/in the walls and floors. The clean up costs were in the tens of thousands, and my insurance company covered it. They didn’t pay for the much less costly sewer line repair…which had become clogged by tree roots.
After that though, they raised my premiums about 40-50% every year until the claim finally fell off my CLUE report. During that time, no other insurance company would offer me a policy because of that prior claim. My premiums are now back to a reasonable rate, since that claim has fallen out of the reporting window.
Also, the new policies don’t cover ‘mold’ anymore…so about 80% of my prior claim would be out-of-pocket if the same thing happened now. Needless to say, the entire tree was gone a few months later. :(
Good luck. Dealing with the insurance adjuster was a major battle…hope your experience goes a bit smoother.
February 13, 2009 at 11:42 pm #658059
Sky2625MemberSorry to nerd out on everyone, but a side sewer is any sewer connection from the main up to the drain/waste/vent piping in a private building. And the main is almost always in the street, and if not, is at least in a legal easement.
Chef, technically your concrete pipe *is* a “side sewer”, regardless of material. If not, that pipe was the main, meaning 1) I don’t know how the main was under your house, and 2) the repair and any clean-up was the responsibility of the city. :/
Good heads up though…everyone *should* check their policies to see what’s covered.
I’ve dealt with the same tree root problem myself…funny how the roots know that there’s water inside that PVC pipe.
As for mold, a lot of standard insurance policies will not insure against it anymore…the payouts have become too frequent and are a money-loser for the insurers. That said, you *can* insure against it (you can insure against anything really), but it would be a special addendum to your policy, with much higher rates.
February 13, 2009 at 11:45 pm #658060
inactiveMemberWhat good information everyone has offered up!
But, I have GOT to say, it rather makes me want to kick an insurance company in the knees! No offense to insurance people out there, but HOW FRUSTRATING for people.
Note to self: caveat emptor with the homeowner’s policy and always get three plumbing bids; Find the fine print for exclusions and limitations and window where rates increase. Review all immediately.
Yikes! Good luck chef!
March 5, 2009 at 6:31 pm #658061
chefMemberUpdate – After TWO sewer breaks and clean-ups, we finally have resolved the problem by removing the old sewer pipes out from under the house completely and re-routed outside. We’re up to $10k at this point in plumbing bills that the insurance has not covered because “they don’t cover the appliance or system that the discharge came from – accidentally or otherwise”. This apparently is standard language for all insurance policies.
We are still arguing over the paragraph that says “We will perform all necessary repairs to prevent the insured’s property from further damage caused by a covered loss”. Seems to me if the sudden burst is a covered loss, then repair of the pipes is necessary to prevent further damage.
Our advice to you – check out your homeowner’s policy and update any new items you have in your home (big screen tv’s, etc….) so that you have the most coverage possible.
So much for our crappy story………
March 5, 2009 at 10:22 pm #658062
RainyDay1235MemberSide note: “Dirty Jobs” just did an episode on a burst sewer pipe t- everything came up through a basement toilet. The basemend was coverd so you can imagine the projection. I love that show but had to turn the channel – it was too extreme for me. Mike Rowe seemed to be having a tough time as well….
March 5, 2009 at 10:50 pm #658063
rs261MemberI’m not sure about here, but in Chicago, the insurance company I had would only cover repairs to the line if it fell underneath the roof line. So anything in the yard, but not under the roofline we had to pay for. Again, not sure about here though.
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