Water and sewer main insurance?

hey all, I just got a letter from the DEP offering a $12/mo policy for repairing/replacing broken sewer and water pipes connected to the city mains outside the house. This was covered somewhat on a thread last year, but I was wondering whether anyone else has signed up for it and what their experiences have been. Given the cost of a main replacement, is it worth $12 a month? here’s last year’s thread: http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/forums/topic/water-sewer-line-insurance/ thanks!

berniceshola

in Sewer 11 years and 4 months ago

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ssols21 | 10 years and 8 months ago

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I recently had my first experience with American Water for one of the 5 properties that I own in NYC. The end result was my property being dug for two days to replace one section of pipe, it was a mess. My tenants then told me that he same exact smell and sewage backup was occurring the very next day. I call American water right away when they sent an investigator to my house. I received a call back within 4 hours stating that there is another problem with the pipe yet will not be covered by the insurance. The operator told me something along the lines of being a pre existing condition, I still cannot figure out how they have concluded on this. I have been back and forth several times over the previous week and still no resolution. I now have to pay thousands of dollars for a repair, it is beyond my understanding how they get away with this. I have also come to find out that many people gave had a similar situation. I have also found out that most properties in manhattan are not covered by the insurance due to the fine print and the types/size of pipe they cover. You would think they would make you aware of this before spending any money. I am completely dissatisfied and have dropped coverage on all of my properties. My battle will not stop here!

nancyash | 10 years and 8 months ago

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I had a terrible experience with the insurance. I first called and they told me that my home was not covered, I had to email them a copy of my bill when they finally horned the fact and sent someone to my house for inspection. The next day I received notification that they will not cover my claim because I was only in the house for 3 years and the pipes had problems prior to me purchasing the home. They gave me some line about being able to tell by the way the pipe was cracked. I have tried everything with this American water company and not help, they say I am on my own! I have a neighbor a few doors down who had a similar situation but they told her that another contractor working in the area broke her sewer pipe and for this reason it is not covered. Do not waste your money!!

lisamaza | 11 years and 2 months ago

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ABSOLUTELY buy water and sewer line insurance. My sewer line collapsed and AWR paid for the entire thing. Liberty Water and Sewer did the work. I’m pretty sure the insurance saved me about $15,000\. I must say that at first, I thought the insurance was a scam and they would try to pull a “preexisting condition” excuse on us, but we had no problems at all.

Townie | 11 years and 4 months ago

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Just had my original lead water main replaced after it started to leak. Contractor who did the work said it would have been completely covered under DEP plan. (He’s one of the certified contractors). He took one look at my sewer line and told me to sign up as it could fail or more likely be done in by the large street tree”s root system one day. Could have really used that money on a new roof.

housepoor | 11 years and 4 months ago

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My neighbor bought the insurance and when there was a leak which required replacing his pipes, the insurance covered everything (other that repairing a small hole by his stoop). The insurance people hired the contractor, Liberty Water & Sewer and even got them to come out and do the work on a weekend (on over time). He never saw a bill and saved probably close to $20,000 given that they had to go all the way across the street for the new hook-up and the up charge for weekend work. The insurance is a no brainer.

BenGazi | 11 years and 4 months ago

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Buy it. You probably spend more on coffee

kidbklyn | 11 years and 4 months ago

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That is the mains are located across the street with my age unknown lines running to them.

kidbklyn | 11 years and 4 months ago

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With the water and sewer lines located across the street and my not knowing how old they are, any repairs to them would be very expensive. I opted for the insurance.

BSDOD | 11 years and 4 months ago

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I went with it. I figured my pipes have already lasted 115 years already, small price to pay.

metalwork | 11 years and 4 months ago

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I think its so worth it.