Going over your homeowner’s insurance policy options before you settle on a plan will determine how many issues you end up experiencing down the road. This can help tremendously if you ever experience broken sewer pipes that cause leaks, contamination, and other issues in your home.
Such issues may not seem like something you can’t handle on your own, but being able to afford having a professional come in and fix things up in a matter of hours will save you money on not having to pay for extra repairs and make you feel better about the home you’ve invested in. Here are some factors that determine if a broken sewer pipe is covered by your insurance.
How the pipe broke
Whether or not the repairs you have made to pipes are covered under your policy depends on what caused the pipes to break in the first place. You won’t be in much luck if the break is due to wear and tear from over the years, as this is not included in most plans. This means that you’ll have to conduct inspections as early as possible when you get a new home, and keep up with routine inspections to maintain your peace of mind.
However, you may be in luck if the pipes were broken for other reasons, such as construction problems and vandalism. You may also be lucky enough to be covered if an earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, or other natural disaster caused the damage. This, of course, depends on the state you live in, as some require a more coverage than others. The damage left behind may determine if you’ll need a service or equipment such as those offered by Tric Tools.
Location
Which pipe breaks and where it is located will also determine how much money you’ll have to spend on repairs. The majority of policies have a limit in the space that they cover, and that can be a complicated issue to resolve if the pipe that breaks is underground. Your best bet of being covered comes from the crack occurring in the foundation of your home, which you will most likely be informed of when you first go over the house you end up purchasing.
There may be an instance where a sewer pipe breaks and causes a leaking or contamination issue in some part of your home, but the pipe just happens to be outside of the “footprint” of the foundation. Despite the crack in the pipe being big enough to reach your home from your neighbor’s home, you might not be covered for any damages that may occur on your property.
Deductibles
Another factor that comes in to play for saving money for repairs of broken sewer pipes is the deductible of your policy. A deductible is a set amount of money that you will need to pay before the policy will start forking over some cash. You’ll need to be sure that you are able to have this amount available before you decide which policy to go with, as a variety of scenarios that may not be related to damage to your home can lead to extra spendings that can get in the way of such security.
It is also important for your deductible to have enough money to cover the worst damage that a broken sewer pipe can cause. Such an incident can cause a wide range of damage to your home, as well as other areas that may result in you having to pay for it, as well. If the cost and deductible don’t match up, you won’t be covered.
Additional coverage
Being covered for broken sewer pipes may be a piece of cake if your policy comes with additional coverage, which you should purchase if you have the chance. The issues that come with flooding, drain backup, and similar situations can have the same impacts as those that result from broken pipes. One of these complications may lead to the other which will allow your policy to hit two birds with one stone rather than cost you money on separate occasions.
However, you may not be in luck if the damage from the pipe resulted in similar issues but is not covered. As we previously stressed, you need to go over your policy to see what it covers and in what situations so that you know if you’ll have to look somewhere else for additional coverage.
Consider these factors so that you have insurance that covers broken sewer pipes.