Insurance Coverage item "Water Backup of Sewers or Drains"

[Casey Rolland]

My old insurance agent retired and sold his company to this new agent. I am told that my insurance coverage is lacking "Water Backup of Sewers or Drains" and this is the most frequently claimed items from Landlord Protection Insurance policy. I only have SFH for rentals and over the course of the last 15 years I have never had to file a claim (all the properties are connected to city sewer system).

Average yearly cost for this itemized coverage alone is $115/property. I signed up to it but I feel like this is an unnecessary item.

Can anyone advise if this coverage is needed?

I believe this item covers the repairs (only up to $10K BTW) if a tenant drops something to the sewer that clogs up the drainage completely.

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

Depends on how much of a hit you can handle out of pocket. City sewer lines sometimes get blocked, depending on how old they are, or nearby construction effects, and other issues. If you have a basement, with floor drains, how much damage could you get if the line backs up through those floor drains? If NO basement, what is potential damage...proper extraction, sanitation, removal/drying of walls and trim, personal property, etc. Remediation companies are EXPENSIVE. You can drop 50K for a serious main floor back up. A one man operation will be much less, but the liability for sewage cleanup is high.