Insurance for water line

[Mindy Bowden]

I got an offer from a utility company for one of my rental properties to purchase insurance for the exterior water line service for $4.95/month. Is it worth it or am I better off just saving that money? What is the likelihood of something happening to that line?

[Sheryl Sitman]

@Mindy Bowden AWR has a program officially endorsed by the city of Philadelphia at a cost of about $8 a month to ensure your water and sewer lines. this is special coverage negotiated by the city of Philadelphia which is more extensive than what AWR offers in other places. It is not unusual for there to be significant problems I think especially in the sewer lines in old cities and many Philly residents have had to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to repair their lines. When I read at this program and spoke with the person in the city responsible for monitoring it they assured me that this insurance would cover me for the kinds of repairs that could cost several thousands of dollars. I have used it once for one of my properties which had a sewer backup. They came out immediately and cleared the block but I had to pay for someone to come and clean up afterwards. There is no deductible. If in that same house I'll have it back up again then they'll be a records that there is a possible more serious problem and they would presumably scope and diagnose.