Hello, I own an investment 2 family property in the Bronx and it currently has a broken sewer line 31 feet away from the front of the house. I determined that by getting an independent company to perform a camera inspection. They quoted me $14K to fix the problem since permits, DEP involvement, trenching etc. was required. Currently there is no blockage but when it rains there is almost flooding every time. I also have sewer & water line insurance provided by DEP via American Water Resources (AWR) but every time I call them, they say there has to be a clog and all they will take care of will be fixing the clog. Also they won't come out if it is raining because they believe all NYC sewer systems are stressed. Basically this makes the insurance useless even though they claim to cover up to $8,000 in repairs of a damaged sewer line.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips or recommendations of what I can do. I can obviously pay the $14K to repair the line but really hoping there are other options of either convincing AWR that it is their responsibility to fix this. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

@Raza Rizvi

That sounds unfortunate. I'd definitely like to see where this goes because I also pay for the AWR insurance. Aren't they affiliated with DEP? If so, maybe you can reach out to DEP and see if they have a recommendation. 

First and most obvious answer is to get a second or third quote. I went through a similar issue here in Philly and had estimates ranging from $4-13K. Quite a range for the same work.

I would read your insurance contract. It should spell out what's covered and what isn't. I would definitely pursue the insurance. A similar plan I had wouldn't cover clogs, but would cover breakage/replacement. (Or at least some parts of the replacement)

Seems silly to have an $8000 policy that only covers clogs. :)