There are likely two reasons why you're reading about underground sewer line coverage in Central New York:
- You received something in the mail from your water utility company, like OCWA or,
- You found this article while searching for information about aging infrastructure beneath your home.
Whatever brought you here, the reality remains: you're responsible for the underground sewer lines that run from your house to the street.
Should those aging lines rupture, it would require expensive repairs that neither a standard home insurance policy nor the municipality will typically cover.
Thankfully, we're an insurance agency residing in a town that dates back to the eighteenth century. We have experience finding coverage options for clients with older properties, including underground service line coverage for aging infrastructure beneath homes—particularly for older properties.
We'll share information about coverage options for this potential situation.
Discovering that expensive repair work isn't addressed by your home insurance policy can be challenging.
You shouldn't have to anticipate every possible coverage question on your own.
You're not an insurance professional, after all. You just want to be informed.
We get it! We’re homeowners too.
By the end of this article:
- You’ll know how to obtain coverage against a surprising and expensive breakdown of the all-important underground sewer line.
- You’ll learn what this insurance will and won’t cover.
- You’ll also learn how to determine the amount of coverage needed and the average cost to purchase that coverage.
So let’s dive in.
Why Underground Sewer Line Ruptures Are Expensive Headaches Waiting to Happen
Most CNY homeowners believe that when they buy homeowners insurance, their problems are gone because they’re covered for every possible problem that can go wrong with their home.
Especially the really expensive stuff.
Sadly, too many unsuspecting insurance buyers find out the hard way that they’re not covered for those things until it’s too late.
A ruptured underground sewer line has long been one of those claims that have gone unpaid, leaving many policyholders feeling betrayed by their carrier.
Sewer line breakage is often sudden and costly. Since the lines are beneath the ground there is no way to check in on them to determine their condition.
Being underground also leaves sewer lines among those out-of-sight, out-of-mind items that fall off your list of priorities.
While you might replace a water heater every ten years or so, the sewer line sits untouched for decades until the day it bursts, spewing contaminated wastewater onto your property!
How Do I Prepare for an Underground Sewer Line Rupture?
You can prepare for that inevitable catastrophe by obtaining the proper insurance.
There’s a policy add-on specific to this situation: an underground service line endorsement. The best part? This coverage can be added to a homeowners insurance policy.
Seems easy enough, right? And it is, for the most part.
The challenge is that not all insurance companies offer this endorsement.
You could buy it as a standalone policy, but it’s more expensive and often comes with limited coverage and higher deductibles.
That’s why we advise homeowners to go with an insurance carrier that allows policyholders to add underground sewer line coverage to their home policy.
We work with several regional carriers that allow you to add the endorsement.
Learn more about how policy endorsements work.
How Much Underground Sewer Line Coverage Do I Need?
Once you've decided to look into underground service line insurance, how do you determine the amount of coverage to consider?
You'll want to calculate the distance between your house and the street.
Forbes released a comprehensive cost analysis for sewer line repair projects in January 2023, which you can read by following the link.
In that article, Forbes highlighted that sewer line repair costs are usually based on the number of linear feet of piping used.
As the article also illustrates, it’s not uncommon to surpass $7,000 or even $10,000 in costs for the average house. Thankfully, most carriers with the option to add this endorsement offer at least $10,000 in coverage, with many going as high as $25,000.
This coverage may be more or less than you need, but the endorsement puts you in a better position than you would be without it.
Underground Sewer Line Coverage Exclusions
Before adding this coverage to your homeowners policy, there is one very important item to consider: exclusions.
To clarify, a policy exclusion is a provision that removes a specific risk from coverage.
Exclusions are not considered insured perils, so carriers will not pay claims for losses arising from exclusions.
As with all insurance policies, certain causes of loss are excluded.
The underground service line endorsement is no different.
One exclusion to note is earth movement. Any damage from earth movement will not be covered, and that includes any loss that was a result of:
- Earthquakes
- Sinkholes, or
- Shifting ground
It’s essential for you to be armed with this knowledge ahead of time.
The average cost to add this coverage to your home policy is approximately $45 per year.
The cost may increase if you add more coverage, and your home insurance deductible typically applies to any claim.
However, the premium cost is far easier to handle than a sudden $7,200 out-of-pocket expense following a sewer line rupture.
Learn how exclusions affect insurance policies.
How Do I Get Underground Sewer Line Coverage?
Adding this valuable endorsement is usually affordable.
If the day comes and you walk outside to an extremely wet and stinky front yard you’ll be glad to know you made a solid insurance buying decision.
You’ll get the mess cleaned up, and your plumbing will be back in working order.
But like other insurance-related situations, going without coverage is a gamble.
Sure. Nothing might happen on your watch, but if it does, do you want to be on the hook for the cost?
Eventually, that aging sewer line will decay and rupture, so obtaining coverage is essential to prevent you from bearing the full repair or replacement expense.
Your sewer line is not the most exciting topic. We’re with you there. But we also understand that you don’t care to learn everything there is to know about insurance.
You just want to avoid surprises and get back to your life.
Our licensed agents can help identify coverage options for your home. Together we can look at adding underground service line coverage to your homeowners policy.
Start preparing today by clicking the Get a Quote button below, and we'll share information about what adding this coverage would look like.
If you’re not quite ready to take the plunge but want to know what other things are left out of home insurance policies, read our article “What’s Not Covered by Homeowners Insurance?”
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