Will renters insurance (for a house) generally cover damages from a backed up sewer drain?

Question

Apparantly tree roots grew into the pipes and caused it to back up and spill into the basement. We have over 50 boxes with water and "more" type damage. Farmers insurance won't tell me what my policy covers without me first filing a claim. However, if I file a claim, and find out it is not covered, it will stay on my record and be a negative when we buy a house and could keep us from getting a decent ins. rate. Thanks

Answer 1

Sounds like a nasty situation! And your insurer has put you in a nasty predicament by not being willing to tell you whether they'd cover the claim or not.

In fact, some policies will not cover the types of water damage caused by a sewer drain. If I were you, I'd first read the fine print on my policy very closely. What you are looking for is an exclusion of water damage from sewers or "external connections" or language of that type. In fact, check very closely for what it says regarding the coverage of any kind of water related damage.

I'm hoping you'll find that city water and sewage pipe breakage that results in damage to your contents will be covered. After all, you bought renters insurance to insure your stuff from exactly this kind of problem. However, don't be surprised if it doesn't cover this...

While you are doing this work, call your municipality's offices and tell them about the damage, and inquire if THEIR insurance policy will cover it. They may indicate no, but it's worth a try.

In the end, I've heard of cases of sewer damage to people's homes where they had to sue the city / municipality in order to get some compensation. Here's hoping that's not your case.

Answer 2

Renter insurance, financially covers the damages to your contents from such types of problems, but don't be stunned if it doesn't cover this. Since, some policies will not cover water damages as a result of a sewer drain.

RE:
Will renters insurance (for a house) generally cover damages from a backed up sewer drain?
Apparantly tree roots grew into the pipes and caused it to back up and spill into the basement. We have over 50 boxes with water and "more" type damage. Farmers insurance won't tell me what my polic...

Answer 3

My husband is a Farmers property adjuster and he deals with this daily and if you called 800-Help Point.....unfortunately they are not much help (the Help Point people, not the property adjusters) and besides, you should have a copy of your policy to refer to so YOU know what coverage you have.

I think it works like this: the renters insurance covers damage to the renters contents...for any reason. It won't however, cover for damage to the structure--this is the responsibility of the owner of the house. But as for the renters contents, they should be covered less the deductible and depreciation (but you may be able to recover this back 1) depending on your renters policy and 2) if you repurchase the items.)

If you file a claim and it's a covered loss you can withdraw your claim at any time. If your claim is NOT a covered loss it will be denied. You do have a duty to mitigate your damage as well, so be sure you do so.

Answer 4

Renter insurance, financially covers the damages to your contents from such types of problems, but don't be stunned if it doesn't cover this. Since, some policies will not cover water damages as a result of a sewer drain.

Answer 5

I understand your frustration. Heres why the insurance company hesitates to tell you if its covered or not over the phone:
Without sending an adjuster out to the property to look at the damage and the pipe they can't determine the true cause of the backup. Most policies exclude backups or offer a rider that can provide coverage up to a certain amount. But if a pipe bursts that is usually covered. Surface water or a flood in most cases is not covered. I would take inventory of what was in the boxes. Try to come up with a total dollar amount before you decide whether or not to put the claim in.

Answer 6

I assume you are the renter. Ask the landlord to see the policy or at least tell you the policy form number.

Farmer's uses ISO policy forms, so if you get the form number you should be able to look up a copy of the form and determine what the policy covers.

This is not really the type of accident or event a renter's policy would cover, so you shouldn't get your hopes up.

Answer 7

Bunk. Your Farmers AGENT should be able to tell you if your policy has the "Backup of Sewers and Drains" endorsement on it. You can pull a copy of your renewal declarations yourself, and see if this endorsement is listed. They usually charge about $25 for it, so it WOULD show on the renewal declarations, with the premium.

I'm assuming you're only looking for coverage for the boxes of contents you have stored in the basement.

Just call the agent, and ask, "Do I have the Backup of Sewers & Drains endorsement on my policy?" It's not a hypothetical coverage, and it's not a hypothetical claim question - it's a pretty straight yes or no answer.

If you have the endorsement, it will be covered, up to the limit - usually $5,000 or $10,000, subject to your deductible. If the endorsement is not on your policy, it's not covered.

Answer 8

The people you are speaking to cannot tell you if it is covered or not because that is not their area of expertise. They do not have the authority to approve or deny coverage or to interpret policy coverage’s. When you call the Helppoint you are speaking to a call center employee. Their job is to enter in the claim. The don't know if it covered as it would be physically impossible for a person to know the details of coverage on every policy and type of insurance for all the states they sell in.

Farmers takes the matter of coverage very seriously. The claim would have to be turned in so the claim could be assigned to a property adj. that is trained in homeowner’s policies for your state. They would investigate to see if the claim is covered. If this is a loss that is not covered the adj has to review policy and write up a policy coverage review for his supervisor and his supervisor's supervisor to review and approve. The adj does not have authority to deny coverage. They are not purposefully being coy they just have to investigate coverage and don’t want to misspeak. If you are not sure get a copy of the policy and read it yourself. Your agent should be able to provide.

Answer 9

depends on the policy