Does home insurance cover sewer backup?

Sniff, sniff. Ugh. What’s that nasty smell? It smells…well, it smells like…You don’t even want to think about what it smells like. But it smells nasty, and you fear that it’s a sewer backup issue, or that the sump pump has failed. Great. That’s extremely pleasant. Clearly, it’s going to take a lot to get things back the way they’re supposed to be. But is sewer backup covered by home insurance? We’ll explain.

Is sewer backup covered by home insurance?

Generally, no, sewer backup and sump pump failure are not covered by home insurance. This particular stinky situation is excluded from most home insurance policies. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it’s easy to add a sewer backup endorsement to your insurance so that it will. (Oops – fancy word alert, sorry. An endorsement is simply an addition to an insurance policy that adjusts the coverage.)

What does the sewer backup endorsement cover?

The sewer backup endorsement can cover:

• Water and stuff floating in the water that backs up through the sewer or drain.
• Water or stuff in the water that overflows from a sump – even if it happens because the sump has a mechanical issue and fails epically. (Property that’s damaged by the gross will typically be covered, but the sump itself might not be.)

TAKE NOTE: Owner negligence is usually not covered (like, umm, forgetting to turn on the sump pump.) Neither are damages caused by a flood.

Prevent sewer issues.

To prevent a potentially very messy and smelly situation, keep these tips in mind:

• Never flush anything other than toilet paper. NEVER. EVER.
• Don’t wash grease down the drain. Unless you want that grease to solidify and block your pipes.
• Keep an eye on dastardly trees that can grow their roots into cracks in the sewer line.
• Have your sewer line inspected regularly by a trustworthy professional.
• Don’t put oils down the drain.

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