Service Line Coverage

A lot goes on behind the scenes to keep your home working and connected to the outside world. And while you might not think about your home’s underground utility lines — like water lines, sewer pipes and power lines — they play a major role in your day-to-day life. You’re often responsible for fixing these items when they break down, even when your city or town provides these services to you. When a service interruption happens, repairs can get expensive in a hurry.

At American Family Insurance, we’re here to help. Our service line coverage is a simple and affordable way to protect yourself from the high costs of service line failures. Let’s find out more about this coverage.

What Is Service Line Coverage?

Let’s say a tree root grew through your sewer pipe on your property and it caused a leak. You’d need to hire a professional to dig up and replace the pipe. And depending on how long the pipe is, you could be looking at thousands of dollars out of pocket for repairs. That’s where we’d step in to help.

At American Family Insurance, service line coverage helps pay for the cost to repair or replace damaged service lines up to $10,000 per incident once a $500 deductible is met.

Another great benefit to this coverage? If your home becomes uninhabitable due to a service line failure, we’ll help to cover the cost of a hotel stay while you wait to have the damages cleaned up and repairs finished.

What Does Service Line Insurance Cover?

Coverage is provided for underground piping or wiring that provides the following services to your premises: electrical power, heating, natural gas, waste disposal, compressed air, water, steam, internet access, telecommunications services, wide area networks or data transmission. However, service lines that aren’t underground aren’t covered by this endorsement. Here’s a list of occurrences covered by service line coverage:

How Do Service Lines Become Damaged?

You’d think that a strong pipe buried several feet underground would be safe from harm — but sometimes, that’s not the case. Although many of the problems listed below can take years to develop, they all can potentially lead to service line wear, breaks and eventually, service line failure. Here’s a list of the ways service lines can be damaged.

Frost Heave and Line Freezing

As the fall turns to winter, rainwater that’s saturated the soil around your home can freeze at the surface. This expansion of ice can cause sewer lines to “heave” upwards. The results can have a big impact on the pipes buried in your yard. When heaving is present on your property, it’s important to know how to inspect your foundation for signs of damage, too.

Corrosion and Rust

Over time, iron and steel-based sewer lines can oxidize and corrode. Small holes develop and fluid can leak out, further eroding the pipe.

Root and Tree Invasion

Nearby tree roots may be attracted to an active leak in your sewer line. Small tendrils of roots can infiltrate tiny crevices in pipes can crack them open over time as the roots continue to grow.

Line Collapse From Above-grade Items

If a heavy tree were to fall across your front yard, that force is sometimes enough to break buried sewer lines. Sometimes, even the weight of excavation equipment or moving trucks parked on the grass is enough to damage or destroy these lines. Landscaping accidents like these frequently crush sewer lines.

Stray Electrical Current

Arcing from frayed underground wiring can melt plastic service lines and degrade metal and iron pipes.

What Does Service Line Coverage Cost?

The small cost of service line insurance can really pay off if you ever need to repair or replace a damaged line. After you’ve paid the deductible, you’ll be covered up to the policy limit. Coverage is very affordable with additional service line coverage cost starting from $20 annually.

Do You Need Water, Sewer and Power Line Insurance?

Considering the high costs related to these types of repairs, it’s a smart choice to add this coverage to your policy. And it’s affordable! In fact, it’s often less than a meal out with the family each time your policy is up for renewal.

Service Line Coverage FAQs

We’ve got answers to some of the more common questions about your service line coverage.

Learn More About Your Service Line Coverage Options

Want to learn more or decide if this coverage is right for you? Connect with your American Family Insurance agent today and they’ll help you add this affordable, comprehensive and simple coverage to your policy.

You May Also Be Interested in These Additional Coverages: