Sewer Backup Exposure

Sometimes, man and nature mix together like sweet and sour. It may not be smooth, but it’s still tasty and complex and allows both man and nature to discover entirely new sets of boundaries and opportunities. Other times, man and nature come together like sour and bitter—unpleasant, unredeemable and dangerous. If you have old trees with deep root systems, then it’s possible that your sewer system and your trees might exemplify this unpleasant mix of nature and man in such a way that it results in damage and loss to your home and/or business after your sewer backs up.

Home insurance and commercial property insurance don’t necessarily provide coverage for sewer backups or even the overflow of your basement’s sump pump. If you feel that you are exposed to the risk of sewer backup in your home or business, make sure your agent knows to have sewer backup coverage added for an accurate amount based on your risk of loss. Left untreated, sewer backups are hazardous and can get worse over time, even leading to bacterial contaminations and mold proliferation—something that is not covered in a home insurance policy.

Of course, nature isn’t the only cause of sewer backups. Throwing unsuitable items such as coffee grounds, dental floss, food and plastic items down the drains of your home can also result in clogs and backups. Teach your family (or employees) what items can and can’t be flushed down the toilet or rinsed down the drains, and schedule routine visits with a plumber in order to keep your lines clear and to get advanced warning about potential problems. If you have a septic tank, backup problems will generally be covered by the same sewer backup coverage as a city sewage system would, but talk to your agent to find out for sure.

One final note—if the sewer backup is caused by a flood, which is defined as the rising of a natural body of water, then it is possible that special sewer backup coverage in your home insurance or commercial property insurance will not cover the damage. Instead, you may need to rely on your flood insurance coverage to cover those damages since technically, the incident prompting the damage is a flood.