**The info provided below is not specific to any individual insurance program or carrier….
Recently in Brooklyn a homeowner had experienced a sewer backup in the middle of the night. This was the second backup she had experienced within thirty days and the waste was starting to backup in her house. The homeowner was reminded that she had taken a precautionary measure three months prior, and enrolled in a newly offered insurance policy for her sewer line protection. She assumed that the policy was for broken pipes only and did not think to call them due to what she thoughts was a minor sewer line backup.
A technician from the sewer line protection company arrived at the house within 2 hours and was quick to locate two separate breaks on her sewer line, one was on her property and one was in the roadway. The technician advised the homeowner that a service rep would be in contact with her over the next 24 hours. The call came as a complete shock when she was advised that her broken sewer line was not going to be covered by the insurance program. She was told that the breaks occurred prior to her being signed up with the company and that they do not cover pre-existing problems. The homeowner was in complete awe, she could not figure out how it had been determined that her broken sewer line was pre-existing. She never had a problem with her sewer line and this was the exact reason she had signed up for the sewer line protection policy. She now had no choice but to hire a sewer installation company out of desperation and try to fight the sewer line insurance claims.
Harris Water Main & Sewer Contractors obtained an emergency permit to dig in the roadway and began the new sewer line installation within 8 hours. On the first day Harris began digging on the property and installed 15 feet of new 6” cast iron pipe from the building to the sidewalk, including all DEP inspections. The property was filled in with dirt and made safe overnight before the job would be completed throughout the next day.
Installing new pipe on property |
The roadway was opened on the second day when Harris encountered other utility lines in the street; this made for more challenging digging conditions and forced the installation crew to dig by hand. Harris was now up against the clock as they were expecting a DEP inspector over the next few hours and had several feet to dig down in the roadway.
Hand dig around utilities |
The crew was in the middle of installing the new pipe while the DEP inspector arrived at the building and waited 35 minutes before he could inspect and pass the inspection. The entire installation was completed within 48 hours, all while the property owner had been taking pictures to defend her insurance claim
