Should homeowners buy coverage in case their water or sewer line breaks? (2024)

Utility companies that provide water and sewer often remind customers that service lines are the homeowner's responsibility if they break, leak or get clogged.

Service lines are the ones between a home and the meters, and they usually run under lawns and landscaping and possibly driveways. Repairing or replacing them can be a costly plumbing job.

With that in mind, some utilities offer insurance-like products that promise to cover repairs, in most cases, for a monthly fee. Charleston Water System customers have likely seen solicitations for such coverage, possibly several times yearly.

So is paying for that coverage a good idea?

As with most optional insurance or warranty products, there's not a clear yes-or-no answer. It's a calculation that considers cost, risk, coverage details, and personal preference.

Water and sewer line coverage tends to come in two forms. It can be offered at low cost directly by a utility, as Mount Pleasant Waterworks does, along with the Grand Strand Water & Sewer Authority.

Or it can be offered through a for-profit company in partnership with a utility, as Charleston Water System does. CWS got $120,000 for signing a deal with HomeServe more than a decade ago, and also gets 12 percent of the premium money.

The cost

People don't get to choose their water or sewer utility, so they have little opportunity to shop around for the best coverage.

So someone with a house in Mount Pleasant could be considering whether to pay $5.95 monthly for both water and sewer service line coverage, while Charleston Water customers could be considering paying $14.98 for similar coverage through HomeServe (the price is half that much for the first year).

So, part of the decision will depend on which utility serves you, and what the coverage they offer costs. Paying $71.40 yearly (Mount Pleasant) or $179.76 (Charleston) are very different calculations.

With HomeServe, CWS customers could also choose to cover just their water line ($6.99/month) or sewer line ($7.99/month).

The risk

Replacing a service line can cost thousands of dollars. But the average repair cost is much less.

Over more than a decade with Charleston Water System, HomeServe completed 9,574 repairs at an average cost of $451.22, according to CWS. So, three years of payments for full coverage would add up to more than the average repair cost.

Part of what people are paying for is peace of mind, but the risk an individual homeowner could face varies greatly.

The length of the service lines— the distance from the house to the meter— is one factor. The age of the lines is another. And tree roots are one more.

AARP suggests that if neighbors who have homes of a similar age have been having trouble with their service lines, buying coverage might be a good idea.

Those who have set aside savings for emergencies could decide they'd rather avoid the monthly expense of coverage, and bear the costs themselves if something were to go wrong with their service lines.

The coverage

Plans will vary, but they generally cover repair or replacement of service lines, and restoration of the property disturbed for the work. There's usually a maximum amount they will pay— $7,000 annually for HomeServe, for a water or sewer line, $7,500 for Mount Pleasant Waterworks.

Those maximums are high enough to cover likely costs, but some types of potential damage might not be covered, depending on the company.

HomeServe excludes damage from accidents, natural disasters, extreme weather, negligence or damage otherwise caused by the homeowner, and pipes damaged by freezing, for example. Mount Pleasant Waterworks lists no exclusions.

HomeServe coverage is available for single-family and multifamily homes, as well as townhomes. Mount Pleasant Waterworks only offers coverage for single-family homes.