New Jersey American Water water & sewer protection plans--worth it?

A neighbor on our block recently had a water main break--had no protection plan with NJAW so is responsible for the cost of repairs. I am thinking of taking out the protection plan (for both water and sewer) but want to know if anyone has had such a plan and then had a water or sewer problem. Did NJAW in fact cover all the costs, or did they find some of those famous "exemptions"? Were they prompt with repairs?

I've heard mixed things about these plans over the years. We ended up getting their water main protection plan years ago, but haven't needed to use it (knock on wood). They constantly send us mail to add the sewer but we haven't. (I wonder whether home insurance would cover a sewer problem.)

it is insurance. Like any insurance, it is great if you need it ant it is there.

 It saved me $650. On  repair at the rental property in Millburn. There was drain blockage and the management agent called a plumber. Plumber gave an estimate of $700. To replace a large pipe in the basement. I recalled that I had purchased the insurance and dismissed the plumber.

Insurance plumber came and extracted a shirt that the tenant jammed into the pipe -- spiteful vandalism.  The cost was a $50. Deductible.

On the other hand, the premium has been about $200 since I signed up.

Unicorn33, any specifics about complaints you can offer? Good question on the sewer issue. Yes, I think if there is damage in the house due to blockage/backup, home insurance would cover, but not if the problem is out in the street. 

Thank you for the details, Formerlyjerseyjack! 

As with most insurance, and quite possibly to a somewhat greater extent than standard homeowners insurance, it is priced to make money for the insurance company.  If you can afford to pay for such repairs when they come along, then it probably doesn't pay to take the insurance.  But if a big repair bill would be a hardship and you are more comfortable with the fixed monthly payment, it may be the way to go.  That being said, you are then tied to using them to do the repair and I have heard mixed reviews on the speediness and quality of the work by the contractors they send.

Who, if anyone, at town hall would have installation, repair data for mains?  by NJAW and predator(s)?  sewer lines?  etc

There have been multiple discussions about this insurance. Our recent experience with it is that they will repair but not replace a water line. We just went through this. Leak in the line was repaired quickly and before the hole was filled in another leak developed. American Water was willing to do the second repair but we wanted the line replaced at that point knowing that it was the original line and would eventually break again. They would not replace the line so  we paid for replacement out of pocket (close to 5k). So, is it worth it? It depends.

My purpose for purchasing the insurance was the need to avoid stress.. especially the stress of a large bill.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

My purpose for purchasing the insurance was the need to avoid stress.. especially the stress of a large bill.

I don't think you can avoid some level of stress, but if the large bill is more stressful than possible delay or less control re selection of contractor, then it may be your best choice.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

My purpose for purchasing the insurance was the need to avoid stress.. especially the stress of a large bill.

Having the insurance did not prevent us from having a very large expense.

and depends on the TYPE of repair. We are in the middle of a massive plumbing repair but it's not covered by insurance - so in this instance, it's completely useless.

It's been a while since I discussed this with anyone, but if memory serves, people cautioned me about limitations in coverage and fine-print exclusions. I confess I haven't reviewed the policy in years, so I can't really be more specific.

erens1 said:

Unicorn33, any specifics about complaints you can offer? Good question on the sewer issue. Yes, I think if there is damage in the house due to blockage/backup, home insurance would cover, but not if the problem is out in the street. 

Thanks, everyone, for your reports. Cubby, it's distressing to hear that they just bandaided and bandaided your main until you ended up paying anyway. Hard to know what to do. The fact that there was a rupture just a few houses from us suggests that we are at risk. 

erens1 said:

Thanks, everyone, for your reports. Cubby, it's distressing to hear that they just bandaided and bandaided your main until you ended up paying anyway. Hard to know what to do. The fact that there was a rupture just a few houses from us suggests that we are at risk. 

 

Recent weather is another risk factor, our water main recently broke and the company who replaced it indicated the extreme highs to lows play a factor (they've been very busy this winter bc of this).  Our pipe was also galvanized which only lasts for so long and our house is 100+ so it was due for a replacement.

thanks, baker. Our house also 100+ years; I wonder if NJAW would be able to tell us what our main is made of.

A friend at work just had his sewer line go (tree roots). He lives in WO. He said it was NOT covered by homeowners and along with the repairs to his basement (drywall, flooring etc) it's going to cost him $10k.

BaseballMom - I think the repairs to your friends basement would be covered by homeowners insurance.  That's bad news about the sewer line though.

I have insurance for the water line and sewer line.  Like most insurance, I hope I never need to use it. I have used the sewer line insurance to have the line snaked a few times when there were clogs.

yahooyahoo, I'm curious how much snaking a line costs (unless you never saw the cost because the insurance meant NJAW handled the bill directly). My guess is that with a sewer line, which isn't under pressure, the worst it comes to is having to snake the line, and any backup into the house WILL be covered by home insurance. Whereas a water main break, everyone (most recently  Baseball Mom) is making clear, is an expense in the four or even five figures. If snaking a line isn't ridiculously costly, maybe only the water insurance is advisable for us. 

I've probably paid more money into the protection plans now than it would have ever cost had my pipes busted.  

@yahooyahoo -- thanks, I'll check with him  I know the sewer line was a specific exclusion to his policy