City looking at offering insurance to pay for water, sewer line repairs

Aug. 25--BLOOMINGTON -- Brett Stevens lives in Bloomington's Founders Grove neighborhood on a street with an older, private sewer.

"We have the old clay tiles and we clean them out every year to get (tree) roots out so they don't get crushed or damaged," said Stevens. "If I had a problem that I needed to replace my sewer, we're talking thousands and thousands of dollars that I would have to pay out of pocket."

But the city is looking at providing insurance coverage to help residents pay for costly water and sewer leaks in their homes and repairs to privately owned residential sewer and water lines.

The city water and public works departments will present three proposed insurance programs when the City Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall. City staff are seeking direction from council, so no vote is anticipated Monday.

"Toilet leaks are the highest percentage of calls that we get ... and in the end we have to ask our customers to pay for the water that is caused from faulty plumbing, fixtures or pipes in their homes," said Bloomington Water Department Director Bob Yehl.

That responsibility often leads to an unexpected financial burden of thousands of dollars for the property owner.

"So we've looked far and wide for an opportunity to provide a program that provides some relief to our customers when a residential water/sewer leak happens," said Yehl.

Only one company, Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Sunbelt Insurance Group, offers a water/sewer leak protection program, Yehl said.

If approved by the council, the water, sewer and leak program would cover excess charges for water, sewer and Bloomington-Normal Reclamation, as well as utility tax charges that result from a residential customer's water or sewer leak.

Sunbelt's ServLine program also offers insurance for repairs to privately owned residential water service lines and sewer laterals. Unlike the leak protection, insurance coverage for residential water and sewer lines is offered by other companies such as State Farm, Ameren, HomeServe and Nicor, said Yehl.

However, the advantage of the ServLine program is that those who are enrolled in one or all of the coverage options would be charged for the coverage on their monthly city service bill, said Yehl.

All residential customers would be enrolled automatically in the water and sewer leak coverage program, but could opt out.

Customers must be enrolled in the the water and sewer leak coverage plan in order to opt into the water line and sewer lateral protection plans.

"I think it would be great if they give us this option," said Stevens. "When you're dealing with a sewer and digging, it can get pretty pricey. So I would definitely sign up for it."

The city would collect the premiums and then remit payments directly to Sunbelt. Enrolled customers would call Sunbelt directly to discuss claims and coverage.

The monthly leak protection premium could be $1.54 or less, depending on the maximum insurance level per occurrence, which will be decided by the council.

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"It's a minor charge compared to some of the leak adjustment requests we get," said Yehl. "We do get requests that are thousands of dollars. Unknown to most people, your toilet could be leaking and you may not even be able to hear it. But it could cost you several hundred dollars a month.

"Even though water to our customers is a half a penny a gallon, leaks can add up tremendously," he added.

Water line repairs can be as much as $5,000; the cost to fix a sewer lateral can range from $5,000 to $10,000 and sometimes more, said Yehl.

The insurance would cover the portion of a water line from the curb to the home's water meter. The sewer lateral would be covered from the foundation of a house to its connection with the sewer main, which typically runs beneath the street.

An evaluation of the current condition of the sewer or water lines is not required before signing up, said Yehl. However, there is a 30-day waiting period before the first claim.

"That will help ensure people are not calling right when they have a break in their front yard," said Yehl.

The town of Normal is not looking at similar insurance coverage.

"I'm not saying we wouldn't, but we have never been directed by the council to look into it," said Normal Public Works Director Wayne Aldrich.

Contact Maria Nagle at (309) 820-3244. Follow her on Twitter: @Pg_Nagle

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