Sewer Line Issues - dealing w/ insurance ??

[phamy76]

We thought we had a sewer line clog. We had Roto Rooter come in and clear the line, and they said it was the township's main line issue and to contact them.

They never connected the lateral line (into our house) to the mainline correctly. When they shot high pressured water into our line to flush it, sewer water sprayed out of the drain in our basement floor all over our laundry room, ceiling, walls, washer/dryer/ clothes and floor.

They are going to have to dig up our property and road outside our house to fix this issue. AND the township's insurance company asked us to file a claim for loss and clean up.

Has anyone ever dealt with this? Suggestions about what you have learned that will make my life a little easier?

 

[Muushka]

Ouch. No experience, just a bump. I hope everything turns out all right.

 

[riley2008]

There is a lawsuit about something similar going on in our town right now, except in your case it sounds like the township was truly at fault for not properly connecting the line.

Our local scenario - a tree root (tree half on city/half on another's property) clogged a main sewer line from a lady's home. It of course finally backed up and cost her about $4000 to repair the damages. Her insurance won't pay, as the clog was not on her property. The city won't pay as their insurance company and apparently state laws only allow compensation for deliberate acts - a tree root wasn't deliberate.

Lots of people in town and other insurance representatives are saying that her insurance should have covered it. Some are wondering if the lady even had insurance.

So, yes, it does sound reasonable that they would suggest you file with your own insurance. I do wonder though in your situation about negligence, but again if it wasn't considered "deliberate"....

Good luck!

 

[leebee]

Are you filing a claim with your insurance company or the Township's? Not sure I understand why your insurance company should have to cover something that is clearly negligence on the part of the Township.

 

[Disneefun]

Good to know stupidity is in every town. My parents had the same problem. The city came to deal with some problem or other, and ended up shooting sewer water into 4 houses.

(Side note, kind of funny). My mom said she saw them come and start working. A while later she hears the ominous gurgling coming from downstairs. She runs out to the street in her bathrobe and slippers yelling for them to stop. About that time, she heard a whoosh and then the one guy says to the other, "Oh, not again." When she gets back inside, mess everywhere. So, obviously this crew of geniuses had done this before.

Anyway, back to your original question. They were all told to file with the town's insurance company for whatever damages were incurred since it was clearly the fault of the city workers. There were no problems since the insurance company seemed used to this and almost like they were expecting the call (see above that this had happened before). Everyone just had to get estimates from places like ServPro and various contractors and then the insurance paid up.

It was like six months though before everything was finished and they ended up having to replace drywall and insulation up to head height, not to mention flooring, etc. It was a mess. Sewer water can't just be vacuumed up and that's it. Because it's contaminated, pretty much everything it touched will end up being replaced. Drywall, insulation, etc. That may mean they have to pull your ceiling out, too, since it got up there, and possibly your flooring and subfloor depending on how deep it was and what kind of floor you have.

Now, in mom's case it was clearly the city's fault. They were working in the main sewer, not on anyone's property. So it was pretty cut and dried who was at fault and who needed to pay. Your situation may be a little more complicated, I don't know. I would call your insurance company just to let them know the situation so if you do end up having to file a portion on yours they already have a paper trail started. They can investigate and talk to the town to get an idea of what is going on.

No real other suggestions, just I'm sorry and prepare to be seriously inconvenienced and mad for about six months or so while it all gets fixed, replaced, and straightened out.

My mom now gets the heebie jeebies every time a city truck comes down the street!

 

[sharbear]

We also had this problem. It was terrible. Had to call a company to clean everything up. It is not a job you want to tackle on your own.

Our insurance had a $1000 deductible on sewage and did not cover any contents that were damaged.

 

[janey99]

We thought we had a sewer line clog. We had Roto Rooter come in and clear the line, and they said it was the township's main line issue and to contact them.

They never connected the lateral line (into our house) to the mainline correctly. When they shot high pressured water into our line to flush it, sewer water sprayed out of the drain in our basement floor all over our laundry room, ceiling, walls, washer/dryer/ clothes and floor.

They are going to have to dig up our property and road outside our house to fix this issue. AND the township's insurance company asked us to file a claim for loss and clean up.

Has anyone ever dealt with this? Suggestions about what you have learned that will make my life a little easier?

Call one of those companies that does post-fire and flood cleanup to do the cleanup for you. You need to do it quickly in order to prevent additional damages, like mold or bacteria growth. They will do the work, you may have to pay them up front, and then you submit the claim to your town's insurance company to reimburse you. You need to get the work done first and pay, and then be reimbursed, because this type of claim worsens if it isn't addressed right away (if you try to get money from the insurance company first, by getting an estimate and submitting it). You also need to do a list of everything that was damaged, whether it is repairable or needs to be replaced (plus the costs of each) (including potentially paint, primer, drywall, contractor's costs if you need one, and all items that were destroyed). If there's a lot of stuff to fill a dumpster, claim for the cost of that too. Also, make sure you don't close out the claim or say you're done submitting damages until the outside work is done and you see what type of shape they leave your yard in - you may have to claim to restore parts of your yard. Essentially, they need to pay for everything that needs to be done in order to put you back into exactly the same condition you were in before the incident happened.

Keep an open dialogue with the insurance company. When in doubt, ask. If they tell you something isn't covered, ask them to PDF you the part of the policy that says so. Be polite but firm.

Good luck!

Jane

 

[melancholywings]

Call your insurance and they will send an adjuster out to review the damage. Depending on your policy they may only cover the water damage and not the pipe repair. We had a problem where the pipe became disconnected from the septic line and the only reason the insurance covered the pipe repair was because it was septic not sewer. They said if it had been the sewer line we'd have been on our own.

 

[phamy76]

UPDATE --
The township determined that THEY are at fault. If they would have connected the lateral line to the main line correctly, it would have never detached!

So, THEIR insurance company has been in touch with us. They are paying for a company to come in and clean up our entire laundry room, and take out anything that can not be cleaned (ceiling tiles, etc). Then we will find a company to repair the damages, and they will pay for that.

They will also be digging up our line from the sidewalk to the middle of the street. Replacing all pipes, and correcting their mistake. PHEW!
They will repair all damages.

I am only asking them to fix what is their mistake.