The Week from Hell
6:30 Monday morning we woke to the sound of running water and the pipes banging. Nothing wrong in the house and water pressure was fine, but we knew there was something wrong. I called the emergency number (I keep it on my cell phone) for our water company and they said there was probably a water line break in our area. 90 minutes later the guy with the snow plow knocked on our door. Water was gushing out in front of our house and running down our driveway. I called the water company again and they said my first report hadn't been handed to new shift so it was the first they heard of it. To their credit within a half hour they were there to fix the broken pipe. It took eleven hours and we were without water all day.
Tuesday morning we woke without heat. It seems that the water had gotten into the aging gas line in front of our house and froze. No gas means no heat or hot water, once the water in the tank was used up. We called the gas company and found out we were responsible because the problem was between the meter and the house 40 feet away. And they did come around 7:00 that evening to put in a temporary line from the meter to the house until it could be fixed. The first thing we were asked when we called was if we had insurance on our gas line.
And that's what this post is about. Last summer we had our gas meter replaced and the guy from the gas company recommended getting insurance on our gas and water lines. For about $65 a year we're covered if anything happens between the meters and our house. The respective utility companies are responsible if the problem is on the other side of the meters.
If you own your house ask your utility companies about insurance on the lines. In our case it saved us about $1500, which is what it would have cost to fix the gas line which is eighteen inches below ground.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Replies
hearing about utility insurance is a first for me also. Sounds like a smart idea but our water company has never mentioned it in any of their communications/bills. We have no gas line since we have a 500 gallon propane tank. I have seen insurance policies that cover other homeowner products such as appliances, air conditioner and heating units..etc. We did have a free homeowners policy that came with the house when we bought it...good for a year...but never renewed it and never had a need for it.
Holy buckets! Good thing you had that insurance! Yikes!
Very interesting - I never heard of utility insurance. Our meters are attached to our buildings so maybe it isn't relevant. Anyway, it seems as if the water people would be responsible in your case.
The water people were responsible but we would have had to pay about $1500 for the gas line to be repaired.
Larry Berman