Carrying homeowners insurance helps to protect you financially when your home experiences a major disaster that requires extensive repairs. However, you may be surprised that not everything is covered in a typical homeowners insurance policy. One area of coverage that's absent in most policies is sewer backup coverage. Burst pipes that cause water damage are covered by most policies, and above-ground flooding is covered by flood insurance, but you'll most often need to purchase a special rider for your homeowners to pay for repairs resulting from a backed-up sewer line.

Adding sewer backup coverage to your homeowners' insurance policy typically doesn't cost very much, and it can help pay for the extensive restoration that's necessary if sewage floods up into your home. Below, you'll find more information about sewage backup coverage, what causes sewers to back up, and how to determine whether or not you need to add this type of coverage to your policy.

What Is Sewer Backup Coverage?

Sewer backup coverage helps pay for repairs whenever your home is damaged by sewage coming up through your home's sewer line. Sewage comes up through the lowest drain in your home. If you have a basement, the drain is most likely located there. Otherwise, it will be located in a bathroom on the first floor of your home.

When sewage backs up into your home, the damage caused is often more severe than the damage caused by a leaking or burst supply pipe in your home's plumbing. Other forms of water damage can typically be repaired by drying the area quickly before mold can begin to grow. Sewage, on the other hand, is a biohazard. In most cases, anything porous that's exposed to sewage will need to be disposed of since it's a health risk. Recovering from sewer backup can be quite expensive due to the fact that you'll probably need to remove and replace flooring, drywall, and furniture. Sewer backup coverage will help pay for the restoration up to the limit of the policy.

What Causes Sewers to Back Up?

Most sewer backups are caused by heavy rain, and it's particularly common in older neighborhoods with small, deteriorating sewer lines. Cracks in the sewer lines can allow groundwater to seep into the line during heavy rainfall, and the lines can be overwhelmed by rainwater if they're connected to the city's storm drains. When the pressure in the sewer lines becomes too high due to all of the water running through it, the sewage can force its way up through the drains in your home. Even if you install a one-way backflow prevention valve in your sewer line in an attempt to stop sewage from coming into your home, extreme pressures can cause these valves to fail.

Is Sewer Backup Coverage Worth It?

If you live in an older neighborhood, it's often worth it to purchase sewer backup coverage on your homeowners' insurance policy. You can ask your neighbors if they've ever had problems with the sewer backing up into their homes during heavy rain. If sewer backups are a problem in your area, it's almost always worth it to purchase this form of coverage — adding it to your homeowners' insurance policy is quite inexpensive, and it can save you a considerable amount of money paying for restoration if your sewer ever backs up into your home.

Overall, the low cost of adding sewer backup coverage to your policy often makes carrying this form of coverage worth it from a financial perspective. If you don't know whether or not you're currently carrying it, check your homeowners' insurance policy. If you're not covered, call your insurance carrier and have it added if you live in a neighborhood that's at-risk for sewer backups. Most carriers offer this form of additional coverage. If yours doesn't, it's often worth it to protect your home by shopping around in order to find a homeowners insurance carrier that will let you add it. For more information about coverage, contact a company that offers homeowners' insurance.