Service Line Warranties of America Inc (2013, insurance, house)

[bigdaddy5]

Just received a letter today (I would classify it as spam/scam) from a company called Service Line Warranties of America Inc claiming to provide for a monthly fee coverage for fixing of the outside portion of the sewer line from between the house to the city's sewer connection if needed.

It claims to be "endorsed" by our city and provides a link page although the city's website is down at the moment so I cannot verify what it says. The it goes on to say that the city has no liability or responsibility for the program being provided

Anyone heard about this kind of thing? I've heard of home warranty programs and while I do not have one I have known others who had them and had only bad things to say about the coverage. Most recently someone I know who had one of these plans call for service for a faucet repair and then be told that it as not covered but still charged A $75 call out fee.

Has anyone heard of this company and for that matter warranty programs that only cover the outside portion of utility service?

[NYSD1995]

I get a direct mail piece about omce a quarter from them. I wouldn't say it's a scam, it's just not a great product. You can probably dig out and replace a sewer line for 5k, vs spending 75 bucks a month for the rest of your life? Pretty easy math, but if you don't have 5k...

[happyinca]

Scam! Don't waste your money. They pull your info off of the property tax roles. Every time I have bought a house this scam offer arrives usually within a month.

[sdjimbob]

The city licensed rights to them:
City touts sewer warranty without facts | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

I don't think it's a scam, but I'd be looking very closely at the terms. A better thing to do before buying this insurance might be to hire a professional and have your sewer line scoped out with a camera. If they see some degradation, then it could be a good idea to get it...

Mine was way beyond 5k to fix (roots and holes in cast iron ancient pipe) and the digging involved wasn't extensive since they only replaced a small section and relined the rest). I wish I'd bought something like this, but of course I wonder what really happens when you make a claim.

I'll never buy another house without a camera inspection of sewer lines...

[StarsNStripes]

if you have concerns about your line, seems smarter to just pay $250 for a video inspection. they run a video camera down your toilet/sink and out to the sewer, explain their observations and point out problems, then give you the video to keep. also, they can make many repairs to lines without trenching nowadays.