Sewer line problems, such as pipe stoppages, can be a real pain for homeowners. Homeowners insurance protects your house from structural damage caused by various incidents, but it won’t cover home repairs incurred from regular wear-and-tear. Luckily, many home warranty companies offer standard coverage for clearing stoppages and add-on coverage for septic tank systems and pumping.
If you’re concerned about repair costs for your home’s sewer lines, a home warranty plan that covers your plumbing system and septic tank could give you peace of mind. Here’s what to look for in a sewer line warranty, plus our picks for the best home warranty for sewer line coverage.
Summary of the Best Home Warranty Companies for Sewer Line Coverage
What To Expect From a Sewer Line Warranty
Unfortunately, no home warranty covers all potential sewer service line or plumbing problems. Here’s the sewer line coverage you can expect from most top-rated home warranties:
- Water service line leaks, breaks, and stoppages within the main foundation
- Mainline and lateral drain line blockages up to 100 feet from the main access point
- Access to pipes behind unobstructed walls/ceilings/floors returned to a rough finish (usually subject to a benefit amount limit)
However, not every provider includes every coverage option in a company’s basic protection plans. Here are coverages that are typically add-ons to existing plans for an extra fee:
- Septic tank pumping (once per year or contract term)
- Septic tank systems, including sewage ejector pumps, jet pumps, and aerobic pumps
Finally, here the coverages providers typically exclude from most home warranty sewer line plans:
- Stoppages caused by collapsed/damaged drain lines, tree roots, or freezing
- Damage due to sediment, rust, or corrosion in pipes and water lines
- Leaks or stoppages outside of the main foundation
- Septic tank waste disposal or chemical cleanout
Now that you know what to look for, we’ll list our top picks for plans that cover sewer lines. Then, we’ll show how each company compares to the standards above.
Best Home Warranty Companies for Sewer Line Coverage
- American Home Shield: Best Coverage Caps
- Liberty Home Guard: Best Customer Ratings
- America’s First Choice Home Club: Best for Customization
- First American Home Warranty: Best for Buying a Home
Please note that the quotes below are for a home that’s less than 5,000 square feet in Cleveland, Ohio. Pricing and coverage details will vary by location, so be sure to get your own customized quote.
Our Conclusion
Sewer lines play an important role in your home functioning properly. A home warranty protects your home’s plumbing and sewer lines from inconvenient breaks, leaks, and stoppages, giving you peace of mind.
We recommend Liberty Home Guard due to its $2,000 coverage limits and 60-day workmanship guarantee on completed repairs. We also recommend American Home Shield because it covers rust, corrosion, and sediment damage. Finally, First American Home Warranty covers miscellaneous repair fees in its Essential and Premier plans.
Before signing up, request three quotes from different providers to compare their coverage terms, costs, exclusions, and limitations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
We’ve done extensive research on the best home warranty companies across the country and have compiled easy-to-digest guides and comparisons:
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Our Rating Methodology
The This Old House Reviews Team backs up our home warranty ratings and recommendations with a detailed rating methodology to objectively score each provider. We conduct research by speaking with company representatives, requesting quotes, analyzing sample contracts from each company, and conducting focus groups and consumer surveys. We then score each provider against our review standards for coverage, value, trustworthiness and transparency, availability, and customer service to arrive at a final score out of 100.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.