[eric.hanke]

Official advises against service offer

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - City water department superintendent Randy Russell has two words for area residents receiving offers for water service line protection: "Buyer beware."

Home Services is sending letters, addressed to specific homeowners, offering to protect them from costs of broken water lines for a $4.99 monthly fee, or about $60 a year. Some local homeowners have asked about the service, and Russell has told them, "Chances are they don't need it."

Russell said similar offers have been made in previous years. He received a letter a year ago and contacted the company. After telling the phone representative he headed a municipal water department and asking why they were sending the letters, Russell said he never received a return call.

In the recent mailing, Home Services tells homeowners they're responsible for repairing and maintaining water service lines that extend from curbs to their houses' foundations. Russell said that is true.

Then, the company raises the possibility of "a burst or break in your water service line" and cautions repairs can be expensive. Home Services suggests repairing a leak and replacing the segment of pipe could cost $3,670.

The letter states, "Home Services protects hundreds of thousands of homes against water service line emergencies across the United States."

Russell recommends checking a few things before purchasing the insurance. First, he said, know whether the service line is made from copper, plastic or galvanized steel. The way to find out is to go to the water meter and look at the pipe going into the wall, Russell said.

Most water service lines installed since the 1960s have been made of copper or plastic. The city's lines are all copper, Russell said, because "it lasts forever."

Galvanized steel could rust over time, he noted, and might need to be checked. He has galvanized steel water service lines in his own home, built in the early 1960s, and hasn't had a problem with leaks or breaks.

Rather than repair a line, Russell said, it makes more sense to replace it.

"It might not leak for 10 years," Russell said. "You could save that (fee) money and replace it."

Replacement costs could run between $1,000 and $2,500, Russell estimates. By paying a $60 annual fee for 10 years, a homeowner would have spent $6,000 for the insurance.

Another step Russell recommends to homeowners is to check their homeowners' insurance policy to see if they are already covered for water line damage.

"It's a consumer choice whether to buy into it," Russell said. "I would probably recommend don't."

q

Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.

Can someone give Laurie Wink a calculator!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!

$60 a year x 10 years = $600

[Michelle]

Can someone give Laurie Wink a calculator!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!

$60 a year x 10 years = $600

That's egregious. The entire story is based on that calculation; I can't believe that wasn't caught at any point before it went to print. No disrespect to the reporter, but geez. That's sad.

[Southsider2k12]

While the math in the story is scary, the idea behind it isn't. Pretty much anything to do with insurance has 90% of the population paying for the other 10%.