Evanston’s recent brutally cold weather has brought out a rash of solicitations from insurance companies wanting to sell water and sewer line insurance to homeowners, prompting the city to issue an advisory on the matter.
The advisory reminds property owners that “these companies do not represent the city, that they are not affiliated with the City of Evanston, nor does the city endorse any particular company because water and sewer service lines are considered private plumbing.”
Nevertheless, the city agreed with the solicitors that homeowners “are responsible for all parts of water and sewer service lines from the city-maintained portion of the systems all the way into their properties” and that repairs can cost upwards of several thousand dollars.
Having said that, however, the advisory noted that only ten permits for water line repairs had been issued in 2011, which represents only about .01 percent of the 14,400 water services in the city.
Before buying insurance, the city advises homeowners to check with the companies that provide them with homeowners insurance to determine if they may already be covered for these types of repairs.