Will my home insurance policy cover against a water main break?

A water main is the primary water line which feeds the building along a roadway. At each home, a line coming from the dwelling to main is installed with the meter being the termination point between the water main and your property. If you accidentally dig in your yard and hit the line running from the meter, your insurance policy would pay for the repairs, but if the main breaks, your insurance company will almost certainly deny a claim.

Most water mains are located on community-owned property, such as under a road or along the right of way. Since they are not on your property, your insurance company can deny any responsibility for it, referring you back to the city or county which owns the right of way. Even if the broken water main causes significant damage to your home, you will need to file the claim for repairs with the owner of the ground where the break happened.

A standard home insurance policy is only designed to handle specific water-related problems, usually as they relate to either bad weather or pipes in your home water system. For example, if the pipe coming from your water heater breaks, the damages it caused would be covered in your homeowner's policy. Water damage caused to the home when a tree fell on the roof would also be covered, as long as the tree was not already dead when the storm hit.

If you are certain that the break is in the water main, contact your local municipality and report the break. Notify them of the damages to your home, along with repair estimates for the cost of repair. If you are not able to live in the dwelling because of the break in the water main, you will also be eligible to receive reimbursement of any money you spend to maintain your accustomed lifestyle while repairs are being made. Some home insurance policies will cover these losses of use costs during the interim when you are negotiating with the owner of the water main.