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#1
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company
to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? -- Pete Cresswell |
#2
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tuesday, June 18, 2013 5:45:28 AM UTC-7, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? -- Pete Cresswell I doubt that the insurance offers are actually from the local water company.. My guess is that it’s a private company pretending to be your water company. The usual problem with getting such insurance is: 1. They will not cover the entire cost but only a portion of it. 2. In the event of a problem they will be telling you which plumbing company you can use instead of you being able to shop around for a good deal and the plumbing company that they require you to use is going to charge you a whole lot of money. 3. The portion of the cost that they will not cover is about the same amount as what it would have cost you if you didn’t have insurance and had shopped around for a good deal. So now you paid all those premiums for nothing.. |
#3
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Jun 18, 8:45*am, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? -- Pete Cresswell I think you've kind of answered your own question. The water service could be anything from galvanized pipe, to copper, or poly depending on the period and the location, so it can be hard to compare results. Given it's 60 years old, if it's made of galavanized, it could be near it's EOL. If it's copper, it's likely fine. Can you see what it is? But since no neighbors are having problems, that's a good sign. I'd do some math. This is like any extended warranty. Figure out what it would cost if you had to pay for it, vs how much it's going to cost for sure with the plan over time. |
#4
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Jun 18, 7:45*am, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? -- Pete Cresswell Put the money in the bank, even at 0 interest rate, you'll be ahead. |
#5
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
wrote in message ... On Tuesday, June 18, 2013 5:45:28 AM UTC-7, (PeteCresswell) wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? -- Pete Cresswell I doubt that the insurance offers are actually from the local water company. My guess is that it’s a private company pretending to be your water company. The usual problem with getting such insurance is: 1. They will not cover the entire cost but only a portion of it. 2. In the event of a problem they will be telling you which plumbing company you can use instead of you being able to shop around for a good deal and the plumbing company that they require you to use is going to charge you a whole lot of money. 3. The portion of the cost that they will not cover is about the same amount as what it would have cost you if you didn’t have insurance and had shopped around for a good deal. So now you paid all those premiums for nothing. If you decide to pay for the insurance, get a copy of the policy before you put out the money and read it in detail on what they cover and what they don't. One area to check is where the pipe enters the house, do they replace that and how far into the house do they go. Do they replace the driveway or sidewalk or landscaping after they dig it up and within what timeframe (next year?). |
#6
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On 06/18/13 08:45 am, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? A few years back, the poly pipe started leaking right where it came through the basement wall. Called a plumber, who had to wait while the municipality sent somebody to turn off the water at the street. Then, after they had fixed it (replaced a 6ft length or so by copper), they had to wait for the inspector to check it and turn on the water again. Total 3-4 hours, cost $500. Haven't heard of any neighbors with the same problem, so our neighbors' experience is not a good guide to what may happen with yours. Perce |
#7
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
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#8
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:45:28 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? I've had a "service line" failure once in my entire life. It cost me less then $111 to have it fixed. What's happening around here is a similar thing but with the sewer lines - for a few bucks a month you can buy insurance for the run from your clean out to the property line where the city assumes responsibility. I've never had to repair a sewer line in my entire life. I did have a family with kids dig a BF-Hole in the back yard of one of my rentals and expose the line. Luckily they didn't break it. |
#9
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:45:28 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. I've gotten these notices (Nevada). They appear to be some company phishing for home owners to buy a policy. I put the notice in the recycle bin. |
#10
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On 6/18/2013 5:45 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? We just started getting these too. It's basically a scam, like AT&T's inside wiring insurance. The water company gets a nice kickback from the company providing the coverage. Here's an article about it from the San Jose Murky News: http://www.mercurynews.com/scott-herhold/ci_23379477/herhold-examine-that-water-pipe-insurance-pitch-carefully. Several times I've seen problems with metal to PVC connection at the meter and where the PVC connects into the house's copper. Even a barely noticeable earthquake could cause this junction to fail. I would wager that the company providing the coverage would claim that it was improperly installed and hence not covered. |
#11
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On 6/18/2013 8:01 AM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 06/18/13 10:20 am, wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? Put the money in the bank, even at 0 interest rate, you'll be ahead. Not if he has a repair bill for $500 or more (which is what ours cost a few years back: see my other message in this thread) the next month. Actually, even at $500, you'll still probably be ahead, on average. |
#12
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On 6/18/2013 8:42 AM, Ashton Crusher wrote:
snip What's happening around here is a similar thing but with the sewer lines - for a few bucks a month you can buy insurance for the run from your clean out to the property line where the city assumes responsibility. I've never had to repair a sewer line in my entire life. I did have a family with kids dig a BF-Hole in the back yard of one of my rentals and expose the line. Luckily they didn't break it. We have a neighbor who did have a sewer line fail. It was a huge project to fix it, costing tens of thousands of dollars. Water line failures tend to be minor repairs because the failure is usually a PVC to copper (or galvanized) union in a place that's not difficult to access. At a rental I own, most of the units have had the PVC to copper union crack. It's under a deck but easy to get to and replace. We've had failures at the meter as well (PVC to galvanized pipe) and these are pretty easy to get to as well though it tends to be muddy. I wonder if the insurance would find some sort of reason to not pay to repair these failures. It's a bad design that wasn't thought out well considering ground shifting in earthquake country. The PVC gets a small crack and a very thin stream of water shoots out. At the meter, we only find out when the meter reader makes a note of it, but now with smart water meters they don't even have to lift the concrete cover so they wouldn't see a leak. |
#13
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On 6/18/2013 5:45 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? Most states have an insurance commissioner that licenses companies to sell insurance in the state. I would mail the offer to the commissioner and see if the company is legally allowed to sell insurance. Paul |
#14
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On 06/18/13 10:59 am, I wrote:
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? A few years back, the poly pipe started leaking right where it came through the basement wall. Called a plumber, who had to wait while the municipality sent somebody to turn off the water at the street. Then, after they had fixed it (replaced a 6ft length or so by copper), they had to wait for the inspector to check it and turn on the water again. Total 3-4 hours, cost $500. Haven't heard of any neighbors with the same problem, so our neighbors' ^^^^^ experience is not a good guide to what may happen with yours. Correction: "your neighbors'" NOT "our neighbors'" Perce |
#15
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
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#16
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On 6/18/2013 10:48 AM, sms wrote:
On 6/18/2013 8:42 AM, Ashton Crusher wrote: snip What's happening around here is a similar thing but with the sewer lines - for a few bucks a month you can buy insurance for the run from your clean out to the property line where the city assumes responsibility. I've never had to repair a sewer line in my entire life. I did have a family with kids dig a BF-Hole in the back yard of one of my rentals and expose the line. Luckily they didn't break it. We have a neighbor who did have a sewer line fail. It was a huge project to fix it, costing tens of thousands of dollars. Water line failures tend to be minor repairs because the failure is usually a PVC to copper (or galvanized) union in a place that's not difficult to access. At a rental I own, most of the units have had the PVC to copper union crack. It's under a deck but easy to get to and replace. We've had failures at the meter as well (PVC to galvanized pipe) and these are pretty easy to get to as well though it tends to be muddy. I wonder if the insurance would find some sort of reason to not pay to repair these failures. It's a bad design that wasn't thought out well considering ground shifting in earthquake country. The PVC gets a small crack and a very thin stream of water shoots out. At the meter, we only find out when the meter reader makes a note of it, but now with smart water meters they don't even have to lift the concrete cover so they wouldn't see a leak. Insurance is for events that are unlikely, but expensive. The insurer spreads the cost over many...taking a profit. Insurance always costs more than the expected value of the repair. That's where the profit comes from. Any reason to deny a claim increases profit and is done with maximum efficiency ;-) My water service failed last month. 41 year old galvanized. That's the fourth failure on this block that I know of. Plumbing companies quoted $2500 and up. Fly-by-Night plumber came in as low as $1500. Plus $150 for building permits. Plus $400 for the electrical grounding work needed. I did it myself. Cost me ~$100 in parts. $150 permits $380 to have them horizontal-drill the pipe under the yard. Just couldn't bring myself to dig that trench. |
#17
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
Per mike:
Just couldn't bring myself to dig that trench. I recently had a trench dug to run AC and Ethernet to the garden shed. Solid shale. Quite a mess - and it's going to take a couple years before it looks right. I *really* wish I had known about horizontal drilling before doing that. -- Pete Cresswell |
#18
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:45:28 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? I can think of three failures in my lifetime. All were in houses over 50 years old. Of the three, two were in winter and the water was running and making an icy mess. It can happen. So can a meteorite crash though your roof. I'd not buy it. |
#19
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
"(PeteCresswell)" writes:
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. I'd guess the water company gets a cut but it's a cash cow for the insurance company. Never insure what you can afford to pay for yourself. -- Dan Espen |
#20
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:42:36 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote: On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:45:28 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? I've had a "service line" failure once in my entire life. It cost me less then $111 to have it fixed. What's happening around here is a similar thing but with the sewer lines - for a few bucks a month you can buy insurance for the run from your clean out to the property line where the city assumes responsibility. I've never had to repair a sewer line in my entire life. I did have a family with kids dig a BF-Hole in the back yard of one of my rentals and expose the line. Luckily they didn't break it. It wasnt' luck. They were plumbers-in-training and doing an exploratory operation. I have a friend whose toilet in the basement wasn't flushing right. A local plumber with a good reputation locally told him he needed a new sewer line to the street, but someone else told him to call the city. The city came and cleaned out that part of that line which was on public property and after that his drains worked fine. No charge of course. He complained to the plumber, for what that's worth, and probably never hired him again. |
#21
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:52:09 -0700, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:45:28 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. I've gotten these notices (Nevada). They appear to be some company phishing for home owners to buy a policy. I put the notice in the recycle bin. Does that mean they'll send the notice to someone else? |
#22
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:14:49 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote: "(PeteCresswell)" writes: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. I'd guess the water company gets a cut but it's a cash cow for the insurance company. Never insure what you can afford to pay for yourself. Exactly. |
#23
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in message ... We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? My experiance from the mains to the meter (including the meter) is the untility's problem. Short of an over pressure condtion anything on my side of the meter is my problem. I'm near 70 save some dumb contractor digging up the yard we never had a problem with a water line. |
#24
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tuesday, June 18, 2013 5:45:28 AM UTC-7, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. I know of only two instances, both at my parents' old house. A 20+ year-old galvanized pipe became almost completely clogged but didn't leak. Dad didn't know about copper pipe and didn't trust plastic, so he put in another galvanized one (we kids did most of the digging). That pipe developed tons of pinholes in a year, so Dad finally gave in and bought PVC, probably because it was a lot cheaper than copper. The PVC was still fine when the house was sold, 15 years later. Neither pipe replacement took that long, but things might be different in a colder climate with a deeper frost line. |
#25
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:46:32 -0500, "NotMe" wrote:
My experiance from the mains to the meter (including the meter) is the untility's problem. Short of an over pressure condtion anything on my side of the meter is my problem. Not here or where I lived in the past. From the main in the street was our responsibility. |
#26
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tuesday, June 18, 2013 1:52:39 PM UTC-4, Paul Drahn wrote:
On 6/18/2013 5:45 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? Most states have an insurance commissioner that licenses companies to sell insurance in the state. I would mail the offer to the commissioner and see if the company is legally allowed to sell insurance. Paul I'm not sure this is even insurance. Sounds more like a service contract to me. Does every HVAC company that offers a service contract have to conform to the laws and licensing for insurance companies? Don't think so |
#27
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
Haven't heard of any neighbors with the same problem, so our neighbors' experience is not a good guide to what may happen with yours. No, but YOUR experience is a good guide for your neighbors... |
#28
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:45:28 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? I'm in NYC and the Water Board (or Department of Environmental Protection?) recently sent out letters offering insurance protection (through a private company) for water main and/or sewer pipe. Our houses are around 70 years old and maybe 10 years ago I heard water running when no water was running and it was my connection to the main. It cost around $3000 as I recall. It was called a Long Water Treatment. Repairing a sewer line is much more expensive but also less likely to leak. Someone I know in DEP does recommend getting the insurance but I'm only willing to do the sewer one. |
#29
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
(PeteCresswell) wrote:
We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? Depends upon what material your pipes are made of. It could be that your area has pipes made of tarred wood fiber which was made by the Orangeburg Pipe Company up into the 1970s when PVC pipe took over as a material for pipes. In recent years, this fibrous pipe began to fail due to crushing, roots, and other wear and damage. -- Bill In Hamptonburgh, NY In the original Orange County. Est. 1683 To email, remove the double zeros after @ |
#30
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
"willshak" wrote in message ... (PeteCresswell) wrote: We've been getting these insurance offers from the local water company to the effect that the service from the main to our house could fail at any time and that we should pay a few bucks per month to avoid repair costs. My kneejerk is that this is a cash cow for the water company. This neighborhood was built in the mid fifties. I've never heard of anybody's service failing. Is there an average lifetime for this stuff?... Or are there different constructions/water compositions that make comparison impractical? Depends upon what material your pipes are made of. It could be that your area has pipes made of tarred wood fiber which was made by the Orangeburg Pipe Company up into the 1970s when PVC pipe took over as a material for pipes. In recent years, this fibrous pipe began to fail due to crushing, roots, and other wear and damage. Bill In Hamptonburgh, NY In the original Orange County. Est. 1683 To email, remove the double zeros after @ You're right, of course. The folks offering the pipe "insurance" have calculated the chance of failure for your area and have set their rates accordingly. They'll do just fine. If you're concerned about pipe (or any other) similar failure, the best way to finance possible repairs is to self insure by putting the so-called payment into a savings plan of some sort. Then you control it, make a little on the savings and have it when you need it. Since you haven't heard of any pipe failures, chances are you have time to accumulate enough money before your particular chance of failure goes up. But, it's hard to do and hard to keep up enthusiasm for the idea -- just like setting up college funds, retirement funds and the like. Tomsic |
#31
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
On Sun, 30 Jun 2013 17:52:18 -0400, "Tomsic" wrote:
You're right, of course. The folks offering the pipe "insurance" have calculated the chance of failure for your area and have set their rates accordingly. They'll do just fine. Good to know. I was worried about them. If you're concerned about pipe (or any other) similar failure, the best way to finance possible repairs is to self insure by putting the so-called payment into a savings plan of some sort. Then you control it, make a little on the savings and have it when you need it. Since you haven't heard of any pipe failures, chances are you have time to accumulate enough money before your particular chance of failure goes up. But, it's hard to do and hard to keep up enthusiasm for the idea -- just like setting up college funds, retirement funds and the like. Tomsic When we had a young family, it was hard to save. Once you accumulate from about $5000 to $10,000 in cash or easily liquidated assets, you can cover most any household problem Appliance replacement, new roof, deductible on car insurance, etc. Even $1000 covers 90% of your potential problems. |
#32
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Suburban Water Service: Anybody Heard Of Failure?
Per Ed Pawlowski:
When we had a young family, it was hard to save. Once you accumulate from about $5000 to $10,000 in cash or easily liquidated assets, you can cover most any household problem Appliance replacement, new roof, deductible on car insurance, etc. Even $1000 covers 90% of your potential problems. When I was stationed in Hawaii, I used to hitch-hike into Waikiki to go surfing almost every day of the week. Two rides still stand out in memory. - The sixty-something guy driving a beater car with a bunch of stainless steel cookware in the back seat ("RenaWare"). His story: "When I was young, I always drove a new car, always had plenty money for the girls... and now I'm past retirement age living hand-to-mouth selling cookware door-to-door". - The somewhat-older guy (late seventies?) driving a new rental car and staying in one of the better Waikiki hotels. His story: "All my life I've been a bartender. No retirement plan except for myself. I split every dollar I earned three ways: 1/3 for Uncle Sugar (taxes), 1/3 for savings, and 1/3 to live on. I'm not rich by any means, but the world is my oyster." -- Pete Cresswell |
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