My Sewer Is Backing Up Does Home Insurance Pay?

So your home sewer system is starting to back up. Nothing severe but here recently it is backing up into the tub downstairs or wherever. It slowly drains away and but will come back with high usage. Your wife's first thought is to have you call the insurance agent and see if it's covered. Americans must get away from this mentality that "Insurance should pay for it" because it only leads to frustration and higher premiums.
Well let's say you go ahead and call the insurance agent. You give him or her your current situation with the drain not draining and you ask, "Is it covered?" and he responds with a possible yes. However he goes into more questioning about how much is backing up, has it flowed over the toilet or tub and damaged any of the carpet or flooring. You tell him no it has done none of that. The agent suggest that you get a plumber to come out and assess the possible problem with the sewer system and to contact him when that is completed because it could be a covered loss.
Now I say, "it could be a covered loss" because Home insurance will pay for a "loss sustained from a sudden and accidental breakage of a pipe." Home insurance will not pay for the pipe but the damage from the release of what was in the pipe. What was in the pipe leaks all over your floor and ruins the carpet or hardwood can be expensive to replace and home insurance will pay for that. Not the pipe.
Back to the sewer. If there has been no damage caused from the pipe leaking something onto the floor then we need to explore the cost of fixing the sewer drain. Most likely your drain is just clogged. Home insurance will not pay to have your drain unclogged. Having a clogged drain is not a catastrophic loss. Your house burning down is a catastrophic loss and this is why you have insurance. So the next time your wife says call the insurance agent to see if it's covered ask yourself, "is this loss or something that I have to pay to fix a catastrophic loss to what I have insured?" If it is then call your insurance agent.

Should I turn that claim in?

Whether it is an auto claim or a home insurance claim you should ask yourself, 'should I turn this claim in.' I feel as a society Americans rely to much on our insurance to fix a small mishap that may have happened to our car or home. If you backed into your garage and dented the bumper it is much better to pay to fix that out of your pocket. Why you ask? Because your insurance policy whether it is your car insurance policy or your home insurance policy is not designed to fix the little things. It is designed for catastrophic losses to you. The more we use our insurance on the little things the more you will keep seeing your insurance premium go up. Currently the average percent that Americans spend on their budget to pay for insurance premiums is about 13%. That is huge. A $5000 monthly budget equates to a $650/month on insurance premiums. Car, Home, Life, Health, Boat, and etc. So you can help reduce that amount by reducing the notion to call your insurance company when you have a small mishap in your car or at your home. To help you not turn in a small claim raise your deductible or even eliminate coverage for physical damage to your car. You will be amazed how much your insurance premium will drop if you do. You might want to think about not turning in a claim to your health insurance company for a runny nose as well. Think about it next time.