Guides
Service line coverage for water, sewer and power lines
Service line coverage pays to dig up and repair buried water, sewer and power lines you own, which a standard HO-3 doesn't. Who owns what, plus limits and gaps.
Service line coverage is an endorsement that pays to repair or replace the underground utility lines on your property, such as the water line from the meter, the sewer lateral to the street and buried power or gas lines, along with the digging needed to reach them. A standard HO-3 generally won't pay for these because the usual causes of failure, wear, corrosion and tree roots, are excluded. The limits on the endorsement are modest, with $10,000 and $25,000 the examples the Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel gives, usually with a $500 deductible.
Whose line is it
Utilities maintain the main and the meter. You usually own the private line from the meter or property line to the house, and you pay to fix it. East Bay Municipal Utility District says its crews repair meters and mains, while customers maintain and repair the line that runs from the meter to their building (EBMUD). Medford Water in Oregon says the same about the line between its meter and the home (Medford Water).
The boundary differs by city and by utility, and it differs again for sewer, gas and electric lines. Some cities own the portion of a sewer lateral under the street or sidewalk, and others stop at the property line. Before you assume a failure is yours or the utility's, call the utility or your public works office and ask where its responsibility ends. Insurers pay only where you are legally responsible for the damaged line, as Acuity Insurance says in describing its endorsement.
What the base policy does and doesn't do
The ISO HO-3 (HO 00 03 05 11) covers building damage from the accidental discharge of water from a plumbing system on the premises, including the cost to tear out and replace part of the building to repair the system. It does not cover the failed pipe itself, and it excludes wear and tear and rust or corrosion, which is why an old, corroded or root-invaded line is your cost. Whether digging up a yard or driveway counts as tear-out of the building is a question the form's wording does not clearly answer, a problem discussed in septic systems, wells and underground pipes. For leaks under the slab, see slab leaks and tear-out coverage.
What the endorsement pays for
According to the Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel, service line coverage pays to repair or replace underground lines on your property plus the excavation and landscape restoration needed after a loss. It lists water, steam, sewer, drain, power, fiber optic, cable, internet, natural gas and sprinkler lines (OPIC). The causes typically covered include wear and tear, rust and corrosion, mechanical and electrical breakdown, damage from trees or roots, freezing, collapse and the weight of equipment or vehicles.
Westfield Insurance describes its endorsement the same way. It covers a leak, break, rupture, collapse or arcing in a buried line from causes such as collapse, freezing, corrosion and wear, and it says repairs can cost more than $7,000, a figure from the insurer, not a market average. Excavation is paid up to the limit.
What it commonly leaves out
OPIC lists typical exclusions: water wells, heating and cooling systems, sprinkler systems, fuel tanks, septic systems, lines under a body of water such as a swimming pool, lines not connected and ready for use, and lines that run through or under the home. That last item matters. A leak in a supply line under your foundation may not be a service line claim at all, and it is a different problem from the lateral in your yard.
Westfield also excludes losses caused by fire, flood, lightning, riot, vandalism and sinkhole or subsidence collapse. Those causes go to the base policy or to separate coverage.
Examples of published terms
| Insurer or form | Limit | Deductible | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas OPIC's description of typical coverage | $10,000 or $25,000 | $500 | Separate special deductible is common |
| Acuity Insurance Service Line Coverage | $10,000 | $500 | Pays where the insured is legally responsible for the line |
| Homeowners of America Insurance Company, form HA.SL (see Homeowners of America) | $10,000 | $500 | For new or renewal business only; it cannot be added mid-term |
| Erie Insurance ErieSecure Home Plus bundle | Up to $10,000 | Ask your agent | Underground service line protection is bundled with other coverage |
These are published examples, read in October 2026. Limits, causes and exclusions differ from one insurer's form to the next, so ask for the endorsement text before you rely on any of them. Most are insurer-specific forms, and some are bundled into a package of endorsements. See homeowners endorsements worth considering for how to price a package against the separate pieces.
How it fits with water backup and equipment breakdown
The three coverages sound alike and do different jobs:
- Water backup pays for damage inside the house when sewage or drain water comes up through a floor drain. It is covered in water backup and sewer backup coverage.
- Service line pays for the buried pipe or cable, and the dig, outside the house.
- Equipment breakdown pays for machines such as furnaces and water heaters. See equipment breakdown coverage: what it pays and who needs it.
A cracked lateral can trigger two of these at once: the line is a service line claim, and the sewage in the basement is a water backup claim, each with its own limit and deductible.
Utility mailers and branded programs
Many homeowners first hear about this coverage in a letter. EBMUD points customers to an independent provider but says it does not endorse any coverage provider. Medford Water says the solicitations mailed in its area do not come from the utility and that it has not given the senders customer names. It describes the product as working much like insurance and calls buying it a personal decision.
The honest case for a utility-branded plan is that it is simple, priced flat and sold for a single purpose. The case against is that some are service contracts rather than insurance, so state insurance regulation may not apply the same way, and they can duplicate an endorsement you already own or could add to your homeowners policy for less. Ask the seller three questions: is this insurance or a service contract, who stands behind the claims, and what are the cap per repair and the exclusions for lines already failing? Medford Water's own advice is also sound: get a local plumber's estimate, ask your insurer whether it offers the coverage and read the limits before you buy.
A hypothetical example
Say tree roots crack the 60-foot sewer lateral between your house and the street. Excavation, replacement and lawn restoration come to $14,000 in this invented example. Without an endorsement, the base policy pays nothing for the pipe, and you pay $14,000. With a $10,000 limit and a $500 deductible, the insurer would pay about $10,000 under most forms and you would pay roughly $4,000, subject to how your form applies the deductible and the limit. If sewage also backs into the basement, water backup coverage is a separate claim.
Before you buy
- Map your lines. Find where water, sewer, power, gas and communications enter the property, and which of them you own.
- Check age and material. Older clay or cast-iron laterals are more likely to fail than newer plastic ones. A plumber's camera inspection tells you more than a guess.
- Get the limit options and the exclusions in writing. Ask whether lines under the house or slab are excluded and whether landscaping and driveways are restored.
- Ask about the deductible and any waiting period or age limit, and whether the endorsement can be added in the middle of the term.
- Compare the price with a plumber's estimate for your yard, and with any utility-branded plan.
If a line fails, shut off the water or power, confirm with the utility where its responsibility ends, get a written diagnosis, and call your insurer before anyone digs so that the claim can be inspected.
Key takeaways
- You generally own the private utility lines from the meter or property line to your house, and the utility owns the main. The boundary varies, so ask.
- A standard HO-3 excludes wear and corrosion and does not clearly pay to dig up a yard, so a failed buried line is usually your cost.
- Service line coverage is an endorsement with modest limits, with $10,000 to $25,000 the usual examples, and typical exclusions for wells, septic systems and lines under the home.
- It differs from water backup and equipment breakdown, though one failure can trigger more than one.
- Treat a mailer as a sales pitch. Ask whether it is insurance or a service contract and compare it with an endorsement from your own insurer.