Call Kurtis: Do I Need Insurance For My Toilet?

DIXON (CBS13) - Carter Edson has been paying for water and sewage insurance protection for years, just in case something goes wrong.

And when his toilet overflowed damaging his floor, he was glad he paid $7.99 a month extra for insurance through his water bill.

But Edson says when he needed it; the insurance company told him that his policy wouldn't cover the water damage.

"I wanted to reach out and choke them." "I was thinking I spent several hundred dollars over the years," he said.

So what is this insurance?

We've learned some water districts promote insurance offered by third party companies.

In Edson's district, The California Water Service Group (CWSG) has a deal with HomeServe Insurance, for customers to pay for protection, which shows up on their bill.

Ross Moilan of California Water Service Group says, "A lot of customers have asked us for it."

But we've learned you've got to be careful because there are quite a few policies to choose from. Some cover just the plumbing inside of the house and some just the pipes from your house to the street.

"This way it allows people to pick or choose what they want," said Moilan.

But Edson learned it may not cover everything you'd think it covered.

His interior policy covers unclogging a toilet, but it doesn't cover water damage left behind from a clogged toilet.

"It's infuriating," he said.

He snaked the toilet himself and wants his floors fixed; but now after this experience, he's dumping the protection he has had for decades.

"Don't waste your money on this stuff," he said.

CWSG admits this insurance isn't right for everybody and people should take their specific needs into consideration.

Some local water companies profit off of these policies. When we asked CWSG how much they get? We were told there is a business relationship with HomeServe but they wouldn't tell us how much they get.

You can shop around to find this same type of protection from other companies and possibly find a better deal.