New England - Insurance Considerations

[Suzette Rovelsky]

Hello, I'm planning on buying a house in New Hampshire or Vermont. If you own in the New England area, what other damage coverage do you cover for besides flood damage? What do you pay for your insurance annually? 

[Greg Powers]

If the property is older, like many in the northeast, and if it's on public water and sewer, I would strongly recommend Service Line Coverage.  That will cover water pipes coming in and sewer lines running out.  I live in Manchester, NH and some of the sewer pipes are a hundred years old.  One of my past clients had to replace their sewer line at a cost of $20,000.  It can be one of the most expensive capital expenses you'll run into, and it's not always easy to diagnose during an inspection.  You can have a septic company run a camera down the line to check for collapses, tree roots, etc., but the coverage is relatively inexpensive relative to the potential cost of the fix.