Water Service Line Repairs Insurance a SCAM!

Calling on Newport City Officials to declare Water Service Line Repairs Insurance a SCAM!

Alert Newport Residents (and Middletown + Portsmouth) that they do not need water service line insurance!

Have you recently received a letter in the mail sent by a company called HomeServe? The letter tells homeowners that they are responsible for maintaining and repairing the water service line connecting to their houses under their property. “Repairs to this line are not typically covered by basic homeowners (insurance) and could cost you thousands of dollars,” the letter reads.

The letter asks Newport homeowners to respond by the end of February to “accept your coverage benefits.” For $59.98 a year, the company says it will cover up to $6,000 of emergency repairs to water lines.

Photos of the Letter contents can be seen here: <click>

The company, also known as HomeServe USA Repair Management Corp., Home Emergency Insurance Solutions and Home Serve, entered into settlements and other agreements in 2010 with the Attorneys General in three states, and has paid nearly $100,000 in civil penalties and other costs related to consumer complaints regarding warranty misrepresentation and misleading advertising.

Asking The Newport Water Division division of the City of Newport's Department of Utilities ; “How many water service line repairs did you complete in 2012? In the last 5 years? In the last 10 years?

I believe this insurance company is preying on the elderly in Newport and Aquidneck Island

Yes, Newport's water service is OLD! (Started in 1876)...but the water service lines that connect your home to the water main are not in need of any emergency repairs!

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/07/cutpolicies.asp#axzz2K4MgBEvg

Fear of the future sell insurance. Because we can't predict the future, we want to be ready to cover our financial needs if, or when, something bad happens. Insurance companies understand this fear and offer a variety of insurance policies designed to protect us from a host of calamities that range from disability to disease and everything in between. While none of us wants anything bad to happen, many of the potential catastrophes that happen in our lives are not worth insuring against

#7. Water Line Coverage
Water companies have made an aggressive push to sell policies that cover the repair of the water line that runs from the street to your house. The odds are in your favor that you will never use this coverage, particularly if you live in a newer home. If you live an average suburban neighborhood and you do need to repair the water line, the distance to the street is short, the likelihood of a problem is low and repair costs are a few thousand dollars or less. The same goes for policies offered by other utility companies.

Beware of 'water line insurance' offer

http://migration.kentucky.gov/Newsroom/ag/waterlineagreement.htm

Attorney General Conway Reaches Agreement with Home Service USA over Water Line Service Coverage Solicitation

Attorney General Jack Conway and his Office of Consumer Protection today announced an agreement has been reached with Home Service USA and Home Service USA Repair Management regarding solicitations that were mailed last month to consumers in several Kentucky counties offering water line repair services.

The mail piece generated confusion and numerous complaints from consumers and public utility officials due to its design and wording, which suggested that the service was a mandatory fee imposed by the utility company. Under the agreement, known as an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance and filed today in Franklin Circuit Court, Home Service USA will mail corrective letters to all Kentucky consumers who purchased, or will purchase, water line repair services. The letters will clarify that the service is optional and not required by the consumer’s water utility company or local government. The consumer will also be given the opportunity to cancel the service by notifying Home Service USA within 30 days of the corrective letter and receive a full refund of any monies paid.

"I am pleased at the cooperation offered by Home Service USA and the swift action to ensure that Kentucky consumers are not misled by the original solicitation," said General Conway. "I also appreciate the vigilance of our consumers and utility officials in bringing this matter to our attention."

In addition to the corrective measures, Home Services USA will pay a total of $7,500 to the Commonwealth for civil penalties and the costs of investigation. Consumers who have concerns about a solicitation can contact the Attorney General's s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-888-342-9257 or file a complaint online at www.ag.ky.gov.