To Sum Up...

For anyone who cares or who has been silently following the saga of the basement submersion, I would like to educate you in the ways of home ownership. None of the damage to my basement, the things in it or the replacement of the water heater are covered by the warranty for which I pay a premium every month because none of these problems were considered normal wear and tear. (I do not know what "normal wear and tear" is, but backed up drains are not it.) Thank goodness we have home owner's insurance! Wait - silly me, my insurance doesn't cover any of this either - because of some clause or other in my 500 page home owner's document. However, if I wish to pay an additional premium and add sewage-pipe-back-up coverage, they will happily cover it next time.

What exactly am I paying either of these companies for? Peace of mind? What really is that? The nagging feeling that I am giving them my money - for really nothing in return? I don't find much peace in that. Perhaps I am being naive. Perhaps every other person in the world understands this policy procedure and accepts it as logical and acceptible.

I however, feel just a little bit cheated. I could expound here on the pitfalls of a system where service costs too much thus creating an a perception of need for insurance which will save you in your time of unexpected trouble, only to "legitimately and legally" fail to rescue you at all because the most common and destructive kinds of trouble are not a part of the rescue package. But why bother - it all ends up sounding like whining, and in the end, I'll still write that premium check every month just in case.

But next time, I will take the time to read the fine print and wade through all 500 pages of my policy - also, just in case.