The City Council of Webster City, at its second April meeting, agreed to sign a contract with Service Partners Private Label Inc., a Pennsylvania company doing business as Service Line Warranties of America.
The contract runs for a term of three years, and is renewable, if both Service Line and the city agree to extend it.
SLWA’s business is selling maintenance agreements, covering exterior water service lines, exterior septic lines, and interior (inside your home) plumbing and drainage. The contracts are, effectively, insurance policies, in which SLWA will pay for certain, specified repairs in exchange for a monthly fee paid by the homeowner.
Many Webster City homeowners know — firsthand — the inconvenience and cost of repairing water or sewer lines, some of which, in certain neighborhoods, may be 100 years old. Such repairs, which can involve extensive and expensive excavation, can mean a homeowner must come up with thousands of dollars at short notice. When it’s all over, you may be left with a scar on your lawn where trenches, sometimes 6-12 feet deep, were dug.
In the agreement, the city will allow SLWA to use the city’s name and logo in its marketing.
This can include on SLWA’s website, in its social media posts, and in print or email marketing materials sent to Webster City property owners. All marketing efforts will be paid for by SLWA, and are subject to review and approval by the city prior to use.
The contract also contains this clause, “If city elects to do so, city may provide SLWA with zip code data for customers in agreed-upon format. If city further elects to do so, city may also provide a list of the name, service address, postal address if different, residential telephone number, and, if available, email address of customers …”
At press time, city staff had not decided how much citizen/homeowner data it would provide to SLWA for marketing purposes.
The agreement cites three plans, and prices it will charge Webster City homeowners. The exterior water service line plan is available for $7.99 per month; the exterior sceptic line plan goes for $12.99/month, and the interior plumbing & drainage plan also sells for $12.99 per month.
Information regarding coverage of the plans can be found on the company’s website, http://www.homeserve.com.
For this article, we reviewed the “fine print” relating to the water service line policy. A short paragraph described coverage allowed under the plan. In summary, it explains the plan covers a water service line “that has experienced an operational failure … due to normal wear and tear, not accident or negligence.”
The section titled “Important Coverage Information and Full Terms and Conditions” contains a long list of items not covered. Those include frozen lines, tanks or appliances, replacement of artificial grass or plants, sprinklers or irrigation systems, ponds, waterfalls or other water structures, or fields, meadows or pastures.
In order to collect under this policy, you must own the structure served by the utility line, as well as the land it is located on.
Recreational vehicles and mobile homes can’t be insured with these plans.
And, take note of this, you can’t buy a policy if “you know of any current problems with your exterior water service line before enrollment.”
These plans are not traditional homeowner insurance policies, or a substitute for such comprehensive plans.
A local insurance agent who declined to be identified said: “Most traditional homeowner insurance plans,” such as those sold by State Farm, Allstate, Farmer’s or Nationwide, which are among the largest underwriters of homeowner insurance in Iowa, “offer more coverage at far lower rates.”
How much lower? If you bought the SLWA water service line policy at $7.99 a month, your annual cost would be $95.88. Coverage through your existing homeowner policy may cost only $40 a year or so, depending on the insurance company and policy you select.
Research for this article confirmed SLWA policies may be the right choice for some homeowners. A dated January 31, 2025, article on the This Old House Insider website, http://www.thisoldhouse.com, offered this opinion on SLWA warranty plans:
“Service Line Warranties of America is a good option for homeowners looking to protect the infrastructure around their house. For only $5-$10 a month, you can choose to protect your water line, sewer and septic line, or interior plumbing. Most of these exterior repairs require excavation, which can get pricey. Purchasing a policy from SLWA is an affordable way to safeguard your property from expensive repairs.
However, SLWA has quite a few drawbacks compared to standard home warranty companies. For starters, it doesn’t cover most of the appliances and home systems that traditional home warranties include. If you’re looking for coverage for items such as your refrigerator, HVAC system, oven, washer and dryer, this is not the best company for you.
A common misunderstanding held by many homeowners is that the city is responsible for maintenance of water and sewer lines on their property, or that it’s covered in homeowners’ insurance policies.
This is not true. In fact, property owners are responsible for all water, sceptic and sewer lines on their property up to the point where it connects with the main city-owned trunk lines.
SLWA was founded in 2003 as a subsidiary of home warranty company HomeServ.
View this article as it originally appeared in the Daily Freeman-Journal.
Last modified: May 29, 2025