HAMILTON, Ontario — Three years ago, the City of Hamilton began a partnership with Service Line Warranties of Canada, a leading home service repair plan provider. Through the partnership, Hamilton residents have the option to sign up for service plans, ranging in monthly cost from $5.00 to $6.50, to protect against the high cost of emergency repairs to their exterior water and sewer service lines, as well as interior plumbing and drainage systems.
Since the partnership began in September 2014, nearly 12,000 Hamilton residents have signed up for an optional SLWC service plan, with many signing up for multiple plans. As of today, customers have benefitted from $1 million in repairs, ranging from small repairs to entire service line replacements. Those customer savings are investments by SLWC in local infrastructure improvements and dollars kept in the community utilizing local contractors who perform the repairs. Additionally, the City’s homeowners who have needed service over the past year report a 97% satisfaction rate.
“We entered into this partnership three years ago to help protect our residents who might not be aware that they are responsible for the maintenance and repair of water and sewer service lines on their property,” said Mike Zegarac, City of Hamilton General Manager of Finance and Corporate Services. “Residents should continue to consider enroling in this program. Accessing warranty protection will assist residents who may become inconvenienced by service line failures to their homes.”
Hamilton homeowners continue to express their satisfaction with the program in post repair surveys:
“This is an excellent program that I have mentioned to several of my friends and it provides prompt and professional service. Highly recommended this to many people.”
“It gives me peace of mind and a sense of comfort knowing help is a call away when faced with plumbing issues, and to know that the help is quick, friendly and professional.”
“I wasn’t sure this was a good idea and then I had a broken pipe in my basement on Easter weekend and it was fixed quickly.”
“Excellent service, happy that it is available in Hamilton.”
“When a homeowner’s water line breaks or sewer line becomes blocked, it can be an overwhelming situation. Suddenly, you’re looking at hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a problem you probably didn’t even know existed the day before,” said Tom Rusin, CEO of HomeServe, SLWC’s parent company. “We are proud of our partnership with the City of Hamilton and that we have been able to relieve the stress of emergency repairs for so many City homeowners over the past three years.”
The water and sewer lines from the home to the City of Hamilton’s main connections are the responsibility of the homeowner. Since repairs to these pipes are not covered by basic homeowner’s insurance or by the City, homeowners are left with the inconvenience of navigating emergency repairs on their own. SLWC’s service plans serve as a line of defense, ensuring that in the event of an unexpected repair, the burden on homeowners is minimized or eliminated.
For more information on how to bring this program to your city, contact us.
About Service Line Warranties of Canada
Service Line Warranties of Canada is part of HomeServe (HomeServe), a leading provider of home repair solutions serving over 4.4 million customers across Canada and the U.S. SLWC is a trusted source of utility line protection plans. Together with HomeServe, SLWC is dedicated to supplying best-in-class repair plans and delivering superior customer service to consumers directly and through 850 leading municipal, utility and association partners in North America. For information on SLWC please visit www.slwofc.ca.