For the last few months the utility companies have been sending us notices that they will no longer maintain lines from the street to their meter on the house. While this is not new for the water line (whose meter is at the street anyway) it is new for the phone, electric, and natural gas company. Each one now encourages people to "subscribe" to a service that will cover any expenses incurred for maintenance/repair for about $6 a month, conveniently added to your monthly utility bill. This is for each separate utility, so totals about $216 a year for gas, electric, and water/sewer.
The insurance company that insures our house and cars recently started offering a rider to the homeowner's policy to add that same coverage for $70/year, or about $5.33 a month. I bit on it because we did have to pay for a new water line a couple of years ago to the tune of $3,400.
But it does say a lot about how profitable those "maintenance" charges must be for the companies offering them.
The insurance company that insures our house and cars recently started offering a rider to the homeowner's policy to add that same coverage for $70/year, or about $5.33 a month. I bit on it because we did have to pay for a new water line a couple of years ago to the tune of $3,400.
But it does say a lot about how profitable those "maintenance" charges must be for the companies offering them.