Flood Insurance: Yes? No? Maybe?

Flood insurance is available through your insurance company but it must be added to your policy. It’s actually a good idea for many more people than those who live in floodplains. Floods can occur nearly anywhere and they are four times as likely to occur as a fire. Flood insurance is not meant to get your house back into its original condition—that’s what your homeowner’s policy is for. Flood insurance is a federal program designed to get people up and functioning as soon as possible after a flood. It is administered by FEMA so…….well, it’s food for thought.

It’s worth checking to see if your community qualifies for the National Flood Insurance Program. It involves community responsibility for reducing local flood risks. Not all communities qualify, and not all properties within those communities qualify. Not all types of structures qualify. A structure built over water, for instance, would not qualify.

One of the problems with flood insurance is there are so many repeat customers. We may be beginning to learn that there are some places we shouldn’t build houses. If you live in a flood-prone area, there is about a one-in-four chance there will be a flood in any given 30-year period. Those odds alone should make a person seriously consider applying for flood insurance.

The purpose of flood insurance is disaster mitigation. There are maximums of coverage, so the full cost of repair might be more than the aid. Also, not all companies handle flood insurance. Ask your agent.

There are different types of flood insurance depending on your type of dwelling. Also, you need to know there are separate deductibles for buildings and contents, and there are maximums for claims on either. When you do buy flood insurance, there is a thirty-day waiting period before it goes into effect. This is to prevent people from buying coverage only when a bad storm is predicted, and then later dropping it. Insurance isn’t to be considered a sometime thing. It’s a commitment to your home.

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