Facts that EVERYONE Needs to Know About Flood Insurance
On the flip side of the coin, too much water can actually cause us to struggle to survive. Floods happen every year in most every state. There are River Floods, Coastal Floods, and Urban Floods. The latter are actually man-made disasters that result from the run off of rain water. Floods are commonly caused by excessive rain fall, melting snow, and hurricanes.
The United States is divided up into a series of flood zones. Whether you realize it or not, you reside in a flood zone. If you are required by the holder of your mortgage loan to carry flood insurance, then you live in an area of the country that is considered to be “high risk” for floods. Otherwise, your home and property probably aren’t covered by flood insurance. That means, if your home is damaged by flood waters, you will be financially responsible for replacing your entire home and all of its contents. According to The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), just an inch of water can cause several thousand dollars worth of damage. An inch of water can ruin carpets and paddings, furniture, and it can cause toxic mold to grow inside your home, just to name a few examples.
And, it’s interesting to note that almost a fourth of all of the flood damage claims submitted to The National Flood Insurance Program aren’t located in “high risk” areas.
Congress started The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968. The program was designed to provide flood victims with financial assistance so they could rebuild their homes and put the pieces of their lives back together again. It’s run by The Mitigation Division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
As long as the city, town, or village you live in participates in the NFIP, you can purchase flood insurance from the organization. Of course, the amount of your premium will depend on the flood zone you live in. If you reside in an area of the country that is considered to be a low risk area, your annual premiums could be as low as approximately a hundred dollars a year. Your total annual premiums will also depend on the type of coverage you choose. You can purchase flood insurance that will cover only your home. The NFIP even offers insurance protection for your basement, which is the hardest hit area in your house when a flood occurs. This government insurance covers such items as stairways, unpainted walls, ceilings, sump pumps, oil tanks, natural gas tanks, air conditioners, heating furnaces, hot water heaters, heat pumps, fiberglass insulation the cost of clean up, just to name a few examples, if you have their house or building coverage. Or, you can carry coverage on your personal belongings as well. Of course, the The National Flood Insurance Program encourages everyone to carry both the building and the content coverage so they will be fully covered by the insurance.
And you’re not restricted to buying flood insurance to protect your home and property from The National Flood Insurance Program. You can purchase NFIP flood insurance from many private insurance companies if you’d rather.
If your home and property have already been damaged by flood waters at some time, you can still purchase flood insurance, as long as your city, town, or village participates in the NFIP.
Just keep in mind that flood insurance kicks into effect thirty (30) days after you have paid your first premium payment. So if you wait too long to get coverage, you might not be covered when disaster hits.
