Is your home covered against flood damage?
Did you know your homeowner’s policy does not cover against flooding?
Did you know that during the course of a 30-year mortgage you have a 26% chance of experiencing a flood?
Even if you think you’re “not in a flood zone”, it’s important to know roughly 25 percent of all flood insurance claims come from areas not considered high risk.
Floods and flash floods can occur anytime anywhere. Whether you live high risk or preferred risk flood area no matter where you live your home is at risk. Flood insurance is more affordable than you think.
Floods can be devastating. So much so that the Federal Government runs a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This is why Home and Property Insurance typically doesn’t cover flooding. The government draws a Flood Hazard Boundary Map that divides the country into flood zone risk areas, and their Flood Insurance Rate Map sets the coverage and premiums for those areas. You can enter your address at FloodSmart.gov to find out your risk.
The standard waiting period for a Flood Insurance Policy to go into effect is 30 days from the application and premium payment date.
One exception to this rule occurs when Flood Insurance is required for a mortgage loan, in which case the effective date for Flood Insurance coverage is the loan closing date (from FloodSmart.gov).
You may need to consider additional water backup insurance. Neither the NFIP, nor your base homeowner’s policy, will typically cover water that backs up through sewers or drains or overflows from a sump pump. To be sure you have the right coverage, call us for all of your specific concerns about water damage.