4 Reasons Everyone Should Consider Buying Flood Insurance

You’re not sure how this could be happening to you. Your home is all but submerged underwater. You live in a low flood zone, so you thought you were safe.

You also thought that your home owner’s insurance covered flood damage, but you were wrong about that too. They include the basics, but as far as replacing your stuff goes, you’re going to have to pay out of pocket.

You could have avoided most of this expense if you’d invested in flood insurance. Don’t believe us? Keep reading to see four ways flood insurance would have protected you in the aftermath of this disaster and how you can better prepare yourself for next time.

1. It Can be Affordable

It’s a common misconception that any kind of insurance outside of your home owner’s one can be expensive. The truth is that it’s not. Many homeowners buy flood insurance even if it’s not required because a lot of companies will tack it on for a reasonable extra cost.

You can also go through the NFIP for flood insurance. The total cost will equal up to how at-risk you are for a flood. If you’re in a low hazard zone, the price shouldn’t be too unreasonable.

Speaking of cost, there is no real way to say how much you’ll spend. It depends on your risk and the value of your home. It won’t be more expensive than shelling out a bunch of money out of pocket to replace your things and fix the flood damage though.

2. Every Home is in a Potential Flood Zone

Even if you are in a low hazard zone that doesn’t mean you’ll never experience a flood. A large number of claims come from homeowners that are in a moderate to low flood risk zone.

If you’re not sure where you fall, the NIFP can tell you. Mostly, if you fall within the A or V zones, you’re at high risk. B, C, and X are low to moderate zones, and D are zones that haven’t been mapped yet.

No matter the zone you fall into, preparing for a flood never hurts though. Again, if you’re in a low-risk zone, you’ll pay out a little less for insurance. So, why not get coverage?

3. Home Owner’s Insurance Doesn’t Cover it

Many people get home owner’s insurance and call it a day. The truth is, very rarely does the home owner’s insurance cover flooding unless your company allows you to add it on. For the most part, the only thing that covers flood damage is legit flood insurance.

Many people will try and turn to the government when disaster strikes, but that won’t help you unless the President declares a state of emergency.

Even if a state of emergency is declared, the assistance you’ll receive isn’t real compensation at all. It’s a high-interest loan that you’ll have to pay back over time.

4. Flood Losses Can be Huge

To put it in perspective for you, a mere 1 inch of water can cause over $20,000 in damage to your house. Considering most floods consist of ten inches or more of water, imagine how much stuff you’ll lose.

Without flood insurance, you’ll be paying this full amount out of your limited funds.

How to Decide How Much Coverage You’ll Need

Has all of this made you decide that you may need coverage after all? If so, you’ll need to find out how much you’ll need. After all, nobody likes paying extra for services that they don’t ever use.

Make a list of everything in your home that would need repairs in the event of a flood. Now, out of your list, estimate how much it would be to get these things fixed. That’s about how much coverage you’ll need your insurance to give you.

Types of Flood Coverage

Now that you’ve figured out how much coverage you’ll need, it’s time to pick out your plan. Your main choices are going to be the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or private flood insurance.

National Flood Insurance Program

There are over 20,000 communities that take part in this program, and if yours is one of the many, then you may qualify for both building and personal property coverage.

To get the flood insurance coverage, you’ll need to reach out to a local insurance company. If they offer NFIP, then they will be a means of communication between you and the government to get you set up.

Depending on how at risk your area is for a flood, this can be a cheaper option than private flood insurance.

Private Flood Insurance

Not many issuers offer private flood insurance, and the government doesn’t back them, so policies tend to vary. You’ll need to call different companies to check out their coverage options.

The benefit is that private flood insurance typically covers more and you won’t have to wait as long to get it started up.

Why Everyone Should Have Some Type of Flood Insurance

A flood can hit out of nowhere, even if you’re in a low-risk zone. That’s why you must use this article as a starting point for your research and see how you can get coverage for your things ASAP. Don’t wait until your home is waist-deep in water.

Flood insurance isn’t the only thing you’ll need to keep your home protected. Visit the Insurance section of our blog for more important coverage information.