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Archive for the ‘Flood Insurance’ Category

Buying insurance for your home may not be the most enjoyable task in the world but it is a necessary one. There are however things you can do that can make the purchase of a policy relatively simple and stress free.

To start, check the insurance website of the state you reside in. If you are one of those people who were not aware that your state had such a website then you are not alone. Many individuals do not know this. It is worth researching further however as such an online resource can have its share of valuable information. For example, at the site you should be able to find names of companies as well as the ratings of companies, complaints and fraud reports.

This is all very significant because it has to do with the area in which you live. It does you no good whatsoever to know that any given provider performs at its top in another state that is thousands of miles away from you. What you want to know is whether the service in your part of the country is good or not.

Your next step should be to go online and search for companies that make it their business to rate insurance firms. This is particularly relevant if the companies you are considering are well known companies. Two of the best sites to check out for this include A.M. Best and J.D. Power. These sites offer an array of information on select companies. Examples of this include policy features, pricing, billing, claims and overall satisfaction ratings. When perusing a site that rates companies make sure that the surveys that they conduct have a basis in service quality and customer satisfaction (or more specifically, independent customer satisfaction).

Before buying coverage from any insurance company you need to find one that is solvent. In other words, the financial health of the business in question is essential to your decision. Do not trust your home to a company that is having financial problems! You need to find out if they have enough money to pay out in the event that you need to file a claim with them. This pertinent information is given out on a quarterly basis and should be able to be found with relative ease over the Internet.

Lowest rates are something everyone looks for when it comes to any type of insurance. A homeowner policy is no different in this respect. The Internet has made comparison shopping simple and convenient. In fact the rates you are looking for are virtually at the tips of your fingers! Do a search and you will find any number of websites that can provide you with instant quotes. Find a site that you like and then use it to zero in on the rates that are the lowest around. This is a faster and often less frustrating way to look for coverage for your home in comparison with having to call company after company to inquire about rates, or spending hours on the telephone with an agent or broker.

Residents of the US Gulf Coast region are particularly wary of insurance issues after recent hurricane seasons have proven to be more destructive than usual. They are more careful about warnings, evacuations, protecting homes, and other issues that may have been overlooked ten years ago.

However, while many adjustments have been made, it seems that hurricane insurance is something that people either do not understand or simply forget about as hurricane season approaches. Here are some tips to help you make decisions about what’s the best way to protect your home and other valuable assets.

Tip 1: Review your policies carefully

If you currently have hurricane insurance, pull out your policy and read it over carefully. If there are terms you do not understand, call your agent and ask these questions until you get the answers you need. When it comes to legal documents such as insurance policies, it is never a good idea to assume things or take something for granted – make sure that issues of concern are explicitly stated in your policy.

Some things to keep in mind when looking over your documents:

- Any changes in the last year. Have you added to your assets or purchased a new television? Make sure that those are added to your policy and that anything you have sold or gotten rid of is taken off. Removing things may lower your premium and adding new assets ensures these will also be covered.

- What is and is not covered in the policy. Is there a limit on your clothing? Do you need a separate policy for jewelry or antiques? Don’t wait until something happens to answer these questions – it will be too late to fix them then.

Tip 2: Consider flood insurance

Most homeowners’ policies cover wind damage – an important component when it comes to protecting your home from tropical storms – but not flood damage. For example, the policy will cover damage due to wind and damage that occurs because water was able to enter as a result of wind damage, but this does not mean that all water damage that can occur in a hurricane will be covered. Talk to your agent about flood insurance and remember that flood insurance goes into effect thirty days after the policy is created and paid for, making it extremely important to address this as soon as possible.

Tip 3: Go digital with important documents

Most people know that they should keep their important documents, including insurance policies, in a safe place, but after seeing the damage from storms like Katrina, Rita and Gustav, it can be hard to decide where the appropriate safe place would be. The internet offers a great option for storing documents because you can keep a scanned copy online, which will be accessible from anywhere if you need it. You may want to keep important phone numbers online as well in case you lose your cell phone or cannot access your written records.

Texas, Florida, and Louisiana have the most flood related damages in the United States. Texas has millions of acres that are prone to flash floods, more than any other state. Large coastal areas and high rainfall rates contribute to the flooding problem.

Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968 to provide coverage that most property policies don’t have. Virtually, no insurance companies include flood coverage in their homeowners insurance plans. Some people have a misconception that they don’t need flood insurance because of federal disaster programs. Actually disaster plans are normally in the form of a loan that has to be paid back, and this is not a good substitute for flood insurance.

The cost of flood insurance depends on the area where you live and the amount of coverage that you get. Areas outside of 100 year flood plain maps will qualify for very low rates. Please note that being outside of the flood plain does not mean there is no risk!! Over 25% of flood claims made are in areas outside of the normal flood zones.

Listed below are rates that apply in some low risk areas. Rates will be higher in areas that are within the flood plain. Flood insurance is generally inexpensive and worth considering to protect your property and/or your home. You can’t wait for a big storm and then get insurance because a flood policy usually goes into effect 30 days after you buy it!

Contents Only Coverage:

$8,000 – $61/year

$20,000 – $116/year

$40,000 – $146/year

$60,000 – $166/year

$100,000 – $196/year

Building and Contents Coverage:

$20,000 – $8,000 – $112/year

$50,000 – $20,000 – $180/year

$100,000 – $40,000 – $233/year

$150,000 – $60,000 – $264year

$250,000 – $100,000 – $317/year

Texas residents can call our office for Houston Flood Insurance rates and information at 281-537-2700. We also have online information at www.texas-flood-insurance.com.

Far too many homeowners are under the erroneous belief their homeowner insurance covers flooding. This simply isn’t true. If you live in an area prone to hurricanes, tropical type storms, heavy rains and other watery weather conditions, flood insurance would be a wise investment.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created by Congress in 1968. The purpose was to provide a means for property owners to financially protect themselves in the event they experienced a flood.

The program isn’t for home owners only. It covers renters and business owners as long as their community participates in the NFIP. This means the participating communities have agreed to adopt and enforce ordinances that meet or exceed FEMA requirements to reduce the risk of flooding.

The reason the community adopts FEMA requirements is that FEMA administers the NFIP. The FEMA rules are not overly burdensome to the community. They have to first join the NFIP and enforce sound floodplain management standards.

Flood insurance is not purchased through FEMA or the NFIP. Rather, consumers purchase this coverage through property and casualty (PC) insurance agents. Neither the agents nor the participating insurance companies can set their own rates.

Flood insurance rates depend on many factors. The most obvious are the date and type of construction of your home coupled with your building’s level of risk. This tells you flood insurance coverage protects both buildings and contents. The land your buildings or contents occupy is not covered. You can not insure land.

According to the NFIP, building coverage includes the insured building and its foundation, the electrical and plumbing system, central air conditioning equipment, furnaces, water heaters, refrigerators, cooking stoves, built in appliances and permanently installed carpeting over unfinished flooring.

The NFIP says clothing, furniture, electronic equipment, curtains, portable and window air conditioners, portable microwaves and dishwashers, carpeting that is not already included in property coverage and clothing washers and dryers are included under contents coverage.

If you have a flood claim, you will be reimbursed in one of two methods. The first is called Replacement Cost Value (RCV) and the second is Actual Cash Value (ACV).

The RCV is the cost to replace damaged property. It is reimbursable to owners of single-family, primary residences insured to within 80% of the building’s replacement cost.

All other buildings and personal property (i.e. contents) are valued at ACV. The ACV is the RCV at the time of loss minus physical depreciation. Personal property is always valued using the ACV.

Flood insurance can seem complicated so it is wise to have the agent answer all of your questions. If you have to, go over each coverage until you understand what is and is not covered.

While flood insurance may only be mandatory for residents living in areas that are prone to flooding, it is important for all homeowners to purchase flood insurance. One of the most common misconceptions is that only locations near a major body of water are apt to flood, but the truth is that flooding can occur almost anywhere. Water damage is unfortunately not covered by most home insurance policies and individuals without water damage insurance are often left to pay for the entire catastrophe themselves.

Many homeowners’ insurance claims that involve any hurricanes or other natural disasters are automatically denied due to the fact that there was water damage involved. Without water damage insurance, only damage that can be proven to be caused by wind or other factors will be covered.

Flood insurance is usually quite affordable and is regulated by the Federal government. Various areas of the United States are considered to be a higher risk to insurance companies and some geographic areas will require a governmental agency to provide subsidies to the insurance company to offset an otherwise high cost. Homeowners must realize that paying for flood insurance is much easier than dealing with the disastrous consequences of not being adequately covered.

To guarantee the finest deal on water damage insurance is found, a sensible consumer needs to compare many quotes from different insurance providers. The fastest and simplest way to achieve this task is by completing a short online form and submitting it on an insurance comparing website. Numerous different companies will immediately supply the consumer with a no obligation estimation and it’s actually rather easy to compare and choice the most suitable insurance.

Flood insurance is a separate type of policy that should be purchased by anyone who lives in an area that is at high risk for flooding because most if not all standard home insurance policies don’t cover two things – Earthquakes and floods. And for people who live in high to moderate risk areas for floods, there is a 26% chance that your home will experience some flood damage in the thirty year period that you hold your mortgage. Even just a few inches of water going through your home can create massive damage.

Even just a few inches of water going through your home can create massive damage. Think about it. Flood water is going to contain sewage, pollution, and chemical waste such as oil and gas and now it is in your living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom seeping into your carpets and walls leaving a lasting imprint. Even in a best case scenario – your carpets and floors will have to be ripped out and replaced and if your walls were damaged you will likely have to rip out the drywall, insulation and baseboards and replace them as well to guard against mold and rot.

Can you afford to replace the contents of your home and do the massive repairs that will be required to make your home livable and marketable again without the help of insurance? If we learned anything from Hurricane Katrina it is that home repairs are extensive and expensive and most homes that were hit by Hurricane Katrina are still damaged and abandoned all these years later as former homeowners were unable to do the costly repairs to make the homes safe again.

Even if you feel safe from flooding because you live in an area that is not considered in a flood zone, you should keep in mind that floods can happen anywhere at any time. Every state has the risk of flooding. Floods can start from more than just Hurricanes or rivers that crest over banks. Winter storms, snow melt off, and even new construction altering the water run off patterns for an area and lead to flooding where it is least expected to occur.

Flood insurance cost varies depending on a variety of variables including the age of the building to be insured, the number of floors, the building occupancy, the location of the buildings contents and where it is located in a flood zone. Other factors that affect premiums include how much coverage you want and do you want to cover the building or the contents of the building or both?

Talk to your agent about flood insurance before you need it because when you actually do need it and don’t have it in place, it will be too late.