It may not be a great time to think about flood insurance when water from a heavy rain is creeping up your lawn towards your front door.
We know you also have enough to worry about without adding floods, but now may be the perfect time for a chat with your favorite insurance agent about a good old-fashioned natural disaster. Mother Nature keeps on creating bigger and bigger storms, which keep causing more and more billions of dollars in damages across the country. And it’s not just national impacts like the ones recorded and monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that keep increasing and impacting lives here in central Missouri.
According to FEMA, just one inch of flood water can cause up to $25,000 in damages to your home. Let’s dive into some quick facts, definitions, and tools to help you decide if Flood Insurance is right for you.
A flood is defined as a sudden excess of water on land that is normally dry, that affects two or more acres of land or two or more properties. Usually, your Homeowners Insurance will not cover losses caused by flooding, which means that purchasing Flood Insurance is something to seriously consider.
Flood Zones near You
The Flood Insurance Risk Map (FIRM) shows flood zones in each community, and those zones determine your eligibility and rates for Flood Insurance. High-risk zones are those that start with A and V, and are sometimes called 100-year flood zones. This is a little misleading, as most people would assume that a “100-year flood zone” would only be expected to flood about once every 100 years. In reality, it means that every year, there is a 1% chance it will flood. If it flooded there 20 years ago, the area is in no way off the hook for the next 80 years!
Try following the FIRM link above and entering in your home address. Even if your home is not in a flood zone, you may be surprised by how close the nearest flood zone is. The FIRM is kept as current as possible to reflect any changes in topography and water management.
Homeowners Insurance and Flood
Since most Homeowners Insurance policies will not cover flood, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) offers Flood Insurance that you buy through your local insurance agency. Federal Flood Insurance policies have limits on Replacement Cost and Contents coverage amounts that may be lower than the ones on your Homeowners Insurance. They are a “no frills” policy and won’t pay for loss of use or scheduled personal property the way a Homeowners Insurance policy does. Flood Insurance is designed to help you repair or replace the permanent fixtures and major appliances of your home after a flood.
Another reason to purchase Flood Insurance is that it may be required by your lender if your property is fully or partially in a high-risk flood zone. Remembering the 1% rule, in the course of a 30-year mortgage, there is a 30% chance there may be a flood, which explains why lenders may require flood insurance!
Flood Insurance Endorsements
While most Homeowners Insurance policies do not cover flood, Auto-Owners insurance offers an Inland Flood endorsement to their Homeowners polices, and Barton Mutual Insurance now has a similar endorsement. The endorsement addresses some of the limitations of NFIP Flood policies, offering higher limits, a broader definition of flood, coverage for personal property in basements, to name a few. The endorsement is available for new and renewal business.
AO-Inland-FloodInsure with the People you Trust
The agents at Kasmann Insurance want you to understand your Flood Insurance options. Insurance can be complicated, and Flood Insurance is no exception. We LOVE answering insurance questions, and want to make sure that you and your family are covered by insurance that is correctly suited to your specific needs. When you’re ready to contact us, we are just a phone call or an email away.
Updated July 2024