Most insured’s don’t realize that flood is not actually a covered loss on a standard home insurance policy. If the river behind your house floods due to heavy rains and floods your home, your standard homeowner’s insurance policy won’t cover the cost to repair your home or replace your personal belongings.
FEMA under the US Department of Homeland Security, states that “statistics show that people who like outside high-risk areas file more than 25 percent of flood claims nationwide.” What does this mean and how does it apply to most insureds?
What FEMA is saying is that the majority of people who carry flood insurance are in high risk areas such as Florida, Alabama, Texas, states primarily affected by hurricanes, however, there are many people throughout the US not in high risk areas, for examples states like Colorado or Wyoming, and those low risk insureds still file 25% of the flood claims each year.
What this tells us is that 25% of the people with flood insurance aren’t even in areas that floods regularly occur. They happen to be in states that don’t have high risk for floods, however, these individuals still had flood insurance coverage which allowed them get compensation for their flood related loss.
As I stated previously in this post, flood insurance coverage isn’t covered on your homeowner’s insurance policy, instead to obtain coverage for flood related claims, consumers need to get a separate flood insurance policy. Insurance carriers who are able to provide flood insurance provide their policies through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The National Flood Insurance program is a program under the US Department of Homeland Security, that “aims to reduce the impact of flooding on private and public structures” About Us – FloodSmart.gov
The NFIP provides resources regarding why you should buy flood insurance, how to buy flood insurance, understanding the premium costs, what to do before and after a flood and many other resources. I encourage anyone considering flood insurance and even those who think they may not need it to visit: https://www.floodsmart.gov/
Educate yourself on flood insurance. Flooding is the number one most common natural disaster in the United States and nearly a quarter of those occurrences are people who are not in high-risk areas. Protect yourself and your home! Consider flood insurance!