Top 3 Awareness Tips of Home Insurance : Part 3

Insurance Coverage Awareness for Homeowners: Part 3

Have you carefully considered Flood Coverage?

Click Here to see Part 1
Click Here to see Part 2

This is the final part to the series "Top 3 Awareness Tips of Home Insurance".
If you haven't read part 1 or part 2, be sure to connect above and read them.

Today we will look at Flood Insurance coverage.
Have you carefully considered Flood Coverage, remembering we live next door to an existent dike hazard?

1.) Would it surprise you to know that Lake Okeechobee is ranked by the U.S. Government to be right behind New Orleans in the possibility of catastrophic flooding caused by breached dikes? Less than 100 years ago, before the dikes, much of Okeechobee was under water from a hurricane and several thousand lives were lost around the big lake. If the dikes were breached today, huge areas could be flooded. Your homeowners insurance would not pay anything at all.
2.) Even without the above, and even if you are not in a flood zone, sewers back up (not covered in a homeowner's policy), storm sewers become plugged with debris, and critical pumps fail. While the City of Okeechobee is listed as a "C-Zone", it doesn't mean it will not flood. Rather, it means that the City did not choose to participate in the National Flood Program.
Some in the city have found this out to their misfortune.
3.) If you are not in a "A-Zone" (which is prone to flood) the cost of insurance is relatively cheap for the protection you get.
4.) To get Flood Insurance, you must have an "Elevation Certificate" showing the height of the lowest elevation of your home, when compared to the height of the 100 year flood elevation. Depending how far away you are from the nearest surveyor's benchmark, the cost could range from $75 to $300.
5.) Clean water damage (broken pipes, water heaters, etc. ) is covered in most host home policies, but not all. Dirty water such as sewers and floodwaters are not covered at all in home policies and must be covered in a separate flood policy.
6.) Unless it is a new purchase, Flood Policies will not take effect until 30 days after the policy is bound.
7.) When named storms and tropical depressions enter certain geographical boxes, be aware that all binding shuts down. If you have a cancellation or a lapsed policy, allow plenty of time, because an agent has no choice but to stop binding when told.

Our hope is that this information concerning homeowner insurance gave you some new insight.
Please let us know what other insurance tips you would like by leaving a comment below.

Stop in and talk to our professionals to get more information on Flood Insurance coverage.

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