Flood Insurance: FEMA Requirements, Coverage Limits, Cost, and Phone Number
Flood Insurance: You work hard over the years to get a house you can call your own. It is everybody’s dream to have a house and it is the place in the world where you are at ease and feel the most comfortable. Your house is very dear to you and if any damage or loss occurs to it for some reason, it is very devastating.
You need to reconstruct or renovate it. If you have insurance from a trusted provider with suitable coverage, you will get paid for the financial loss and it will relieve you from financial stress. Here we will discuss “Flood Insurance”.
A standard home insurance policy covers the structure of your house, personal belongings, liability, and additional living expenses if the damage has occurred to your home for standard reasons. Standard insurance doesn’t protect you if the damage is done due to a flood and you will have to take the entire loss yourself.
You need to have flood insurance coverage that you have to buy separately from a local insurer. Flood insurance is specific insurance coverage that protects property loss that occurred due to a flood.
National Flood Insurance Program Number
In the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The program offers separate flood insurance policies. Some private insurers like The Private Market Flood program, underwritten by Lloyd’s homes also offer flood insurance. The national flood insurance program phone number is 1-800-427-4661.
Your insurance premium will be determined based on risk factors as some areas have a high risk of flood, whereas some areas have a very low risk. Insurance companies refer to topographical maps that denote lowlands, floodplains, and floodways and identify susceptibly of the places to flooding.
Some areas are designated as a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) and when you buy a house in such areas, it is mandatory for the seller to inform you about it by law. You must investigate yourself also whether the property lies in such an area. You have to secure your house with flood insurance. If you are living in low-risk flood areas, you might qualify for a Preferred Risk Policy; which offers flood insurance at a very low premium.
Does Flood Insurance Cover Broken Pipes?
You must know that usually homeowner’s, personal property, earthquake, and renter’s insurance doesn’t provide coverage for damages caused by flood – even if the cause of the damage is covered in your insurance policy.
For example, if an earthquake hits and causes leaking water from pipes, your earthquake or homeowner’s insurance will not pay for the damages, as it would be considered flood damage, not earthquake damage. So it is recommended that you get your home protected with flood coverage even if you live in a low-risk area.
NFIP runs federally backed flood insurance coverage for residents in certain communities who would otherwise not qualify for flood insurance due to the high-risk nature of these policies.
Do You Need Flood Insurance?
If your home is located in areas known as high flood risk areas including coastal regions which are quite susceptible to high tide and storms or near rivers that are known to flood, you must take flood insurance at least a minimum for the duration of mortgages.
If you are living in moderate and high-risk locations, you are strongly recommended that you get flood coverage for the structure as well as for the contents irrespective of mortgage status.
If you go buy the fact that more than 20% of the flood insurance claims are being made from outside high-flood risk areas, it is better every home gets insured with flood insurance.
There is a 30-day waiting period to make a claim meaning you can make claim only after 30 days of purchasing a claim.
There are numerous reasons that can cause floods. The reasons can be dams bursting, storm surge, spring thaw, snow melting after storms, blocked drains, heavy rains, etc. It is not that you will get affected by floods if you live near oceans and you must consider flood insurance for your home.
Facts You Must Know about Flood Insurance
When you are to get home insurance, there are certain things you must understand, so you can make the right decision about whether you should take flood insurance or not as well as how you should configure your home that can maximize flood coverage.
- Insurance premium for flood insurance vary greatly from state to state and also depends on each household’s location, value, location, and situation.
- Federally backed flood insurance policies put definite limits on coverage and protection. Generally, the maximum coverage limit for the structure of the home is $250,000 and for personal possessions, it is $100,000. You can opt for access flood insurance to cover amounts over the limit and can be up to the flood coverage.
- FNIP coverage doesn’t include basement improvements such as finished walls, flooring, finished ceilings, etc. Furniture and other items in your basement are also excluded from flood insurance coverage, whereas some of the things included in flood insurance coverage in your basement are the furnace, hot water heater, etc.
- Flood insurance may not cover a small area, the affected area must be larger than two acres or it must affect at least one other property to qualify for the insurance.
- Flood insurance does not provide alternative living expenses or business interruption coverage if your business is affected by floods meaning while repairs are being made, you have to shoulder your living arrangements.
- Your flood insurance premium can be reduced if you have an elevation certificate for your property.
- Though replacement value for the structure of your home offered from NFIP flood insurance is up to the $250,000 limit, it pays for the actual cash value (which subtracts depreciation from replacement costs) of the belongings in your home.
You must have realized why you have to think of taking flood insurance for your home regardless of where you are living. Choose the right insurance provider, get suitable flood insurance coverage and live free from worries of your house being flooded! Read more articles on rozyjos.
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