Flood insurance had its fifteen minutes of fame after the Hurricane
Katrina disaster in 2005. During this time period the media was making
everyone well aware that flood insurance is not part of your typical
homeowner policy. Today that is still the case and with this post I
would like to point out a few more facts about flood insurance.
Flood insurance is run through a government program called FEMA (Federal
Emergency Management Agency). You can purchase it through insurance
agency such as Fey Insurance Services but the backing is from FEMA.
Typically it takes 30 days for a new flood insurance policy to go into
effect. The one exception would be for a mortgage closing where flood
insurance is required. So you need to plan ahead. Hearing about a big
rain on the nightly news and calling your agent the next day will not
work. Many people think of flood insurance when they think about what is
stored in their basement. Flood insurance will only cover things such
as furnaces, water heaters, washers, dryers, air conditioners, freezers,
pumps and utility connections. Everything else you store down there
(old cloths, furniture, carpet, TV, etc) is not covered unless those
items are on the first floor of your house and the flood reaches that
level.
In some cases flood insurance is required in order to get a loan. If
your home or a home you are about to purchase is in a 100 year flood
plain (meaning at least once every 100 years your location is under
several feet of water) you will be required to purchase a flood
insurance policy to close on your loan.
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