Just because you don’t live in the Special Flood Hazard Area or 100-year flood plain, as it is more commonly called, doesn’t mean you are safe from the No. 1 cause of property damage from natural disasters: floods.
Consider These Facts:
—Nearly all insurance policies providing multi-peril property coverage exclude flood damage. This includes most homeowners policies.
—Just because you haven’t experienced a flood in the past doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. Flood risk isn’t just based on history; it’s also based on a number of factors: rainfall, river-flow and tidal-surge data; topography; flood-control measures; and changes due to building and development.
—It is estimated 40% of all flood losses occur outside the 100-year flood plain, and 99% of these losses are uninsured.
—The average cost of property damage caused by a flood is $22,000, and it only takes about 1 foot of water to cause it.
—For qualifying homes outside the 100-year flood plain, the flood premium for $20,000 in structure coverage and $8,000 in contents coverage for a home with a basement is $154.
—Maximum coverage of $250,000 in structure coverage and $100,000 in contents coverage for the same home is only $405 per year. That’s about the cost of two special lattes a week.
Got Risk?
- Has rainfall been more intense in your area the last few years?
- Do you live downstream from a dam?
- Do you live close to a river or stream?
- Do you live in an area protected by a levee?
- Is your home the lowest on the street?
- Is your home on flatlands where a heavy rain has no place to drain?
- Do you live on the coast?
- Do you live in snow country?
- Do you live in the desert?
If you answered yes to any of the above, you may have flood risk. Can you afford a $20,000, $100,000 or $250,000 uninsured loss to your home? If the answer is NO, isn’t it worth taking your coffee to work a couple times a week to protect your home from the damage even a small flood can cause?