A lot of changes had happened with flood insurance across the country. Kickstarted by the update to federal flood insurance with Risk Rating 2.0, a lot of things also need to be addressed when it comes to people who are buying and selling properties.

Today's blog focuses more on the things you should know as a realtor in Golden Isles and Saint Simon Islands, Georgia when it comes to flood insurance.

CBRA Zone

One of the most important things we need to address is the overall geolocation of Saint Simons Island, Georgia, and why it's important for realtors to know why being in the coastal zones is important when it comes to flood insurance.

The Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) is generally the federal government's move in order to ensure that our coastal barriers are developed and modified. Considering that the properties in Saint Simons Island are basically within reach of the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, the CBRA is implemented in the area.

Being in a coastal area like this will no doubt see its structures flooded due to storm surge, coastal erosion, or worst tsunamis. With the risk of flooding this high, you might be doubting if flood insurance is available for property owners of Golden Isles.

Is Flood Insurance Available?

The good news for realtors is that you can still sell houses in Golden Isles and secure that flood policy for your customer to protect both buildings and personal property however, there's a catch. The thing is, properties that are already built or under construction are the only ones that can get flood insurance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It's important to mention that this is only applicable if the property itself is prior to the prohibition date of the Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS).

As a realtor, it's also important to note if there are substantial improvements that are "over 50 percent of the structure's market value" made for the coastal home, flood insurance will no longer be available from FEMA and the NFIP. 

Changing Flood Zones

We've mentioned in the introduction how Risk Rating 2.0 is changing the flood insurance scene. One of its biggest impacts is moving out of using flood zones as a basis for flood insurance rates.

You might have encountered a lot of potential buyers rejecting to buy a house in Saint Simons Island because it's basically flood-prone and it's located in a high-risk flood zone. Generally, these concerns lean more towards homeowners being scared off by potential flood insurance rates skyrocketing.

The good news you can tell as a realtor is that being in a coastal flood zone, like Flood Zone V, won't really impact flood insurance premiums with the Risk Rating 2.0 in federal flood insurance. This is one thorn you can snip off their sides since basically all the flood premiums' would be concerned of are things like how much flood happens in the area, what type of floods impact the property, are there flood mitigations made in the property, and how it's built like the property's foundation to name a few.

So it doesn't really matter anymore if you're selling a property that's in a high-risk flood zone since it won't these flood zones no longer have a bearing on overall flood insurance costs. It's important to note, however, that a flood insurance policy will be required by the buyer's mortgage for any/all properties that are located in a high-risk flood zone or the special flood hazard area (SFHA).

Benefits of Private Flood Insurance

Lastly, we've been covering most of these flood insurance tips for federal flood insurance, so it's due time we move to the other flood insurance option. It's not always that FEMA and NFIP are your only way to get flood insurance.

Private flood insurance has been known for providing a more convenient flood insurance policy for homeowners and business owners alike. This is mostly owed to the fact that private flood generally has cheaper flood insurance premiums.

It's also important to note that even before there was a Risk Rating 2.0 update, most private insurance companies base their rates or premiums for flood insurance on what's called a flood risk score. This flood risk score looks into multiple factors and determines the overall risk of flooding for the specific property.

READ: Risk Rating 2.0 Georgia

This is something that every realtor should know by heart because once your buyer starts shying away after seeing a quote for flood insurance from FEMA and NFIP, you can guide them to their other flood insurance option.

Another benefit of going through private flood insurance is its coverages. When you go to federal flood insurance and the NFIP, you'll have to get coverage for at least 80% of your property. This insurance coverage from NFIP also maxes out on $250,000 for residential building coverage and can go up to $500,000 for commercial properties. Both residential and commercial properties only get $100,000 in contents or personal property coverages.

The same can't be said for private flood insurance since most of these carriers will allow you to find more flexibility for coverages. So if the property is less than $250,000, you can still have it fully covered and have your customer lower their premiums. On the other hand, this also means that there are no coverage limits, so properties that are valued at more than $250,000 (i.e. $350,000) will get full coverage.

All of these benefits can easily be provided to the property within 3 to 14 days which is a drastic difference between the strict 30-day wait period of NFIP.

As a realtor in Glynn County, Georgia, this flood insurance information is something that you should know since it may directly impact your sales. It's important to note that at least 72.8% of Glynn County's residents will see an increase in their flood insurance rates with FEMA and NFIP.

So if you have any questions on flood insurance, click below to access our Flood Learning Center.

You can also click the picture below to call us for your flood insurance concerns.

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation which lets us help you understand flood risks, flood insurance, and how these impact the real estate industry.

Rivian, an American electric vehicle automaker, and automotive technology company, already has plans underway for the development of an electric vehicles plant in Georgia. Considering that both Amazon and Ford already joined forces in order to help Rivian get a boost in the industry, these plans may be far from being canceled.

Today, we want to talk about what impacts this type of development has on flooding for Georgia and some tips on what you need to do with your flood insurance.

Developments and Flood

First, let's look back into the overall negative impacts of urban development when it comes to flooding.

In research from 2016 from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), it's found that urbanization has a direct impact on flooding. In this research for Illinois alone, they were able to find that in a 2-year span, there's a possibility of seeing a hundred to 600 percent increase in flood peak discharge due to urbanization. This data was gathered from Mercer Creek and Salt Creek in Illinois and you should keep this in mind since it will be valuable info later.

When it comes to Georgia, a lot of development is also going on to cater to more housing and urbanization. The same could easily be said for our state. The thing about these floodings when it comes to developments and urbanization is that it simply doesn't increase flooding for high-risk flood zones only.

Generally, all those developments are causing an increase in water runoff because water has nowhere to go. Also, changing the soil that naturally sips floodwater into cement causes this issue with flooding. Most of these waters go to low-lying areas and even low-risk flood zones like Flood Zone X.

This has been proven in 2017 when research from Georgia State University (GSU) also found an increase of 26% in annual streamflow for areas that were developed or urbanized from 1986 to 2010, as well as a doubling of high-flow days for Suwanee and Big Creek.

So, how will this new electric vehicle plant impact flooding in Georgia?

Rivian's Developments

This new development for the electric vehicle plant is considered to be the largest economic development project that Georgia will see in its entire history. The development will cover about 2000 acres of land. 55% of these lands are intended for agricultural and residential zones.

Considering the scale of this planned site, it's no question that this will cause a lot of burdens when waters start to rise and rain starts to pour. We've already mentioned before how changing the natural soil to cement can cause a lot of water to have no place to go but the neighborhood. The city of Social Circle itself is creating a movement to thwart this $5-billion development plans ahead of time.

The plant is planned to cover land across the Walton and Morgan Counties in Georgia. What is notable about these two counties when it comes to flooding is that Walton has an increased risk for roads, commercial areas, and infrastructure. This is something noteworthy because most of the fatalities we see when there's flood are located or involves road, so this could mean an increase in flooding for these locations can also present dangers for the lives of motorists.

On the other hand, Morgan county is facing more concern when it comes to flooding already as their increasing risks from moderate levels might also see some significant impacts of this development. It's notable that roads and infrastructures might move into a major risk level whereas residential, commercial, and social areas are going to move into more of a moderate risk of flooding.

Flood Insurance Protection

There's no other way out when floodwater starts inundating your property. Flooding has been considered for many years to be the most common natural disaster that happens in the United States. We might not be able to thwart these plans for the plant, but we can still ensure that we will be able to protect ourselves from the expected results of development on that scale.

Flood insurance isn't just insurance for your property but also acts as an assurance that you don't really need to worry about what gets taken by flood damage because you will definitely have coverage for it. Georgia residents can get flood insurance from either front: the federal government-backed through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or through the private flood insurance market.

Getting this type of insurance is one of the most important things to have for a homeowner, business owner, and even renters especially in the 21st century. Nowadays, a lot of factors come into play when it comes to the increased risk and amount of flooding we're getting; not just developments and urbanization.

To learn more about flood insurance, how you might be impacted by this development in Georgia, what your flood insurance options are, or any questions about floods, click below to access our Flood Learning Center.

You can also click here to call us, so we can talk about your flood concerns.

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation which lets us help you understand your flood risks, flood insurance, and mitigating your property long-term.

Welcome to the second part of our two-parter blog on real estate and flood insurance in Alabama. We've covered the things you need to know as a realtor when it comes to buying a house or a property for a potential buyer. You can read our blog about it by clicking here.

In today's blog, we want to talk about the other side of the coin and note some important things to keep in mind when selling a house.

Regardless of whether you're the homeowner or just a real estate agent, you should be aware of these things when it comes to flood insurance, flood zones, and what impacts they have on properties in Alabama.

List of Flood Claims

We've already mentioned in our previous blog that it's important to have a basic, if not in-depth, awareness of the history of flood insurance claims made on a property. This way, as a buyer, you get to find proper expectations when it comes to your flood insurance policy and its respective premium.

On the other hand, if you're the one selling the property, this goes the same. It's common courtesy for your potential buyers to be given an idea of where the current flood insurance stands especially when it comes to claims. This also gives a substantial idea of the flooding history as well. For some states, information like this is federally required to be disclosed to a buyer before closing a deal.

This can be done by requesting a list of the claims made through your insurance carrier. Retrieving claims history is a very easy process for both federal and private flood insurance. This list of claims can be requested or ordered from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

On the other hand, private insurance companies will have to be contacted by you or your real estate agent to get this list firsthand. It's important to note that the flood claims history on a property may not be readily available when you order it from private flood insurance, so it's important to keep tabs on your claims history.

Policy Assumption

One of the key things to know when it comes to the seller-side is mostly on the policy itself. You see, you don't really have to cancel your policy once you have sold the house, it can remain and be passed on to the new owner. This option of transferring the currently active policy to the new owner (buyer) is called policy assumption.

A policy assumption or policy transfer can help you keep the current flood premium and lower-risk flood zone which in turn will also help you avoid those expensive premiums within that period. You also won't have to pay for the flood insurance premium that the policy also has – this can be discussed between you and the seller.

This way, you can make sure that you have proper protection for the new house you're buying without emptying your wallet or bank account. The policy contract will be transferred to you and you'll be the new policyholder in the eyes of FEMA once the reinsurance or renewal day kicks in.

Policy assumption or transfer in your flood insurance can really help you out if you're mapped into high-risk zones in FEMA's flood map or the flood insurance rate map (FIRM). Now, when it comes to properties or houses in that high-risk flood zones, you have to keep in mind that your mortgage lender will be very keen on requiring you to carry a policy for that property.

This mandatory flood insurance purchase can cause a hefty price since we're talking about a lot of flood insurance requirements to be secured before you can get a flood policy for the property.

So other than the higher risk of flooding, you also face a higher risk of emptying your wallet because your mortgage company really needs you to carry flood insurance for your property.

Impacts of Recent Flooding

One of the things you always have to consider when selling a house is recent natural disasters. The most common one is flooding and considering that we're already emphasizing the importance of flood claims which is a direct indication that the house has a chance of flooding.

Recent flooding, most especially, will be a key factor in selling your house and we believe the biggest concern is how much protection does your house has against flood damage and flood loss. It's important to always keep your flood mitigation measures in check in order to have a better chance of selling your home.

Equally, FEMA is also very heavy on flood frequency when it comes to flood insurance rates. The new Risk Rating 2.0, launched on April 1st and October 1st of last year, changed the rating structure for the federal flood insurance.

One of the flood risk variables being considered by FEMA and the NFIP when rating your property's flood insurance policy is both how often the insured building gets flooded and what type of flooding it experiences. This can take a very hard hit for your selling strategy as most buyers would shy away from flood-prone houses.

As a realtor, it's important that you are aware of this as well, if not an expert when it comes to it. A lot of potential buyers get frustrated when they get surprised about this requirement, so as a realtor it's best you let them know ahead of time.

When it comes to selling properties, you really want to help your buyer consider what the flood risk is and the chance of flooding. Some states like Texas actually require realtors and sellers to fully disclose the flood history and claims on a property, but regardless it wouldn't really hurt being transparent about these things. After all, we're talking about the safety of someone moving into a residential property.

If you've got any questions on a flood policy, the flood zone status of the property you're looking to buy, how the floodplain impacts flood zones, or anything related to floods, click below to go to our Flood Learning Center where we try to answer these questions.

You can also call us if you need a second opinion from a flood insurance agent when it comes to your purchase of a property by clicking below.

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation which lets us help you understand your flood risks, flood insurance, real estate selling and buying, and mitigating your property's value long-term.

Business is booming as some would say to the real estate market in Alabama. Despite being in a pandemic, somehow real estate was able to keep up with the times. 2021 was one of these proofs as Alabama had an increase of 3.9% year-over-year (Y/Y) in real estate sales during the month of August.

It's no secret that some of these listings sit on a high-risk flood zone, so today, we want to talk about things every realtor needs to know when it comes to buying and selling a property that's in a flood zone.

This is part one of a two-parter blog and for this article, we want to focus on the buyer's side of real estate.

Loan Types & Flood Insurance Options

When it comes to closing a house, most buyers don't really have the luxury to pay it all in cash. This is why loans exist to help ease up the expenses in maintaining a roof above your head. If you're reading this blog, you're most likely to be familiar with mortgages and how it works.

What you might not know is that mortgages and loan types can actually impact your flood insurance too.

You see, depending on the type of loan you have for your property, you'll get different options when it comes to flood insurance. We have different types of loans and we actually covered this topic on our podcast blog, but to further understand the situation especially after the Risk Rating 2.0 update with federal flood insurance let's give an example.

If you have the Federal Housing Administration or FHA loan, you won't be able to get flood insurance through any private insurance carrier because your bank won't accept it. This only means that your only flood insurance source will be from the federal side which is through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

There was a time that if you have a loan that's under the government such as an FHA loan, Veteran Affairs (VA) loan, or United States Urban Development Administration (USDA) loan, the only option you have is through the NFIP when it comes to flood insurance.

This meant those people with conventional loans are the only ones who can get flood insurance through private companies before. This was changed way back and only homeowners with an FHA loan are required to get flood insurance through FEMA and the NFIP.

So this is important to keep in mind. Consider first what loan type you have in order to get a proper expectation on where you can get flood insurance from.

Flood Insurance Claims

Another thing you want to consider when buying a property is its history of flooding and flood claims history. This way you get to have an immediate idea of the flood risks or flood hazards that the house might face.

It's also important to note that when it comes to flood insurance, you might not get a policy from the private insurance companies once they detect that the previous owner or the property is prone to flooding.

It's important to keep in mind that flood claims aren't like medical insurance claims where it goes wherever you go. What we mean by this is that when you file a flood claim on the property, regardless of who the owner is, the claims will stay with the property basically for its entire life.

When it comes to the federal side, however, there won't be a refusal to provide flood insurance to properties like this however with the Risk Rating 2.0, having multiple claims on a property is sure to impact the overall costs of your flood insurance premiums with that house. This is what's called the claim variable.

For this one, it's crucial to always know the flood and claims history of the property. This way you protect yourself from unwanted non-renewals as per the carrier's discretion or expensive flood insurance rates.

Flood Insurance Premiums

One of the biggest questions asked by a potential buyer of a house concerns flood insurance rates. This opens the door for asking, "will my premiums skyrocket after I buy the property?"

The thing about flood insurance premiums is that the rate is generally guaranteed only for 12 months. This means that after that, you may see some changes like a minor increase or decrease. This is considering that you weren't flooded. On the other hand, if the property was recently subjected to flood damage and there was a claim filed for it, the flood insurance premium can increase substantially.

Verifying the Flood Zone

One of the most important things a buyer or realtor should know about a property when it comes to flood insurance is its flood zone. Despite being removed from the rating consideration in FEMA and the NFIP, the private flood insurance market still look at this factor when it comes to rates. This means that flood zones directly impact your rates and risk of flooding.

Additionally, regardless of it being removed from the rating system, flood zones still have absolute control on whether or not the property is required to have a flood insurance policy with that property. Keep in mind that if you fall in flood zone A or AE, also known as high-risk flood zones or special flood hazard areas (SFHA), you're going to be required to carry flood insurance.

There are many cases where an incorrect flood zone is put in a policy — maybe because there was a recent flood insurance rate map or flood map update that wasn't known by the seller or confusion between different flood zones.

As a realtor, it's important that you are aware of this as well, if not an expert when it comes to it. A lot of potential buyers get frustrated when they get surprised about this requirement, so as a realtor it's best you let them know ahead of time.

When it comes to selling properties, you really want to help your buyer consider what the flood risk is and the chance of flooding. Some states like Texas actually require realtors and sellers to fully disclose the flood history and claims on a property, but regardless it wouldn't really hurt being transparent about these things. After all, we're talking about the safety of someone moving into a residential property.

If you've got any questions on a flood policy, the flood zone status of the property you're looking to buy, how the floodplain impacts flood zones, or anything related to floods, click below to go to our Flood Learning Center where we try to answer these questions.

You can also call us if you need a second opinion from a flood insurance agent when it comes to your purchase of a property by clicking below.

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation which lets us help you understand your flood risks, flood insurance, real estate selling and buying, and mitigating your property's value long-term.

Shelby County's own University of Montevallo (UM) is celebrating its 125th anniversary and this is really something worth noting. However, during this time a concern that doesn't look like affecting flood insurance surfaced; local restaurants and the general population of Shelby County are experiencing supply chain issues.

Today, we want to talk about what this could mean for flood insurance, its coverages, and what to expect as we celebrate the 125th anniversary of UM.

Supply Chain Issues

Local restaurants in the southern parts of Birmingham are having a rough start to the year as supply chain issues resurface. This is causing a lot of problems not just for food supplies, but even necessary utensils and such. From containers to equipment, business owners are having trouble handling the potential economic impact of the issues with supplies.

This issue is just a few weeks after President Joe Biden implemented a presidential declaration to help homeowners across Jefferson County, Mobile County, and Shelby County when it comes to recovering from the October 2021 flooding.

A local business owner, Naseem Ajlouny, shared with Shelby County Reporter how he's struggling with the supply chain issues. He quoted to have "spent around 30% of work now trying to source product". Moreover, there are also concerns with food supplies through crops such as the availability of corn on the cob and other protein products.

This is creating an increase in costs for menus across the county just to make ends meet. Worst case scenario, the item just has to be removed from the menu.

So what does this mean for flood insurance?

Supply Chain & Coverages

Now, when it comes to the concern of the supply chain, it's important to keep in mind that this doesn't just impact how businesses run. This also means that there may be unwanted impacts to flood insurance.

Let's all remind ourselves that Alabama, especially Shelby County, can be very prone to floods. There are a lot of flood hazards in the area which only contributes to the high-risk flood zones that the county is in when it comes to flood insurance rate maps (FIRM). So, this isn't really just a concern for business owners, but it can also impact homeowners.

You see, when it comes to flood insurance coverages, those replacement costs for recovering and rebuilding the building still need to come from sourcing out materials — the same goes for content coverages or the personal items included with the insured building.

If business owners are having trouble getting materials outside of flood insurance coverages and to keep their businesses afloat, what more when water starts overflowing from the floodplain?

This type of issue can cause a limited amount of coverage when it comes to additional living expenses from your flood insurance claim. This means that you won't really get an increase in premiums or payment, but you can expect to face higher costs when it comes to repairing the building.

When flood insurance covers the repairs or recovery of an insured building, the market can still have an impact on the costs of materials like wood, bricks, metal, and things like that. Since the county is experiencing some challenges with importing these things, it's safe to expect that there will be higher costs on the materials.

This could also mean that if you have that $250,000 standard coverage for your $200,000 home, it will easily be maxed out when you file a flood claim when the reparation begins.

Even if we say that you will get 100% coverage on the repair of your insured building, there will be no room for flood mitigation measures since the building coverage or replacement cost is already maxed out.

This can be very concerning especially since we're moving out of the winter season very soon and that also means that Alabama will face runoff from all directions. We've seen this happen before and it's not impossible to happen again. Despite the clearer skies in North Alabama, it's important to mention that Cullman County in the north-central areas of the state, faced 2 to 3 inches of rain in September before the October flooding.

Are you prepared to face possible flooding in the next few weeks?

If you have any questions on supply chains and flood insurance, how to review your insurance coverages, where to get flood insurance or anything at all, you can click our Flood Learning Center where we try to answer all your flood insurance questions.

You can also click below to call us and we can discuss your flood insurance needs.

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation which lets us help you understand your flood risks, flood insurance, and mitigating the value of your property long-term. 

Alabama is no stranger when it comes to flood. When it comes to the continuous development in the city due to its relative increase with the population as well as non-stop oversaturation of the ground due to consistent heavy rainfall, the city just couldn't get a break from floodwater.

Today, we want to talk about the four lessons we've learned from the Birmingham Alabama floods of October 2021 and how this can help flood recovery moving forward.

Flood Emergency

Rain is always the culprit when it comes to natural disasters like flooding. This is why understanding flood emergency is very crucial when it comes to preventing all unnecessary bad experiences when it comes to flooding.

A flood emergency is any disaster wherein water goes into areas that are usually dry and this doesn't just cover regular floods, but also flash flooding which is something that Alabama was warned about during the October flood. Ready defines floods as a temporary overflow of water onto land that is normally dry. Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States.

However, sometimes these emergency warnings go on deaf ears as people still drive into pools of water and flooded roads. Unfortunately, this causes a lot of casualties. Reuters reported in one article that at least four people died during the October flooding disaster in Alabama; three of these deaths were found inside two washed-up cars.

Being ahead of these emergency warnings is enough to have awareness of the possible flood risk that the current weather or rainfall can cause the impacted area. On October 7th, 2021, al.com reported that there's an estimated 13-inch rainfall during that week.

We hope that everyone understands by now, not just in Alabama, but across the country how important and essential these warnings are. If you're not driving or maybe planning to stay at home, but it's expected to flood there, being aware of a flood emergency can help you evacuate.

Flooding Can Happen Anywhere

We were able to brush through this in the previous item, but it's important to always remember that flooding can happen anywhere.

We've seen a lot of homeowners get blindsided with the words "Not In a Flood Zone" which is one of the biggest misconceptions we see in flood insurance. The thing is no property is not in a flood zone especially in the United States. Even deserts get flooded after a long time of drought, so what more areas like Alabama experience a lot of rain during the year?

If you want to learn more on this "not in a flood zone" concept, we actually did a blog on it clearing the air. Click here to read this blog and know more about flood zones.

It's a new year and we hope that you too get to accept that you can get flooded at any given moment; be it through collected water from rainfall, runoff from higher areas, or simply being located near a water source.

The thing about flood zones as well is that it doesn't really indicate a wall or border because flood doesn't really start at one zone and stop at a lower-risk flood zone. 

Our team understands that flood loss is something one can ignore. In one blink of an eye, everything can be lost due to the inundation of water. This is why we want to discuss the most important lesson we want everyone to understand.

Flood Insurance

When it comes to time during a flood emergency, most homeowners and business owners don't want to leave their property's premises because they want to make sure they have fewer losses as much as possible. This can easily be avoided with flood insurance.

If you've been following us, you know by now that we really put great importance when it comes to flood insurance. Forget about sales and all that. It's always safety first and most of the time, this safety comes in form of the insurance that you won't even feel the flood losses despite its scale.

You see, flood insurance can really help you avoid doing all the stuff you want to do to lessen the damages and losses you'll incur during a flood emergency. A standard flood insurance policy has enough coverage for both building and contents that homeowners and business owners don't really need to worry about "saving as much as one can".

Federal Flood Insurance

On the federal side with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), coverages on building maxes at $250,000 for residential buildings and can go up to $500,00 in commercial buildings. Both property types also get a max of $100,000 when it comes to contents coverage or every personal item inside the insured building.

This is outside of other coverages like the disaster assistance from a presidential approved declaration, the Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) which is about $30,000 in coverages for flood mitigation, and when it the Community Rating System (CRS) Score which can create discounts of up to 45% on flood premiums with FEMA and the NFIP.

Private Flood Insurance

On the other hand, if this doesn't really cover your needs for flood insurance, Alabama also has a lot of private flood insurance carriers that we are also connected to. These private insurance companies can go beyond the building and contents coverage limits with FEMA and the NFIP. That means that a single flood insurance policy can cover you for more than $250,000 in building damages and more than $100,000 in contents.

These coverages from a flood policy can easily save you the trouble of worrying about what gets damaged and focus on keeping yourself safe from the debris and hurt from all that floodwater. But how are flood insurance and its claims different from home insurance claims?

You can read our blog comparing these two sides of flood insurance from our NFIP 2.0 vs Private Flood article.

Flood Claims vs Home Insurance Claims

When it comes to insurance claims, as a homeowner or business owner, you should be aware of when your standard homeowner's insurance applies and when flood insurance kicks in.

When it comes to flood insurance claims, you can't really get the coverage written on your policy if the surveyor detected that the damages to your home are due to water damage or a water backup. This means that flood claims won't pay out if your house was damaged from the inside and not due to getting inundated by surface water.

You can remember this through the "Number 2 Rule" wherein FEMA and most private companies will only consider water as a flood if at least 2 acres of usually dry land was covered by water or when at least 2 property gets inundated with water. Obviously, one of the properties or acres of land must be yours in order for your flood claim to payout.

You won't get your flood claim and insurance coverages in flood insurance if this rule doesn't apply to your situation. Another thing to keep in mind about flood insurance claims is that it usually covers and expects that the property owner also set up necessary flood mitigation efforts to prevent the same damage in the future. This is why the ICC exists for federal flood insurance as a means to avoid the same losses from future disasters like floods.

Equally, you can't use flood claims to cover damages due to fire, earthquakes, or any other natural disasters. It simply is strictly for flood disasters only; regardless of whether it is a minor flooding, flash flooding, or major flooding events in Alabama.

It's a bit difficult to write about this especially since there were a lot of people who got their homes damaged, lost their loved ones, and even just found themselves at a loss after all the water subsided.

The thing about lessons is we need to learn from them in order for them to be valuable and we hope that this refresher will also help you understand how we can avoid getting blindsided by an event like this again. So, if you have any questions on flood insurance, how to best protect your property from floods, or anything related, click the links below.

You can click here to access our Flood Learning Center where we try to answer most of your flood insurance questions:

Or click here to contact us and we can talk about your flood concerns for the Alabama flood of October 2021.

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation which lets us help you understand your flood risks, flood insurance, and protecting your property long-term.