Lapse in Judgement: Impacts of Canceling Flood Insurance in Eufaula Alabama

So your Lake Eufaula property has been dealing with a drought for a few years. You think to yourself there is no way this place is going to flood anytime soon.

You decide not to let your flood insurance renew, and a few weeks later you realize it's a big mistake.

So what are some of the possible consequences in areas like Eufaula Alabama?

We want to look at three things

1. Continued rates
2. Waiting periods
3. Impact on mortgage
   
   Check out the podcast below that takes this topic a little bit deeper for you.
   
   
    

Rates

So you realized that you made a big mistake by not renewing your flood insurance in Alabama. Will you get the same rate?

Let's look at the National Flood Insurance Program first. Let's say it been more than 30 days since you decided not to renew your flood policy. The National Flood Insurance Program will require you to start a new policy. You will lose the benefit of continuous coverage policy with them.

So what could be the impact?

Lets say you had a grandfathered policy on your Eufaula property and the rate is no longer available. This means you could be looking at a significantly higher rate with the National Flood Insurance Program. You may also be required to get an elevation certificate in order for them to give you a rate.

So what about private flood insurance?

This could work a little bit differently. Many private flood insurance companies have rates that change more often than the National Flood Insurance Program. This means that they may only honor the renewal rate up until the renewal date. The rate could be double if you have to do a new flood policy. It's important to understand the underwriting of each carrier when looking at this.

Waiting Periods

Will you be able to get coverage right away?

Maybe or maybe not.

If we are talking about the National Flood Insurance then they have the standard 30 day wait period.

Private flood insurance companies will have more options some may not have a wait period and others may have a wait period up to 15 days.

So does this mean you have to wait to do the flood application?

No it means when you complete the policy with them the effective date will show the start date so pay attention to that.

Mortgages

So what if you have a mortgage that requires flood insurance? There could be some major consequences here. If you decide to let your flood insurance cancel your mortgage company could force place coverage at 3x's the price under the mortgage portfolio protection program. This forced place policy also may not have the coverage that the other policies have in place. Generally these policies will just cover the loan amount and no contents.

So as you can see there can be a lot of consequences for not letting your flood insurance renew.Its important to keep this coverage in place as it is the number one disaster in the United States.

So if you have questions about what your flood insurance options are then make sure to visit our website. You can also check out our daily flood education videos on our YouTube channel.

Remember we have an educational background in flood mitigation. This means we are here to help you understand your flood risks, flood insurance, and mitigating your property.