Only Pay for the Flood Insurance You Need: Yikes

There are few things that get my blood boiling more than when I hear someone say I am not in a flood zone or they tell someone is not in a flood zone.

Everybody is in a flood zone. It might be a low, moderate, or high risk flood zone.

Low Risk zones

Moderate flood zones

High Risk flood zones

It might be a special flood hazard area where flood insurance is required.

One thing that gets me more than this is only pay for the flood insurance you need.

I see companies advertising everyday only pay for what you need.

In fact I use to work for one of them and they promised to never go down that path.

What a terrible message

You see most people don't know what they need until a claim or loss happens.

Recently one of our flood insurance customers In Decatur Georgia had a home insurance claim.

They bought their home insurance online and went with coverages offered online.

The fire was a total loss for the property. Thankfully the mortgage was paid off. However they were out over $75,000 in improvements. The home was underinsured by about 30% causing a major hardship to the customer and forcing them to walk away from the property.

We see this happen everyday on flood insurance as well. Recently in Texas we had someone come to us on flood insurance. They had some previous claims and were wanting help fighting the flood insurance claim amount.

They had a $150,000 policy but was only getting $20,000 on the claim. Her mortgage was for $150,000 so thats what she insured for. She was told she didn't need any more than the loan amount.

The problem is she didn't insure for 80% of the replacement cost or the max amount of coverage available through the National Flood Insurance Program. As a result her policy was an actual cash value policy resulting in a lower claim amount.

Now lets look at a customer that we had on Weiss Lake in Centre Alabama during the 2019 flood. This customer had a total loss on their lake home.

Customer was nervous because his wife's wedding dress had been destroyed. Thankfully the contents coverage on his private flood insurance policy covered the dress and the other things in the home.

When he came to us he did not want contents coverage but we advised him why he needed it. He sure was glad he took our recommendation after this claim.

This is why its so important to have someone advise you on what insurance coverages you may need. You may not know what you need until after the flood insurance claim.

If you have questions about picking the right flood insurance coverage then click here.

You can also learn more by visiting our YouTube channel where we do daily flood education videos. You can also check out our podcast here.

Remember we have an educational background in flood mitigation so we are here to help you understand your flood insurance, flood risk, and mitigating your property long term.