As we approach the hurricane season deeper, we want to cover the upcoming flood map changes to Pottsville and Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. We'll unpack the good, the bad, and the ugly changes this can bring to locals and what it means to flood insurance in the future.

These changes are expected to take effect next week on May 18th and will affect many residents across the county. It's important to note that this update will solely focus on Schuylkill Pennsylvania, so if you want to know more flood map updates, tune in with us as we cover a lot of these changes.

Flood map updates or technically Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) are a long process that involves collecting, analyzing, and understanding flood data across the United States. This can take a lot of time, so if you still haven't received an update on your community flood map, you can expect one in the future.

Pottsville and Flood

First, let's talk about the flooding in Pottsville and Pennsylvania in general in order to understand the risks of flooding in these areas. 

Now, it's important to remind ourselves that Pennsylvania has been subject to the worst flooding in modern times. We've seen this on how much damage the state received from the Flood of 1889. This flooding caused 20 million tons of water to ravage through Johnstown and this, unfortunately, took thousands of lives. 

There's also the St. Patrick's Day Flood of 1936 which caused $300 million in damages and took more than 100 lives in its wake. Due to the huge quantity of snowfall in Winter which was preserved by the low temperature which was then melted by the warm climate as the state starts the Spring season. 

You also have to consider the state's damages from different hurricanes and storms such as Diane in '55, Tropical Storm Agnes in '72, Eloise in '75. There's also the Second Great flood of 1977 that caused five dams to fail. 

In more recent times, there was the Hurricane Ivan flooding of 2004 that caused more than $264 million in property damage and 12 official deaths. Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 also brought an estimated more than $150,000 in damages from the event which caused a lot of properties to be demolished due to major damages. A year and a month after Lee came Superstorm Sandy in 2012 which caused an estimate of $75 billion in property damages and 181 deaths across the country.

As you can see, Pennsylvania has had a long history of flooding which was caused by melting snow, heavy rainfall, and what seems to be a hotspot of storms as well. This can be something that we may experience in the future which is. If you look at last year (2020), Pottsville faced flash flooding due to rainfall. Protection from flood insurance is not an option at this point for locals, it's a must if you want to be safe from flood loss.

Let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly changes that the new flood map update will bring to Pottsville.

The Good

When it comes to this flood map change coming on May 18th, we're seeing big numbers when it comes to how properties will be moved. This good change generally talks about the "in to out" movement. This is talking about properties moving out of the high-risk flood zones and into low-risk flood zones or preferred flood zones.

Around 2400 residents are going to experience this good change. This could mean that if you're previously in a high-risk zone where flood insurance might be required, you won't have to carry mandatory flood insurance.

Although it's still highly recommended to get flood insurance even if you're in these low-risk zones like flood zone X since there are multiple reasons why you can still be flooded. In the case of Pottsville, you really want to make sure you're protected especially with the consistent threat of flash floods across the city.

This also means that you won't have to deal with the expensive flood insurance rates that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will ask of you since being moved in to out generally provides a decrease on previous flood insurance premiums of about five to fifteen percent. If previously you're paying for maybe $1200 premium for your flood policy, this can go down to $1000.

The Bad

Now, when it comes to what we'd like to call bad changes, this is when properties are moving "out to in". This is the exact opposite of what's happening to the previous one since around 2200 properties are moving into these high-risk flood zones like Flood Zone A when previously they're in a low-risk flood zone.

This is what we consider bad changes since you're going to face a lot of things that you didn't worry about if you weren't carrying flood insurance with your property previously. Generally, mortgage companies will require you to carry flood insurance for your property in order to make sure that its value is protected and also because high-risk flood zones or special flood hazard areas (SFHA) are required to have flood insurance regardless.

It's important to note that you should get your flood insurance before your mortgage lender could force-place a policy on the property since this will cost you a lot of money, but not enough flood insurance.

Flood insurance rates for the SFHA or high-risk zones are also significantly higher than the preferred zones. This can mean that you're going to pay a $1500 to $2000 premium each year and this is something that 2200 property owners will face once this flood map change kicks in on May 18th.

The Ugly

Let's dive into one of the biggest numbers we're seeing in this new flood map change and what we'd like to call the ugly change. About 9200 are expected to be moved deeper in the SFHA. This generally means that homeowners will now be mapped into a higher-risk flood zone. Some would call this "moving from Flood Zone A to AE".

Now, most of the residents affected here are sure to have flood insurance with their properties however what might be very jarring to handle is the increase of flood insurance rates for these affected properties. This "in to in" movement means that flood premiums can go up to $3000 or maybe even $5000 depending on the construction of the property and its history of flood loss.

Other than having to carry mandatory flood insurance, the NFIP and other insurance carriers from the private market might require you to carry additional documents like photos and an elevation certificate for you to be able to even start buying flood insurance when you move into higher-risk zones.

Now, let's cover your flood insurance options and how you may be able to manage and fight these changes.

Flood Insurance Options

Considering how much movement Pottsville is getting when it comes to flood zone designation and the constant threat of flash flooding that may repeat from last year, it's important to understand how your flood insurance options can help you be protected from flood damage and eventually flood loss.

The NFIP

If you're in a participating community then you can easily get your flood insurance policy from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It's important to preface this part that the NFIP will have to ask you to follow a 30-day waiting period before your policy can take effect on the listed property. So, you really need to be ahead of time when you're looking to get a policy from FEMA.

The NFIP provides maximum coverage of $250,000 for property damage and $100,000 in contents or personal property coverage. You should take note of the maximum amount of coverage since this is the coverage limit of the NFIP when it comes to residential properties. If you're doing a commercial policy, the property or building coverage can go up to a maximum of $500,000. The NFIP doesn't provide additional coverage such as additional living expenses, replacement costs, or loss of use.

The good thing about the NFIP is that they'll provide what's called "Newly Mapped" rates. This is intended for those who are moving into a higher-risk area compared to their previous flood zone before the flood map update kicks in. This is a cost-saving option wherein for the first 12 months after this flood map update, you can pay for a lower-cost preferred risk policy (PRP). Your rates will go up no more than 18% each year until you reach the intended rate for the new flood zone of your property.

The NFIP also allows homeowners to appeal their flood zone if they believe that they shouldn't be mapped into Flood Zone A or AE. This may be a very complex process since if you're planning to get the flood zone from this new map reverted to your previous zone, you're going to have to use an elevation certificate showing that your lowest adjacent grade or lowest floor is at least 4-feet above the base-flood elevation levels in Pottsville. After doing so, you may file for a letter of map change (LOMC) to appeal to the upcoming flood zone however this isn't certain that you'll win the appeal.

The Private Flood

If the NFIP option doesn't fit what you really need when it comes to flood insurance, you can always go through the private market also known as the private flood. Private flood insurance is provided by private insurance companies who aren't really bound by the guidelines and red tapes that FEMA usually has to go through. This is why the maximum waiting period to get a policy from private flood is only up to fifteen days.

Private flood doesn't have any coverage limits, so you can go up to more than $500,000 on property or building coverage regardless of the type of building you're planning to list on the property. The same goes for coverage for contents as it can be more than $100,000. Private flood also provides extra coverage in form of additional living expenses, replacement costs, and loss of use.

The private market generally provides lower rates and annual premiums for clients compared to federal flood insurance. This is regardless of the flood zone you're in, so even if you're in the SFHA and you're mapped into Flood Zone AE, you're still going to get much cheaper rates compared to what FEMA can offer.

Note, private flood isn't required to provide insurance to everyone, unlike FEMA who takes all the risks when doing flood insurance. Since these policies are provided by private insurance companies, they can pick and choose what risks they're going to take and whom they provide insurance to. 

At the end of the day, the choice of where you get your flood policy isn't concerning so long as you make sure that you're protected from flood damage especially since we're experiencing a lot of floodings and flash floods even before we got into the hurricane season. 

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation and we want to help you prepare when crap happens. So, if you have any questions on flood insurance or want to get a quote with us, you reach out to us using the links below. You can also visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch our daily flood education videos.

       

As we further go into the Spring season, we slowly enter into the hurricane season as well. This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced twenty-one names for upcoming hurricanes. Although this doesn't mean that we'll certainly get at least twenty-one hurricanes, it's still a good heads up for what might come this hurricane season. Today, we want to talk about the flood map changes coming to Dubuque in the state of Iowa and understand what it can mean for flood insurance.

We want to unpack the good, the bad, and the ugly changes of these flood insurance map (FIRM) changes. We also want to tell you how this can impact your rates and what your flood insurance options are.

Flooding in Iowa

First, we want to cover the flooding that Iowa had experienced in recent years especially in Dubuque in order to understand how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — who analyzed, researched, and created these flood maps — arrived into the update they'll be putting into effect on May 10th (Monday).

In June 2008, Central Iowa was impacted by huge flooding that was considered worse for Iowa if you were to put it beside the Great Flood of 1993. This event totaled six billion dollars in damages and thankfully, no casualties. However, the amount of damages despite the flood mitigation efforts were felt throughout the state. Although Dubuque wasn't impacted compared to other parts of the state, the constant threat of flash floods was always there through the time of the flooding. The cause for this flooding was the warm and wet air clashing with what winter left on the state bringing rainfall and rivers rising.

Three years later, Iowa faced another flooding incident known as the Missouri River Flooding 2011. As expected, the winter leftovers were the culprit for the flooding as there were record snowfalls over Montana and Wyoming plus spring storms or rainfall causing rivers to rise and dams along the Missouri River to release record amounts of water to prevent overflowing. This caused levees across Iowa to collapse bringing flash floods to its local residents.

In retrospect, we've seen how much damages can constant rainfall in Spring can cause and how areas or states close to Iowa can impact flooding as well. This may happen again as we're seeing record levels of snowfall from winter on multiple states and relatively strong storms too.

Now, let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly changes that this new flood map update will bring to residents of Dubuque.

The Good

When it comes to what we call the good changes, this happens when your property is moved out of a high-risk flood zone or some would say "out of a flood zone". Although the latter statement is never true since you're always mapped into a flood zone, it just depends on how high the risks for flooding that you're property's facing is.

In the good flood map changes, this means that you're in an "in to out" movement which is something that around 1200 Dubuque residents will experience on May 10th. This means that previously, the property's mapped in a high-risk flood zone and is moving to preferred flood zones or low-risk flood zones. Some would call this moving to Flood Zone X.

This means that you will also get preferred flood insurance rates and flood insurance won't be required but is still highly recommended. It's important to note that even low-risk flood zones like Flood Zone X are still subject to flooding. In fact, most flood claims are coming from these zones according to FEMA.  Now, when we say preferred rates, this means that you're getting the lowest possible premium rates for your flood insurance compared to those if you're moving into these low-risk zones. This can mean that your flood insurance rate will be around $1,000 or maybe lower than that.

The Bad

Now, when it comes to the bad changes, this is the exact opposite of the good changes. In the case of Dubuque, about 370 residents are moving into high-risk flood zone, like Flood Zone A, when previously they're in a low-risk flood zone. This movement is shown as the "out to in" in these flood map updates.

This means that these homeowners will now be required to carry flood insurance for their property since generally moving into high-risk flood zones prompts mortgage companies to impose mandatory flood insurance for the property. If you don't buy it yourself then your mortgage lender might force-place a policy for your house which is a really bad deal.

Flood insurance rates in these areas will also be higher. If Iowa's average flood insurance rate is about $1,045 then you can expect your premiums to be around this price and up to $3,000 depending on the construction of your house. If your property also has flood claims previously, this can also affect your rates and cause it to go significantly higher.

The Ugly

Now, let's talk about the worst part of these flood map changes which is what we usually call an ugly change. This is because of the movement that around 4200 properties will be going through this May 10th. The movement is shown as the "in to in" because these properties will be moving deeper into the high-risk flood zones or higher-risk flood zones.

The movement might be because you're in a Flood Zone A before the updates and then you're now going to be mapped into Flood Zone AE. This will bring a drastic increase in your flood insurance premiums. If we were to go back to the premiums we mentioned previously, this can go up to $5,000 to $8,000 in FEMA. This is the same for the bad changes since your mortgage will be requiring you to carry a policy, mandatory flood insurance, with your property. The federal flood insurance may also require you to produce and submit additional documents like photos and elevation certificates in order to write a policy for you, and this costs a lot of money as well. 

Now, we want to cover your flood insurance options since we know that this is one of the most important things to prepare for the hurricane season.

Flood Insurance Options

The NFIP

First, let's go through the well-known option which is federal flood insurance. Also known as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the government-backed option where you have to go through FEMA to get your policy here. It's important to note that there are certain red tapes you need to consider when going to federal flood insurance.

The NFIP offers maximum coverage for property damage of up to $250,000 and contents coverage or personal property coverage of $100,000 maximum. It's important to note that this number won't go up for residential properties. This can go up to $500,000 max only for commercial properties with the same coverage for contents. The NFIP won't be covering additional living expenses unless there's a presidential declaration, replacement costs, and loss of use.

It's also important to note that if you're looking to go through FEMA for your flood policy, there will be a strict 30-day waiting period before your policy can take effect. Depending on how fast you process the necessary requirements for flood insurance purchase, this may go up to 60 days especially if there are additional documents being asked.

One of the great things about the NFIP is if you're in a participating community, your Community Rating Score (CRS) can really benefit your flood insurance as this can provide you and your community in Dubuque a discount of up to 40%. Although this depends on your score, there's still a big chance of getting a discount through this program with FEMA. Being in a participating community also gives you access to disaster aid and disaster grants.

The Private Flood

Now, let's talk about the other option that most people might not know about or may shy away from, the private flood insurance market. It's important to note that there's nothing to be scared about the private flood as they do what your federal flood insurance can, if not more.

When it comes to private flood coverage, this doesn't have a coverage limit and maximum amount you can go up to. So, if you want to get more than $250,000 for your house and $100,000, you can do so with these private insurance companies. They also offer extra coverage like additional living expenses, loss of use, and replacement costs even if there's no presidential declaration for the flooding that happened.

It's important to note however that there might be some companies who won't write a policy due to the risks of flooding on your property. This may be due to the property's current flood zone designation or the history of flood loss and flood claims with the house. You won't have to worry about that however since you can still go through other private insurers since there's never one insurance company when it comes to private flood.

Since you're also buying from private insurers, they won't be held back by the red tapes that FEMA has to go through. This is why flood insurance policies from the private market can take effect as soon as you complete your requirements and payment on the flood policy purchase or up to fifteen days.

At the end of the day, being proactive and prepared beats being reactive when it comes to floodings. The choice of where you're getting your flood insurance doesn't really hold that much weight so long as you're making sure that there's a policy ready to save you from potential flood loss. 

So, if you have questions on these flood map changes, the impacts it has on flood insurance for Dubuque, flood insurance options, or anything related to flood, reach out to us using the links below to call, get a quote, or visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel for our daily flood education videos.

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation. We want to help you protect your property from flood risks and preserve its value long term.

         

In this flood map update, we talk about one of the major victims of the Colorado flooding from the recent time, Logan County and Sterling. The flood map updates for Logan County is expected to arrive at May 4th which can be a big start as we approach the hurricane season.

We want to unpack from the good, the bad, the ugly changes, impacts on flood insurance, and your flood insurance options.

History of Flood

In 2013, a massive slow-moving cold front stalled over the state and met with warm humid monsoonal air from the south resulted in heavy rain and catastrophic flooding along with Colorado Springs north to Fort Collins. This was worsened by the fact that multiple counties, like Boulder County, received up to 17 inches of rain after four days. This event leads to an estimated $1,000,000,000 worth of damages with 8 unfortunate casualties and 6 missing.

Logan County, specifically, experienced a limited water use order due to the South Platte River cresting for around 11 feet which helped in drastically increasing the flood levels during the time. 73 miles of asphalt and dirt roads were severely impacted as well.

So, let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly changes that the new flood map updates will bring to Sterling and all of its estimated 15000 residents.

The Good

When it comes to the good changes in flood maps, also known as an "in to out" movement, Julesburg may not feel this change as around 40 properties are being moved out of the high-risk flood zones. It's important to note that we call this a good change because properties that are previously in high-risk flood zones, like Flood Zone A, will be moved to the low-risk flood zones.

This is generally good since flood insurance will no longer be required although still recommended, flood insurance premiums will become lower, and technically a lower risk of flooding for those properties. We highly recommend getting flood insurance still even in low-risk flood zones like Flood Zone X since we've seen many times that these zones get impacted by flood for multiple reasons and according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), most flood claims are coming from these zones.

The Bad

Now, let's talk more about the bad changes which are focused on the "out to in" movement of properties in the flood map. According to the upcoming flood map updates, about 110 residents will be moved from outside the low-risk flood zones like Flood Zone X and into high-risk flood zones like Flood Zone A.

This means that the 110 properties impacted are most likely to be required to carry mandatory flood insurance from their mortgage. This can be very surprising for those who are buying flood insurance the first time, but a very common effect of these changes. This could also mean that the overall flood insurance premiums for these properties will be higher. If Colorado generally has about $855 average premium, this can go up to $1000 depending on your property's position when it comes to the base flood elevation in the area.

Considering how the South Platte River and Sterling are somewhat beside one another, we can actually expect flood insurance rates to be even higher in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Some data shows that flood insurance premiums from the NFIP in this area actually got more than $8,000.

The Ugly

When it comes to the worst change from this flood map, which we call an ugly change, the impacted property's movement is called an "in to in". This means that there are about 3300 properties moving from a high-risk area to a higher-risk flood zone. This is the biggest number and mostly comprises the flood map update that's coming this month. It means that you could be in a Flood Zone A and then this flood map update will have your property moved into Flood Zone AE for example.

Flood insurance premiums will be drastically higher when it comes to these properties. This means that if Colorado generally has an $855 premium on average, then you can expect your property to go have around $1200 even up to $2000 depending on how close you are to a body of water and the relative position of your house to the base flood elevation. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) may also require additional documents like photos and an elevation certificate with the mandatory flood insurance in order for your policy to take effect.  Considering the previous data, premiums can also go up to $10,000 if not more depending on where your property is located. 

Now, let's talk about how you can prepare for these changes and what the best flood insurance option is for you.

Flood Insurance Options

When it comes to flood insurance options, it's important to note that it won't matter what loan type you have since you can choose to go through either of these options. We have federal flood insurance and private flood insurance. Let's go through each option and understand their differences.

The NFIP Option

Federal flood insurance provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Now, it's important to note that you can access this flood insurance option only if you're in a participating community. It's integral to mention that in 2019, Logan County re-enlisted for participating with the NFIP. This participation comes with an agreement between Logan County officials and FEMA, so it's very likely that the local floodplain management will encourage residents to get flood insurance from FEMA and the NFIP.

The NFIP offers coverage for properties, buildings, or structures of $250,000. When it comes to property coverage, other properties that aren't listed as the main building will have to get a separate policy for those additional buildings. Contents and personal items will have a coverage of $100,00. It's important to note that these coverage amounts are maxed out to those numbers. The NFIP won't also provide additional living expenses, replacement costs, and loss of use with their policy.

If you're looking to buy flood insurance through FEMA, you may have to follow a strict 30-day waiting period before the policy can take effect on your property.

The Private Flood Option

On the other side of the fence, you may go through private insurance companies' flood policies also known as the private flood. Since this is provided by private insurers, you won't have to go through the red tapes that the federal flood insurance may have. Immediately, you can see this on the general waiting period for private flood insurance. The maximum waiting time for private flood is fifteen days this is considering that you're going to have to wait in the first place.

Private flood insurance also doesn't have any coverage limits to the amount they can cover for property and personal items. This means that you can go up to $10,000,000 for the property damage coverage if you'd want to and $1,000,000 on personal items. Now, it's important to note that this is relative to your property's construction which is why it's highly recommended that homeowners with expensive buildings go through the private flood.

Private flood insurance also provides additional coverages like additional living expenses, replacement costs, and loss of use which really protects the way of life policyholder from the aftermath of flooding.

At the end of the day, it's important that we keep our guards up, be prepared to avoid what happened in 2013 especially when states like Colorado can propose a bigger flood threat due to storm runoff, spring thaw, and melting of ice and snow across the state. As climate change drastically impacts the weather patterns for the worse, one can only tell how bad this coming hurricane season will be.

So, if you have any questions on flood map changes, flood insurance, or your flood risks, reach out to us. Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation and we want to help protect the value of your property long term. Click the links below to watch our daily flood education videos on YouTube, call us, or get a quote from us so you can get started on your flood insurance purchase today.

        

We're fast approaching the hurricane season and it seems like Winter was just yesterday.  As we continue with the Spring season, it's important to cover the ever-changing flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) that will take effect on May 18th for the county of Sedgwick in Colorado.

We want to cover how this will impact flood insurance rates for Julesburg, being one of the biggest cities, the good, the bad, the ugly changes, and the flood insurance options for the residents of the city.

History of Flood

Colorado hasn't been in the crosshairs of major flooding in recent times compared to other states however it's important to note that the state has a history of flood in the last 100 years as this could reflect the state's situation when it comes to flooding.

In 2013, a massive slow-moving cold front stalled over the state and met with warm humid monsoonal air from the south resulted in heavy rain and catastrophic flooding along with Colorado Springs north to Fort Collins. This was worsened by the fact that multiple counties, like Boulder County, received up to 17 inches of rain after four days. This event leads to an estimated $1,000,000,000 worth of damages with 8 unfortunate casualties and 6 missings.

So, let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly changes that the new flood map updates will bring to Sedgwick and all of its estimated 2400 populous.

The Good

When it comes to the good changes in flood maps, also known as an "in to out" movement, Julesburg may not feel this change as only two (2) properties are being moved out of the high-risk flood zones. It's important to note that we call this a good change because properties that are previously in high-risk flood zones, like Flood Zone A, will be moved to the low-risk flood zones.

This is generally good since flood insurance will no longer be required although still recommended, flood insurance premiums will become lower, and technically a lower risk of flooding for those properties. We highly recommend getting flood insurance still even in low-risk flood zones like Flood Zone X since we've seen many times that these zones get impacted by flood for multiple reasons and according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), most flood claims are coming from these zones.

The Bad

Now, let's talk more about the bad changes which are focused on the "out to in" movement of properties in the flood map. According to the upcoming flood map updates, about 250 residents will be moved from outside the low-risk flood zones like Flood Zone X and into high-risk flood zones like Flood Zone A.

This means that the 250 properties impacted are most likely to be required to carry mandatory flood insurance from their mortgage. This can be very surprising for those who are buying flood insurance the first time, but a very common effect of these changes. This could also mean that the overall flood insurance premiums for these properties will be higher. If Colorado generally has about $855 average premium, this can go up to $1000 depending on your property's position when it comes to the base flood elevation in the area.

The Ugly

When it comes to the worst change from this flood map, which we call an ugly change, the impacted property's movement is called an "in to in". This means that there are about 22 properties moving from a high-risk area to a higher-risk flood zone. It means that you could be in a Flood Zone A and then this flood map update will have your property moved into Flood Zone AE for example.

Flood insurance premiums will be drastically higher when it comes to these properties. This means that if Colorado generally has an $855 premium on average, then you can expect your property to go have around $1200 even up to $2000 depending on how close you are to a body of water and the relative position of your house to the base flood elevation. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) may also require additional documents like photos and an elevation certificate with the mandatory flood insurance in order for your policy to take effect. 

Now, let's talk about how you can prepare for these changes and what the best flood insurance option is for you.

Flood Insurance Options

When it comes to flood insurance options, it's important to note that it won't matter what loan type you have since you can choose to go through either of these options. We have federal flood insurance and private flood insurance. Let's go through each option and understand their differences.

The NFIP Option

Federal flood insurance provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Now, it's important to note that you can access this flood insurance option only if you're in a participating community.

The NFIP offers coverage for properties, buildings, or structures of $250,000. When it comes to property coverage, other properties that aren't listed as the main building will have to get a separate policy for those additional buildings. Contents and personal items will have a coverage of $100,00. It's important to note that these coverage amounts are maxed out to those numbers. The NFIP won't also provide additional living expenses, replacement costs, and loss of use with their policy.

If you're looking to buy flood insurance through FEMA, you may have to follow a strict 30-day waiting period before the policy can take effect on your property.

The Private Flood Option

On the other side of the fence, you may go through private insurance companies' flood policies also known as the private flood. Since this is provided by private insurers, you won't have to go through the red tapes that the federal flood insurance may have. Immediately, you can see this on the general waiting period for private flood insurance. The maximum waiting time for private flood is fifteen days this is considering that you're going to have to wait in the first place.

Private flood insurance also doesn't have any coverage limits to the amount they can cover for property and personal items. This means that you can go up to $10,000,000 for the property damage coverage if you'd want to and $1,000,000 on personal items. Now, it's important to note that this is relative to your property's construction which is why it's highly recommended that homeowners with expensive buildings go through the private flood.

Private flood insurance also provides additional coverages like additional living expenses, replacement costs, and loss of use which really protects the way of life policyholder from the aftermath of flooding.

At the end of the day, it's important that we keep our guards up and especially when states like Colorado can propose a bigger flood threat due to storm runoff, spring thaw, and melting of ice and snow across the state.

So, if you have any questions on flood map changes, flood insurance, or your flood risks, reach out to us. Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation and we want to help protect the value of your property long term. Click the links below to watch our daily flood education videos on YouTube, call us, or get a quote from us so you can get started on your flood insurance purchase today.