Why Do You Need Flood Insurance?

A flood is defined as an overflow of inland or tidal waters, rapid accumulation or runoff of surface water from any source, and a collapse of a land because of excessive erosion due to flood, mudslides caused by accumulations of water on the ground or underground. Any homeowner or renter should protect their property and purchase flood insurance.

Depending on your request, a flood policy can cover the dwelling with the content or just the contents. If you own a home, you should purchase both. If you rent the apartment or a house, you can purchase only the personal property flood coverage. A flood policy covers the property in the policy description against direct loss by or from flood.

Flood insurance is one of those additional insurance policies that nobody wants to waste money on, especially if the property is not located in the flood zone. Unfortunately, many homeowners are left with unpaid claims by their homeowner's insurance, just to find out that flooding is not covered under their homeowner's policy.

Purchasing flood insurance gives you peace of mind like any other insurance and needs to be purchased ahead of time. It is hard to imagine a street flooding in your neighborhood when it has not flooded in the last twenty years. It is hard to imagine flood damaging your personal property while in a drought.

Floods are very common in the areas prone to tropical rains and hurricanes and in areas where rivers absorb melting snow during spring. Flash rains after the drought cause floods mostly because dry land takes more time to absorb the rain. Old subdivisions with clogged storm drains are more prone to flooding. New subdivisions also can have clogged water drainage due to the construction debris in the street. A new subdivision in the area will increase possibility of a flood. A meadow or a forest absorbs the water very well. If we built a town covered in cement with buildings and streets, rainwater has nowhere to go and floods the streets.

We all think about purchasing this type of insurance when the tropical storm is pouring down or when the local river is swollen near our house, but that is not a time to purchase it, and no insurance company will sell you a policy when a hurricane is in the Gulf of Mexico or when you are evacuating. That is why flood policy becomes effective only 30 days after purchasing. Insurance provides coverage for unpredicted happenings. Knowing that a big storm is on the way which will cause losses and that is predictable.