Buying flood insurance
When buying flood insurance, you should know that:
- It’s easy to purchase – Federal flood insurance policies can be purchased directly from an insurance professional. Nearly 100 insurance companies write and service NFIP policies.
- It requires a waiting period – There is a 30-day waiting period before a flood insurance policy takes effect, so don’t wait until the last minute to purchase it.
- It can be augmented with “excess” insurance – The NFIP policy maximums are inadequate to fully cover some people’s assets so a growing number of private insurers have begun offering excess flood policies, intended to provide water damage protection to homeowners over and above the coverage provided by the NFIP policies. Some private insurers are also starting to offer “first dollar” flood policies.
What if I don’t have flood insurance and there’s a flood?
Having a flood insurance policy is way to protect your assets most fully from the cost of flood damages and loss.
Without insurance, relief from floods primarily comes in the form of loans. If your community is declared a disaster area, no-interest or low-interest loans are often made available by the federal government as part of the recovery effort. However, these loans must be paid back, which means you’re still liable for the entire cost of your damages or losses.
