Flooding: Before & After
Before a Flood Strikes — Buy flood insurance
One of the first steps in planning flood protection is to buy flood insurance. Damages from flood waters, rising surface waters, waves, sewers or drains and from water seeping from below ground are generally not covered under standard homeowners policies.
Until the late 1960s, insuring a home against flood loss was very difficult and expensive, if not impossible, because insurance is based on risk-sharing principle. Naturally, people in areas that are not flood prone, would not want to share the risk with those who were likely to flood. In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Its purpose was to offer flood insurance at a reasonable cost in exchange for the careful management of flood-prone areas by local communities.
Flood insurance is administered by the Federal Insurance Administration, a department of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). You can purchase it from any licensed property/casualty agent or broker - the same person who sells homeowner and automobile policies. You can get flood insurance whether you own a home, a business or are renting.
Flood insurance is generally required when buying, building or improving property in an identified flood-prone area if the financing is in any way federally connected - either direct financing from a federal agency (FHA and VA loans, EPA grants, etc.) or a conventional mortgage from a bank or savings and loan that is regulated or insured by the federal government.
Flood insurance is offered in two phases to communities which qualify by setting up flood plain management and standards for new construction.
- Under the first phase, called the emergency phase, property owners can buy up to $35,000 coverage on a single family dwelling and $10,000 coverage on the contents.
- Residents in communities in the second phase of the program may buy additional coverage. The rates depend on the degree of risk as determined by the Flood Hazard Boundary Maps and the site elevation of the building to be insured. For example, if the base flood level in a particular area is 30 feet, then a first floor level of a structure at an elevation of 33 feet is less likely to suffer severe damage from flooding than a structure that has a first floor elevation below 30 feet. Therefore, rates for insurance will vary depending on the elevation of the structure and the degree of risk as indicated on the Floor Hazard map. A finished floor elevation certificate is usually needed at the time of application for the insurance. Normally, there is a five-day waiting period from the time a policy is purchased until it goes into effect. If there is a transfer of title, coverage becomes effective immediately.
There is a deductible which the policy must cover to assume a part of the loss. And, the government will pay only a minimal lump sum for jewelry, art objects or any precious metals. In case of a flood, these items should be well protected.
Keep your flood insurance policies and paperwork in a secure place such as a safe deposit box, along with a list of personal property that might be damaged if flooding occurs. Keep the name, phone number and location of the insurance agent(s) who wrote your policy at hand. In case of flooding, call your agent or broker immediately. The agent submits a form for flood damage or loss to the National Flood Insurance Property. After a major flood covering a large area, there could be delays in getting an adjuster and in servicing your claim.
When the adjuster comes, have your insurance policy in hand along with a list of possessions damaged by the flood. If there is a delay in getting an adjuster, you do not need to delay the cleanup. As soon as it is safe to enter the structure, you may begin the cleanup — as long as you keep flood-damaged items available for inspection. Before and after pictures of possessions and receipts will be useful in verifying claims.