Now Is The Time For Flood Insurance
Hurricane season is winding down, so it may seem like flood insurance should be the last thing on your mind. With the immediate danger in your rearview, it may even seem financially prudent to wait another 10 months before you even consider it. But before you declare the discussion over, keep in mind that you may be selling yourself, your family, and your property short if you wait too long to act. Here are three big reasons to look into flood insurance today.
Binding Restrictions
Florida homeowners insurance companies aren’t exactly itching to provide coverage to homeowners when there’s a major storm going on. The vast majority of insurers will impose what’s known as binding restrictions on new homeowner policies until the storm threat has well passed. This means that homeowners can’t get coverage once a storm starts to build or while there is lingering damage from continuing bad weather.
It’s why homeowners need to buy flood insurance early or risk facing the storm unprotected. Most flood policies take 30 days to go into effect from the time of payment unless the policy is a condition of a home sale. If there are several big storms building off the coast of Florida, you can wind up being cut off from the market for longer than you realize.
It’s Cost-Effective
When it comes to your personal return on investment, few policies are as effective as flood insurance. It’s a relatively small investment for homeowners, costing just a little extra per month. And if you do sustain water damage to your home, you’ll have a policy available that can put your home back in order. Considering flood damage can easily cost thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) to fix, flood policies maximize your spending in all the right ways.
Most insurance policies don’t cover flooding damage unless the homeowner specifically requests the coverage. But because policies are long and boring to read, many owners won’t even realize this until they call to file a claim. There is no worse feeling than assuming your home can be fixed, only to find out you’ll need to pay out-of-pocket for the damages if you ever hope to return to your property.
Lessons From Past Storms
After major hurricanes, many outsiders looking in assume it’s the wind that causes all the property destruction and devastation. But those on the ground know that much of the damage is really flooding. This is more than just a homeowner problem — it’s a city-wide problem. If people can’t get their homes fixed, whole neighborhoods can descend into chaos.
It only takes an inch of water in a home to cause $25,000 in damages. And if you think you can rest easy because you’re located outside the designated flood zones, you may want to think again. One in five flood claims are filed by those who live outside the designated high-risk areas.
Flooding can be a scary prospect for any homeowner, but getting a flood quote doesn’t have to be. It only takes 5 minutes to fill out your information and receive a quote. You can also chat with an online agent to get your initial quote faster than ever. We’re here to protect you rain or shine, so let Synergy Insurance be your insurance experts.