There are many risks that people are accustomed to insuring against. These
will include, health insurance, auto insurance and fire insurance. There are
others that are less familiar, such as dental and flood insurance but there are
many reasons why you should reassess the insurances you currently have in place
and perhaps consider relocating them to cover the risks that you are most afraid
of experiencing.
For example, did you know that losses due to floods are thirty times more
likely to occur than fire losses? This is especially true if your home is
located in a flood prone zone. While flood loss is generally less devastating
than fire loss, if your home is located in a flood prone zone, the chance of
even experiencing catastrophic damage is still 25% greater from flood than from
fire.
Flood loss
Most basic home insurance policies do not automatically include flood loss as
standard. Commercial property policies are the same, with flood loss only being
covered if it is specifically mentioned in the policy. If the flood is extremely
severe, it may be classified as a disaster site by the federal government. This
will cause some protection to be made available in the form of loans. These
loans, which come through the Federal Emergency Management Assistance program,
are not like insurance however, as you are required to pay back the loan that
they give you, as well as any other home loans you already have. They will also
require you to carry flood insurance in the future. The other thing about the
Federal Emergency Management Assistance program is that it only kicks in if your
area and flood are declared a federal disaster site. This can be fairly rare
when compared to the amount of floods that are experienced annually.
Flood insurance will be offered by various insurance companies but should be
backed by the National Flood Insurance Program. This type of coverage, which is
supported and regulated by the federal government, is the only type of flood
insurance that will fully protect your home and contents from rising water flood
insurance.
Shop Around
If you are considering taking out a policy of this kind, shop around for
the best rate and find out what is covered and what is excluded. It may be
that a specific company’s exclusion is exactly the situation in which you
require coverage and other companies may not have the same exclusion so you are
wise to shop around. Also, all insurance companies vary in what they offer and
what they charge. Do not accept the first offer or quote you receive and do not
expect all companies to provide the same deals. You should always shop around
when it comes to insurance and find yourself the best deal available.
Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the insurance site http://www.insure121.com/ where
you will find information, news and links to the leading providers of home
insurance in the UK.
