Flood
insurance is not something restricted to those living in high-risk zones. This
post takes you through some misconceptions about flood insurance .
Texas
plays host several cities and in recent past, devastating floods and flash
floods have been witnessed in various parts of the state. Cities like Oklahoma,
Rio Vista, Lubbock, Nebraska, Louisiana and Arkansas are just but a few of
those which have experienced wet seasons and flooding. Despite warnings by
weathermen often issued about impending bad weather and calls for evacuations
by government officials, there are still people who always end up being caught
up by floods. While calls for massive evacuation is always the first
precautionary measure people in flooding zones are support to take, one thing
that many homeowners and businesses persons have never taken seriously is what
happens once the floods are over.
How
important is insurance against flooding?
Extremely
adverse weather conditions like Hurricanes have always left behind total
devastation, taking everything in sight with them; life and property. While
people can be evacuated in good time in a bid to save lives like it happened in
the year 2008 when Hurricane Ike caused massive loss of life and damage to
property in Texas, it shouldn’t be forgotten that once the effects of the
hurricane such as massive flooding was over, those whose businesses and homes
were washed away had to seek help. It is at this point in time that more often
than not, many begin to realize just how insurance against flooding is
important. Businesses were also cut off
from power supply and damage to property was witnessed even in high-rise
buildings whose glass windows were smashed. Trees and locomotives were also
washed away leaving the surface bear and people started counting huge losses.
It is those who had insurance cover that quickly managed to pick up their lives
from ruins.
Insuring
your business or home against flooding is therefore something many people
across the state of Texas should seriously be concerned about. The question
however is; what is the right insurance cover against floods? Also, can your
general home insurance cover be a basis upon which you get compensated in the
event that your home gets damaged or even washed away by floods as a result of
heavy downpour or hurricanes?
In
cases where people take cover policies against flooding, it is those living in
areas considered as low-lying or flood zones who think they are the only
legible group. These are areas near coastlands or rather flood plains which
occasionally witness heavy flooding across the mainland whenever there is
either light or heavy downpour. Agreeably, natural disasters are very uncertain
and you can never tell who becomes the next victim should there be extreme
weather conditions like presently Hurricane Mathew which has swept through
parts of the Caribbean and the Bahamas causing loss of property and life and is
now furiously surging towards the U.S where it is expected to hit hard the east
coast of Florida.
What’s
the right cover for you against floods?
There
are a range of insurance cover policies to choose from and when it comes to one
that will insure your home and other property against floods, it is important
be aware of to what extent does home insurance cover you. It is also important
to find out under which circumstances it is important to insure your home
against effects of flood. Further, it is important to know types of cover
policies that are included in flood insurance. This is because many homeowners
in Texas and the U.S at large are still at pains to understand what the right
type of flood insurance is. Well, is the standard homeowners’ insurance policy
all you need? In this blog, we take a look at some misconceptions homework
owners always have towards flood insurance cover.
Misconceptions
about Flood insurance in Texas
When
it comes to insuring one’s home against flood, certain myths need to be
demystified and below are some of them;
•
Flood cover is restricted to high risk areas
Well,
the notion that anyone who takes cover against flood must always be within the
zoned areas is a big lie. In fact, flood
zones change from time to time depending on disaster response unit mappings.
Preparedness against floods is therefore something which needs to be taken into
account even by those living outside zoned areas by ensuring to take flood insurance cover.
•
Homeowners insurance takes care of flooding
While
lots of things are usually covered by basic home owners cover, it is imperative
to note that flood cover is never part of it. Floods are treated as a separate
entity which requires insurance of its own and therefore does not fall under homeowners’ insurance cover. On this premise, it is important to know the
difference between water damage and damage caused by leaking roofs or damage
that takes place in the event that a water pipe bursts.
•
The misconception that any kind of water
damage is the same
There
is a big difference between damage to property caused by floods and that caused
by heavy storms and in which case a roof gets blown off letting water into a
house. Therefore, in the event that your house gets damaged by heavy rains due
to a roof that is seriously leaking , the cover for it doesn’t not fall under
flood cover but under homeowners insurance cover.
•
Flood zones are static
From
time to time, flood maps are re-examined and new areas which are potentially at
high risk identified. This is to say that even those who are living far away
from flood plains can always take flood insurance cover. You never know when
your area becomes a high risk zone.
•
An insurance against flood is enough to take
care of everything
This
is a myth. Well, you need to always
factor in insurance caps applied by companies in the event that damage to home
or property is caused by floods. You might just need a private carrier to take
care of other damages cause by floods because limits applied by insurance
companies are usually capped at $250, 000 for the structure and $100, 000 for
specified contingencies.
