05 Mar Did You Know Your Homeowners’ Insurance Doesn’t Cover Floods?

It’s a common misconception that your homeowners’ insurance policy will cover you from all water damage in your home. Unfortunately, carriers make the distinction between damage caused by water above your home and water below. Water coming from above is covered, but water coming from below is not. That leaves many people with a huge gap in their coverage. That’s where flood insurance comes in. In North Carolina flood insurance is necessary to protect your finances from being washed away in a flood along with your home and possessions.   

Your Risk

According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), there’s a 26% chance of your home sustaining flood damage over the term of a standard 30-year mortgage. Investing in flood insurance is still a good idea even if you live in a low or moderate risk area. You may think if you live in a low-risk area that you can’t be affected by a severe flood, but even just an inch of water in your home can cause more than $25,000 worth of damage. Think about everything at the bottom level of your home. Is your furnace there? Expensive tools? Washer and dryer? Freezers or refrigerators? Electronics? It adds up! Also, it may not be as costly as you think. Being in a low-risk area will mean your premium is lower than someone living in a high-risk area.

Don’t Wait!

Here at Spivey Insurance, we frequently get calls before a predicted flood from people wanting to put a policy in place. We really can’t stress this enough: DO NOT WAIT! Flood insurance policies normally take 30 days to go into effect. If you wait until a flood is imminent, it will be too late.  Flooding is most likely to occur between spring and early fall, so this is the time of year we recommend our clients purchase a policy. You’ll have time before the April showers to thoroughly review options with your agent, make a decision and wait for the policy to become active.

We want all of our North Carolina neighbors to have the proper protection they need if a natural disaster were to strike. Call us at 704-821-4460 or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Pinterest so we can help you protect all of your family’s assets.