Every year, floods cause billions of dollars of damage in the United States, and homeowners are among the most vulnerable. Sadly, many homeowners are ill-prepared to protect themselves from a major financial loss in the event of a flood. These same homeowners lie exposed and will be devastated if their property is damaged or destroyed by a flood.
It doesn’t need to be that way, however! Flood insurance is available to homeowners and can help protect you from serious financial catastrophe. Below is more information about the necessity of purchasing flood insurance and how you can obtain coverage.
What Homeowner’s Insurance Covers… and What It Doesn’t
Your homeowner’s insurance policy is designed to protect you from unexpected financial loss due to several perils, including:
- Open perils – This category includes fire, hail, windstorms, explosions, lightning, vandalism, aircraft-caused damage, windstorms, theft, and several other named and unnamed causes.
- Certain water-related causes – This category includes limited causes of damage, such as sewer or drain backups. For example, if your toilet backs up and ruins the carpet, then sewer backup coverage will pay for the replacement of the damaged carpet. Sewer and drain backup coverage is typically added as an endorsement to the policy.
- Water damage secondary to covered perils – You likely have coverage for water damage secondary to another covered peril. For example, if your roof is penetrated by a falling tree during a thunderstorm and rain enters the opening and causes extensive interior damage, then you will be covered. Likewise, water damage caused by fire departments as they extinguish a blaze is also typically covered.
However, what isn’t covered as a primary cause of damage is flooding. As such, damage caused by storm surge, rivers and lakes overflowing their banks, rising water from excessive rainfall, storm runoff, and even dam or dikes bursting, is not covered by a homeowner’s insurance policy.
Why All Homeowners Need Flood Insurance
Despite the fact that flood damage isn’t covered under a homeowner’s insurance policy, many homeowners mistakenly believe their property is safe or won’t have to worry about paying much for damage suffered in a flood. Unfortunately, the following mistaken beliefs could end up being financially devastating:
- Immune from Flooding – Homeowners often believe their property is completely immune from flooding due to their location on high ground.
- Flood Damage Will Be Minimal – Another common belief is that if a flood occurs, it is likely to be small and have little impact on a home. The reasoning, so it goes, is that a small flood event is unlikely to cause major damage and that flood insurance is financial overkill.
However, statistics show that about one-fifth of all flood-damage claims arise from property located outside flood zones. That means your property is almost always at risk, at least to some degree, even if you live in a “safe” area.
In addition, even shallow water intrusion can have steep financial consequences for homeowners. Just one inch of water inside the average 2,500 square foot home can cause nearly $27,000 in damage! Without flood insurance, homeowners are forced to come up with the funds needed to pay for the damage done.
The Truth about Flood Insurance Premiums
Even when homeowners know that flood insurance makes perfect sense and is really not optional, the fear of making big premium payments can still scare many of them away. However, the good news is that flood insurance premiums aren’t nearly as expensive as some people would lead you to believe.
In fact, for homeowners who live where the incidence of flooding is relatively rare, flood insurance premiums are often quite low. In addition, the average national premium in 2017 was just shy of $900 per year, and that includes all flood insurance policies, including the most expensive ones that cover homes in high-risk locations
Get Flood Insurance in Houston Now
Once you have decided to purchase a flood insurance policy, the next step is to contact Texan Insurance for a quote or fill out our convenient online form to start the process of getting flood insurance in Houston. The quote-generation process won’t take long, and you will be able to get an answer fast.
However, it is important not to delay; flood insurance policies have a 30-day exclusion period, and that means you will need to buy now to be ready for the rainiest days of the year and hurricane season. In addition, when you call or contact Texan Insurance, have your current homeowner’s policy handy so that we can best serve you.