Do I need flood insurance?
Over 90% of all presidential-declared disasters in the United States are flood related. Leveling forests, overbuilding the land, and increasing use of asphalt all reduce the soil’s natural ability to absorb excess water, compounding the risk of disastrous flooding. Most homeowner, renter, landlord and business insurance polices exclude coverage for flooding.
As we have stated earlier, flooding can occur anywhere, anytime. Even if you are not required to have flood insurance, serious consideration should be given to purchasing it anyway. Homeowners insurance may cover fire and wind damage, but virtually never covers damage from flooding…nature’s most common natural disaster. Damages associated with floods can easily total $25,000 or more… sometimes much more. Because Palm Beach County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, all county residents qualify to apply for NFIP flood insurance. Without flood insurance, losses must be covered out of pocket. Some limited relief might be obtainable through government aid. But, government assistance is not available automatically. It is offered only when the President makes an official disaster declaration. Less than half of flooding events are “declared disasters”. Declarations require rather widespread damage.
The simplest way to answer this question may be to walk to the nearest mirror. If the person you see in the mirror owns any significant amount of property that can be damaged or destroyed by water, then you should seriously consider buying flood insurance. Most persons may buy coverage offered by the National Flood Insurance Program. If your community doesn’t participate in the program, you’ll have to look into coverage from private insurance companies.
