Most will agree that Southeast Missouri has more water than ever seen before. We are seeing unimaginable damage to homes, properties, and our communities. Unfortunately, many people are finding that flood insurance is not a typical coverage in their homeowners insurance. The unlikelihood of a flood to this magnitude was unlikely and many have taken the cost savings path of “It will never happen to me”.

“My house has water in it, do I have coverage?” This is a very popular question in most insurance offices recently. Sadly enough and much to the surprise of many homeowners, flood is excluded from most homeowners insurance policies. Flood insurance is purchased on a separate policy in most instances.

A recent survey indicated that 94% of all property owners who carry flood insurance only purchased it for 1 of 2 reasons. 1) They have a bank loan and the bank is required the purchase of a flood policy. 2) They have experienced a flood in the past 5 years and did not have the coverage; therefore they purchased it after they repaired the damage to their properties from the prior flood.

A federal government program administers flood insurance, and like most government programs has specific rules and regulations. A few rules of the flood insurance is:

Everyone is eligible to purchase flood insurance. It is not required that you reside in a high-risk flood zone.

Naturally, it is cheaper the less risk you have. Also, if you live in a higher risk area the flood insurance could be up to 66% cheaper if you obtain elevation certificate shot for your property.

It is important to remember when purchasing flood insurance, there is a typical 30-day waiting period from the date of purchase before the policy goes into effect. However, this waiting period is normally waived for bank loans and becomes effective the day of the closing.

The National Flood Insurance Program has created an awareness campaign to help consumers better understand flood insurance. You can find additional information on flood preparedness on the NFIP sponsored site of http://www.FloodSmart.gov.