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Needs to Know about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
1. Everyone lives in a flood zone.
- You don't need to live near water to be flooded.
- Floods are caused by storms, melting snow, hurricanes,
and water backup due to inadequate or overloaded drainage systems,
dam or levee failure, etc.
2. Flood damage is not covered by homeowners policies.
- You can protect your home, business, and belongings
with flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program.
- You can insure your home with
flood insurance for up to $250,000 for the building and $100,000 for
your contents.
3. You can buy flood insurance no matter what your flood risk is.
- It doesn't matter whether your flood risk is high,
medium, or low, you can buy flood insurance as long as your community
participates in the National Flood Insurance Program.
- And, it's a good idea to buy even in low or moderate
risk areas: almost 25 percent of all flood insurance claims come from
low- to moderate-risk areas.
4. There is a low-cost policy for homes in low- to moderate-risk
areas.
- The Preferred Risk Policy is available for just over
$100 a year.
- You can buy up to $250,000 of
coverage for your home and $60,000 of coverage for your contents.
5. Flood insurance is affordable.
- The average flood insurance policy costs a little
more than $300 a year for about $100,000 of coverage.
- In comparison, a disaster home loan can cost you
more than $300 a month for $50,000 over 20 years.
6. Flood insurance is easy to get.
- You can buy NFIP flood insurance from private insurance companies and agents;
call yours today!
- You may be able to purchase flood
insurance with a credit card.
7. Contents coverage is separate, so renters can insure their belongings
too.
- Up to $100,000 contents coverage is available for
homeowners and renters.
- Whether you rent or own your
home or business, make sure to ask your insurance agent about contents
coverage. It is not automatically included with the building coverage.
8. Up to a total of $1 million of flood insurance coverage is available
for non-residential buildings and contents.
- Up to $500,000 of coverage is
available for non-residential buildings.
- Up to $500,000 of coverage is
available for the contents of non-residential buildings.
9. There is usually a 30-day waiting period before the coverage goes
into effect.
- Plan ahead so you're not caught
without flood insurance when a flood threatens your home or business.
10. Federal disaster assistance is not the answer.
- Federal disaster assistance is only available if
the President declares a disaster.
- More than 90 percent of all disasters in the United
States are not Presidentially declared.
- Flood insurance pays even if a disaster is not declared.
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