Insurance Blog

Archive for the ‘Flood Insurance’ Category

Chris N asked this but didn’t seem to get a full answer. Another guy had 6 months for a fire claim. Why does it take so long?

The problem with a flood claim is the difficulty in quantifying the loss.

1) The house has to be dried – this will take several weeks and a large amount of electricity.

2) Then the house will probably have to be gutted and cleaned – this will take quite a while.

3) The the house will have to be completely decorated, appliances bought and installed and of course new furnishings/ goods purchased.

4) The Insurance company should be able to quantify most of the household costs and come to an agreement quite quickly – but it will be quite a while before the customer can get to buy the goods. The loss assessor should have been out quickly to arrange the drying out etc.

5) Also of course there may be two insurers – one for the buildings and one for the contents – so two sets of negotiations.

6) There is also the effect of alternate accommodation.

Most of the expenses mentioned should not involve the policyholder as the insurer will deal direct with the contractors and pay them for the work.

Customers who feel that the insurers are dragging their feet can raise complaints against them -which have to be dealt with expeditiously.

For full details you can refer to the FSA handbook http://fsahandbook.info/FSA/html/handbook/ICOB/7 which tells insurers how to handle claims and you can use it as a basis of complaint making (this changes Jan 6th to a principles based system ie treating customers fairly is the golden rule and insurers do not have to obey the rules listed provided they treat their customers fairly.)

We are trying to purchase a fixer upper in Va. The town is close to the water, yet has never flooded significantly (causing property damage). When speaking to residents, they say only the first two blocks from the beach are required. They say practically nobody actually has flood insurance.(except those who have to) The houses in this town are not even elevated.(Not even beachfront)(Mine is on concrete block 18 inches)Yet I read other places that all flood zones are required to have flood insurance. The town is considered in a 100 year flood plain, with a 1% chance per year. What is the real story? The quotes I have gotten have been very high, which is surprising, as they have NEVER had a flood. What gives? Could someone please explain? I want to get Flood Insurance, but it doesnt seem fair that they are charging so much with no history of floods in the area.

A5 is a 100yr flood zone. A zones are inland & V zones are on the coast. Only B,C & X are considered not in the 100yr flood plain & eligible for the preferred risk rate. Flood Insurance is high. Engineers do these maps and they are very detailed. Have your agent show you one if they still have them in the office. Many of them even have the existing buildings drawn in. Just because something hasn’t flooded, recently, does not mean it won’t flood. How far back do these people remember??
Just because houses are not elevated, does not mean they are not in a flood zone, it just means that they were all built before the ordinances were enacted that would require them to be elevated. Houses that are already built, are grandfathered. If you plan to do significant work to this house, you had better check with the town BEFORE you buy & tell them your plans to find out if you will have to do anything extra to be in compliance with the laws of building or changing a building in the flood zone. In order for the town to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), it is required that the town enact certain ordinances & zoning for buildings & roads & culvert sizes, etc. If you REALLY feel your house is not in a flood plain (for example it sits on a hill way above any water (pond, stream, lake, etc), you can hire an engineer to find out & if you are correct, have him issue a letter of map amendment. With that, you may qualify for the preferred rate, IF your house is then in a B, C or X zone.
If the house was built before the latest flood map, it is considered preFIRM and no elevation certificate would be needed but, if you got one it could reduce your rate if your house is "elevated" above the flood plain. The point at which your house is measured for the elevation certificate is the bottom of your basement or crawl space floor (not the first floor or where the framing starts). If the house has concrete blocks, it sounds as if you at least have a crawl space. If the house was built after the flood map date, it is postFIRM and an elevation certificate would be required. This has to be done by an engineer or surveyor at your cost. The cost would depend on how far the house is from the closest "pin" where the elevation of the land from the high water mark has been measured.
It is good you want flood insurance because if you have a mortgage, they will require it. The mortgage company will only require you carry the amount of the mortgage (or $250,000 which is the maximum available coverage if the mortgage is more than that).
It is best that you call your agent to have this all explained to you. He should be able to explain to you what is considered a flood. You should ask for some contents coverage, but, if there is a flood coming & you have contents in your basement, be sure to get them upstairs because coverage for contents in basements is VERY limited.
If your agent can’t explain flood, find an agent that knows something about it. The premium for the same coverages will be the same no matter where you go because it is underwritten by the Federal Government, even if there is an actual insurance company name on the policy. You will also have to pay in full when you get the policy.
I hope this helps you.

You may think that buying Florida home owner insurance is an easy task, but if you really get down to the details you may find out that this is not true.

The fact of the matter is that there are many details that go into Florida home owner insurance that you may not even be aware of. You want to make sure that you do not make the mistake of buying Florida home owner insurance before you know what it is all about.

If you do make a quick purchase you could end up regretting it in the end. This should not scare you away from buying Florida home owner insurance; it should instead make you want to get the best possible policy.

The biggest misconception about Florida home owner insurance is that it covers every natural disaster known to man.

If you live in Florida you are probably aware of the fact that hurricanes are going to hit your area sooner or later.

Of course you hope that you are spared time and time again, but you cannot always be so lucky.

So knowing that these hurricanes are coming is a good thing. But what are you going to do if your home is damaged in the process?

You need to know what your Florida home owner insurance policy is going to cover.

For instance, in most cases you will need to buy Flood Insurance in addition to your home owner insurance policy. There is a very good chance that a hurricane will cause your home to flood, and if it does you will definitely want to have insurance that you can rely on.

In order to get details on all coverage levels make sure that you speak with a Florida home owner Insurance company in depth before you make a purchase.

Tell them what you are concerned about, as well as what you are looking to receive.

They should then be able to tell you about every policy that you could possibly buy. Remember, you are not the only one who knows about the hurricane season in Florida. The companies that sell Florida home owner insurance know this as well.

Overall, buying Florida home owner insurance can be a difficult process if you do not take the time to look into all of the details. It is very important that you know what is available, as well as what you should buy.

Gerald Mason
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/differences-in-home-owner-insurance-85055.html