The Importance of Flood Insurance for your Upper East Side home or business

8/17/2024 (Permalink)

Check your policy to see if you are covered for Flood Damage.

The people of New York City didn't give much thought to Flood Insurance before Hurricane Sandy hit, but the storm proved how devastating the damage to structures can be from coastal flooding. Home Insurance polices cover other types of natural disasters, such as tornado's and lightning strikes, but flood damage is excluded. Flood Insurance, is a separate policy that you pay extra and in most cases you must specifically state that you want that additional coverage. 

When to purchase Flood Insurance

If you live in a high-rise, you can safely skip flood insurance. Otherwise, flood insurance is highly advised, if it's not already required. If you live in a FEMA-defined floorplan or if you have a federally funded mortgage that sits in a high-risk flood area, you will be required to have flood insurance. Even if none of the above apply to you, you may still want to purchase a flood insurance policy. The first thing you should do is find out if you are at risk, by visiting FEMA, https://www.fema.gov/ to find out if you live in a flood zone. Even if it's determined that your risk is small, you still may want to protect your investment. 

Why to Purchase Flood Insurance 

If your home or business suffers a flood, the damage can be extensive and extremely costly. Just 1" of water, can cause $25K in damages. Having flood insurance ensures that you will be covered for losses/damage to your home or business and for the contents inside following a flood. 

How to Purchase Flood Insurance

Most often you can purchase flood insurance from your existing insurer. You can check to see if they offer flood insurance here https://www.fema.gov/. Please note that flood insurance policies are only available in participating communities. You will also need to know what your flood zone is and your level of risk. Shopping around, knowing this information can get you the best rate. Keep in mind, this needs to be done in advance of any impending storms. Once the policy is purchased, it will take 30 days to come into effect. Before you sign the policy, be sure to look it over so you fully understand what is and isn't covered. You want your policy to cover damage to the structure, as well as the contents inside. If you purchase a building/structure policy, the contents will not be covered. In this case, you will need to purchase a separate policy to cover the contents inside. 

Information for Renters

If you rent and have renters insurance, your policy does not cover flood damage. So, if you live in an area at risk and want to be covered in the event your home or business is flooded, you will want to invest in a flood insurance policy.

Flooding can prove costly and dangerous without immediate intervention and experienced IICRC-Certified technicians working quickly to help. We have helped those affected by considerable storm systems such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. No matter what effects threaten your property, We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster™.

 Have Storm or Flood Damage?
Call Us Today (917) 924-2260