Do I Need Flood Insurance?



There are many people out there that will ask themselves if they really need flood insurance? Looking at an area and finding out how many floods have happened in the past would seem like it would be the best way to decide. But it will not always be a way that will keep you save and have you losing everything in your home. At times even when you feel that flood insurance is not needed it might be smart to just buy it.



One case is that of Kay Bowker who lived in an area of New Jersey that was on high ground, and had been thought to be safe from any type of flooding. But during 2004 there was a flood that happened fortunately it was since her home was on higher ground that she came out fine in this episode. Again another flood came in 2007 and once again due to being on that higher land she was safe once again.

However, since the ground had become so saturated around the area it would begin to leak into her basement. Not only did the damage amount in the tens of thousands of dollars, but she had no flood insurance. The coverage on her homeowner's policy had no section that would help with the loses. Even with that other close call they felt that flood insurance was something they did not need.

Sure there are some areas that it is quite easy to figure that you need this type of coverage. Low lying areas that are close to water ways you should never even think of passing up flood insurance. But there are even some locations like this example where you may want to pay a bit of extra money each year to feel safe in your home.

Sometimes you will simply be required to buy flood insurance if you are in a high risk area. You may not even get approved for a mortgage until you have the coverage paid for and proof of it. Figuring out whether you are in a high risk area can start by looking at www.floodsmart.gov. Here you will be able to place the address of your home and the risk level of that area for a flood will come up.
Figuring out just how much coverage you need may be looking into the past problems of the area. If there have been a lot of floods you may choose to go with a higher coverage amount, like $250,000. An area that you only want to buy the coverage just in case and has not had problems in the past would be a coverage amount of $100,000.