When you’re looking to get flood insurance, the first step is to assess the risk of flooding in your area. Almost 41 million people in the US are exposed to flooding while almost all the areas in Texas are designated high risk flood zones. Apart from the traditional causes such as natural disasters, your property may also fall victim to flooding due to broken dams, ruptured tanks and towers or damaged water mains. Therefore, knowing about flood insurance may be important for you as a home owner.
How Flood Insurance Helps?
In the wake of a flooding situation, you may discover that the damage that it caused to your heating and air conditioning systems, utility systems, or other parts of your property. Flood insurance will cover the expenses you will incur in repairing or restoring the damaged parts of your property including:
- Walls and ceilings
- Central air conditioners
- Permanently installed cupboards, bookcases and wallpapers
- Built-in dishwashers
- Blinds
- Kitchen cabinets
- Fire sprinkler systems
- Outdoor antennas and aerials attached to building
- Ventilating equipment
- Appliances
Understand Your Flood Risk First
It all starts with the assessment of the risk. The likelihood of your area being flooded matters as it will help you to decide whether you should spend on buying flood insurance in the first place. Start by finding out your flood zone designation on flood insurance rate map (FIRM). The government has accorded certain designations to all the areas, depending on an assessment of their risk of being flooded.
C and X indicate low risk
B and X indicate moderate risk
D indicated undetermined risk
A and V indicate a High risk
Almost all the areas in Texas have been designated high risk. Areas that are moderately risked are often those where a levy or dam has been constructed to stop the flood in its path. However it is still no guarantee against flooding. In fact, statistics indicate that there is a 25% chance that you will still experience flooding over the course of its mortgage (30 years) even if it has been protected by a levy.
Those living in a high risk flood area may be required to buy flood insurance by their mortgage lenders. However those living in a low risk area may not want to spend a few thousand dollars an year for nothing.
The Costs of Flood Insurance
The costs of flood protection are quite a bargain, especially for those living in high risk areas. The government subsidizes the cost of flood insurance for those living in the high risk areas thorough its National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
They will pay a certain amount each year to be insured against damages from floods. Those in the low risk areas have a lower premium comparatively. According to the NFIP, the insurance rates are subject to several factors such as:
- Flood risk designation
- How old is the construction
- Flood zone type
- Number of floors
- Place of its contents
- Setting of the lowest floor relative to the base flood elevation on FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) flood map
- The amount of building content coverage
All in all, the flood insurance can save you from the potentially huge costs of a natural disaster and it’s quite a good bargain for those living in high risks areas such as Texas. If your residential or commercial property in Fort Worth, Texas, is ever exposed to a flooding situation or any other type of water damage, STOP is just a call away. Call 682-703-0213 and acquire our professional water damage restoration services in no time.
