Until the late 1960s, Flood Insurance was practically unavailable
to home and business owners. In 1968, Congress voted to create the
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This Federal program provides
Flood Insurance at a reasonable cost in exchange for the careful
management of flood-prone areas by local communities.
Today, you can insure almost any enclosed building and its contents
against flood loss, as long as your community is participating
in the NFIP.
Remember, standard Homeowners Insurance policies do not cover
flood loss. For more details on Flood Insurance protection, call
your agent or company today. Generally, there is a 30-day waiting
period for this policy to become effective, so don't wait until
a flood is coming to apply.
More disaster Resources
National Flood Insurance Program Update
President Obama and Congress recently signed into law a one-year
extension of the National Flood Insurance Program through Sept.
30, 2011. It requires property owners who file repeated flood
claims to be offered opportunities to sell their homes to the
government or to prevent flood damage either by elevating or moving
their homes.
Those refusing help would be denied disaster aid in subsequent
floods and would eventually be subject to the full actuarial rates
for flood coverage for their properties. The bill makes information
on flood insurance more widely available and institutes minimum
training and education requirements for agents who sell Flood
Insurance.
Complaints stemming from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 showed that
some people did not understand their coverage. The number of flood
policies in force is growing but so are the claims. In 2003, there
were 4.6 million policies in force compared with 4.5 million the
previous year, the latest data available.
Premiums grew from $1.9 billion in 2003 to $2.0 billion in 2004.
The number of claims jumped from 32,189 to 37,659 in 2004 and
the cost of flood losses paid rose from $605.4 million to $1.2
billion in 2004. Flood damage can be expensive. The typical 2003
Flood Insurance claim was more than four times as high as the
typical homeowners claim that same year.
Protecting
Your Home From Flood Damage. (Institute for Business &
Home Safety)
Flood Insurance Resources:
Source: Insurance Information Institute, FEMA
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