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Flood insurance is the specific insurance coverage against property loss from flooding. Flooding is defined by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as a general and temporary condition of a partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from: overflow of inland waters, unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, and mudflows, and/or water rising from the ground up.
Standard homeowners insurance policies don’t cover flood insurance. However, it can cover some damage from rain if the structure of the home is breached, but if your home is filled with water as a result of rising water, it WILL NOT cover you.
If you’re taking out a mortgage on a property that’s in a high-risk flood zone (also called a Special Hazard Flood Area), your lender will require you to buy a policy in order to get the loan.
The Myrtle Beach and Grand Strand area has experienced flooding in the last 3-5 years in both high risk and low-risk flood zones. It is very important to discuss this coverage option when protecting your home from disaster.
Living in the Myrtle Beach area, you’re probably familiar with the weather. With tropical storms, hurricanes, and some severe weather, it’s inevitable that flooding happens. Unfortunately, the last thing you want to find out after the flood ends is that your insurance was inadequate and won’t cover the damage done to your property. This can be devastating. At Aaron Miller Insurance, we want to help you stay out of that predicament, so here is what you need to know about buying flood insurance in Myrtle Beach.
One of the easiest ways to get home flood insurance is through the FEMA program, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is offered to the Myrtle Beach community. FEMA offers a decent flood insurance policy that can cover most smaller claims. However, there are some catches. The coverage limits only go up to $250,000 for your home and $100,000 for your belongings. While this might be adequate protection for some homeowners, for others it won’t really be enough to cover you for flood damage.
When the NFIP insurance doesn’t cover the full value of your home and property, you will have to supplement it with what is called excess flood insurance. Excess flood insurance is typically bought on the private market, which one of our agents can help you pick the best policy for you.
If you have a mortgage on your home, you are also required by law to buy flood insurance. In order to meet the requirements for this provision, you will have to have a policy that covers either the cost to fully rebuild your house, or the coverage maximum, whichever is deemed lower in cost. Luckily, you can still get the NFIP policy even with a mortgage, so for those who are strapped for cash, this can be one way to fulfill the requirements without breaking the bank so to speak. However, it can be somewhat risky if your home and property are worth more, especially in rebuilding costs, than you are covered for. Whether you go for federal policy, a private policy or some combination of the two will be dependent on what your mortgage lender approves. So be sure to speak with them prior to considering what to buy.
If you do go with an NFIP policy, you will have to wait 30 days for the policy to take effect. This means that you are still uninsured for the duration of that waiting period. For that reason, it’s always advisable to make sure you purchase your policy before the anticipation of the tropical storm season.
Granted, there are some pros to buying private insurance over the NFIP policy. For starters, the waiting period is typically in the 14-15 day range, meaning you’re able to get your home insured much quicker than with the federal program. You can also get a higher coverage limit all in one policy rather than having to pay for two policies. Likewise, you may even be able to get private insurance cheaper if your home has no history of flooding, but was recently added to the FEMA flood risk zone.
At Aaron Miller Insurance company in Myrtle Beach SC can guide you through the process of getting you covered. Talk with us today by calling 843-999-0575 or emailing us at [email protected]. We look forward to talking with you.
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At Aaron Miller Insurance we’re here for you, and we’ll work to get you the best deal possible. Stay in touch with us at 843-999-0575 or email directly to [email protected] so that we can make sure your policy is always working for you!
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