flood insurance
Crazeddoglady
asked:
"Today the news (ABC) reported that some 90% of the midwest flood victims don't have flood insurance. Assuming that they have mortgages (they look like they don't own their homes outright - many too young) how is it that they don't have flood insurance? How many times are we, the taxpayers, going to have to bail people out who don't have the basic insurance coverage that they should have? Why do we allow people to continue to rebuild in these areas?"
Question posted courtesy of:
mom_of_1 replied:
"First, you will not bail us out. We will bail ourselves out like we always do. Second, only people required to buy flood insurance buy flood insurance. It is very very costly. Third, lots of these people live miles away from the river and never dreamed the river would reach them. Finally, tell me one place in this world that doesn't have natural disasters. Where do you want us to move to? California where there is earthquakes and fires all time. Down south where there is hurricanes all the time. North where there is snow storms all the time. There is no where on this planet where anyone can move to that doesn't have natural disasters.Anaise - You sure aren't a very good insurance expert. Where can you buy flood insurance for $388/year? No where, most policies start at $1000 and thats just a starting price."
World War III replied:
"so move to another country if you don't like it, i can't wait for your house to be destroyed in some natural disaster with out any insurance, then you will have a completely different attitude, grow up"
Jurandr replied:
"Hello. I'm a central Illinois flood victim. My town has never seen a flood as big as the one that hit my home, but we do have a mandatory flood insurance because we do live in a flood zone. The thing is, with rising gas prices, nobody really wants to pay extra money for something they don't think will happen to them. Americans as a whole will see something on TV and think 'too bad for them, but it's not going to happen to us.' That's why they don't have flood insurance. Another thing is that Flood insurance and Homeowners insurance are two seperate things. Our flood insurance only covered the basic things that are "supposed' to be in a basement. Washer, dryer, and furnace. It doesn't cover anything beyond that. We had to petition our homeowners insurance to get enough money to replace things and rebuild. On top of that, our rates are going up because they decided my home's risk is higher than it used to be. Pontiac has annual floods, and they've been getting worse and worse every year. Yes, flood insurance does help a little, but not as much as the name causes you to think.And what's this about 'bailing us out?' I could only dream of having my country support me. It took us MONTHS to get FEMA support, and even that didn't help. The inspected: How many TV's we own. How many telephones we own. How many outlets there are in the basement. How many light fixtures there are in the basement.Three months later, we got a check for $99.99. a hundred bucks on top of thousands of dollars of repair? Thanks, but no thanks."
anaise replied:
"This is how it works when someone doesn't buy a 388.00/yr flood policy: when a flood occurs and wipes out all your belongings, you suffer a loss, the government comes in an "bails" you out. Not really. The bail out is through a "government loan" that you pay back with interests. So you aren't off the hook. FYI."
bruce r replied:
"One can always try to find higher ground than build on a flood plain."
Sarah replied:
"The ways they don't have flood insurance: They don't have mortgages.Their house slipped through the cracks and mortgage co didn't see they were in flood plain.The owners paid off surveyors to say they weren't in the flood plain. The most likely reason is: Flood insurance is only required for 100 yr flood plain and this flood is a much greater magnitude. Some people in this flood actually weren't in the flood plain. This is one of the greatest floods on record. A flood of this size is mapped or planned for because it isn't cost effective.All that said-I AGREE. The tax payers will pay dearly for people without insurance and for public infrastructure that was damaged. This is not like New Orleans where the government should buy the 9th ward and that area and let NO ONE build ANYTHING there. You have to blame the flood but also the people who live in the flood plain."
peppersham replied:
"Is basically useless expense.Even if you have it,it only pays under some conditions not all,and this flood has never happened before to this extent.Maybe you should read your policy's if you have any.I once owned a riding mower covered under a homeowners policy and the insurance I had to carry on it separately until paid off and in a natural disaster it would only pay if it was in the back of my truck when the disaster struck ON TWO SEPARATE policies!What a waste of money and absolutely no coverage.And yes when the tornado did strike it was sitting in my yard,not the truck.Insurance should be outlawed.It is the biggest rip off.You should be thanking your lucky stars you are not one of the victims."
EMB
asked:
"I am buying a home and someone just told me it will take 10-15 days to get flood insurance. Something about having to look at elevation maps, etc. Is this true?"
Question posted courtesy of:
pebblespro replied:
"Not that I know of I just added flood to my policy the other day no problem.. ."
♥♫♥ Crystal ♥♫♥
asked:
"Can I just pick the lowest amount of coverage? Say my home costs 72,000 can I get the insurance that will cover up to 35,000 in damage to the building? I have to have flood insurace if I buy this house because its in a high risk flood area, however it is supposed to be coming out of the flood plain later this year, so I really just want the flood insurance that will cost the least. Any adivce?"
Question posted courtesy of:
babyshoes replied:
"penny wise pound foolish.if you save a few pennies by cutting your coverage you are taking a big risk with a big investment.do you have to do anything,no."
Monique L. Attinger replied:
"You do not have to have coverage equal to the cost of your home. It just means you can only claim as much as you have insurance for. However, if you have a mortgage or a lender is involved, you can expect them to require you to have insurance for the full value."
prasad g replied:
"you should have it for full replacement value."
mortgagelns replied:
"If you are obtaining a mortgage, you may wish to ask your lender what their requirements are. Sometimes it takes awhile for the property to be on record (on the flood maps) as not in a flood zone."
Gambit replied:
"If you already have a Homeowner's Policy and are looking to add this coverage to the policy, you will be hard pressed to find a company that would be willing to insure less than full value. Even if you could they would certainly add a Co-Insurance clause. Even then the savings between $72 000 and $35 000 would be minimal. If your home is in a high risk flood area, why gamble with your familiy's future? Any real flood would make your house uninhabitable to the point where it would have to be demolished and be rebuilt. Unless you have $37 000 lying around somewhere to make up the difference, it's not worth it."
mbrcatz17 replied:
"No. Actually, in some cases, you can't do that. Flood insurance is funny - it's completely controlled by the National Flood Insurance Plan, a division of FEMA. You HAVE to follow their rules. You cannot just insure for the "lowest amount of coverage", aka, the mortgage balance on the house. You will have to insure for 80% of the replacement value of the house (you do NOT have to insure contents!), but there is a maximum dollar amount that you can insure - I THINK it's $250,000 for a single family home, but it's been a while. You can't just pick $35,000 to insure the house (say, the loan balance) because the flood policy has an 80% coinsurance clause. That means, if you only partially insure the house, they only partially pay the claim. So, if you had a claim, with $40,000 of damage, they would pay . . . not $35,000 less your deductible, but closer to $20,000 which leaves the bank holding a note on a house that YOU can't afford to repair, and they don't want to end up owning it!Flood rates and terms are set by the federal government, so there isn't any negotiation room.**Also. Check with your mortgage company. Just because your area *might* be re-rated (ok, it will LIKELY be rerated, but that doesn't mean you won't be in a 100 year flood plain any more!), that does NOT change the original terms of the mortgage. So if the ORIGINAL mortgage terms require that you buy flood insurance, THOSE TERMS DON'T CHANGE WHEN YOUR AREA IS RERATED. You'll have to get another mortgagee, if you're not going to be in a 100 year flood zone. Additionally, if you DO decide to change mortgages, keep in mind that when you CANCEL your flood policy, you do NOT get a refund on any unearned premium, unless you can prove you sold the house. Being changed from a flood zone A to a B, meaning you don't "have" to carry flood insurance, does NOT allow you to cancel the policy and get any kind of refund, and you are NOT eligible for a re-rate until the renewal date."
Alice Lockwood
asked:
"Suppose your bank makes you buy flood insurance, but you don't want to pay the extra thousands of dollars?"
Question posted courtesy of:
celticbuddha replied:
"then move out of the a flood prone zone. otherwise go research other insurance companies, shop around, then purchase the insurance that you want. just don't go crying to the bank when your house floods and they aren't going to help you because you dropped the flood insurance."
Joe P replied:
"If your bank requires it your home must be in the flood plain. Do you watch the news? Have you seen all of the flooding and homes lost from floods? Do you want to be amongst them? Buy the flood insurance or buy a home that is not in the flood plain."
lil90396 replied:
"If you are in a flood zone, you must have flood insurance. You can not get around it. It is to protect the bank, but most importantly it protects you. Flood insurance should not cost you thousands of dollars. The Federal Government issues flood policies, written by your agent. On our 260K mortgage, our flood insurance costs us $380.00 plus the $30 the agent gets for doing the paperwork. That also includes contents for another 80K. That is a small amount of money for peace of mind. Buy it. If you don't carry the flood insurance the bank will purchase it for you and add it to your escrow payment."
mbrcatz replied:
"You pay off the mortgage, or sell the house.There's no other way around it. If you have a mortgage in a high risk flood zone, you have to buy flood insurance.Lil, above, is wrong. She has a $400 policy on her quarter of a million dollar house, because she is NOT in a high risk flood zone. My house, which is worth probably slightly more than hers, my flood insurance quote was almost $6,000, here in Houston, in a high risk flood zone. I have a POS beach house in Galveston, worth about $30,000 (not kidding), and the flood insurance for THAT is $1800 a year."
fieldwarrior2003 replied:
"To avoid paying flood insurance all you can do is payoff your mortgage. The mortgage company will require it as long as there is a loan.Try to lower the cost of your flood insurance by having an Elevation Certificate completed. The EC will determine the base flood elevation of the zone where the home is located. It will also provide the elevation of the rating floor of your home."
ck
asked:
"I live near Houston, Texas and I have regular renter's insurance. It doesn't cover flood or wind. Can I get supplemental wind and flood insurance if it's just a rental house, not owned?Yes, I mean for the contents inside the house."
Question posted courtesy of:
ISOintelligentlife replied:
"You can buy contents only coverage for the property you own inside the structure. I suspect you meant to ask if you could buy coverage for your contents, not the house itself? You do not have an insurable interest in the structure itself (unless you have a rent to own agreement in place.) Contents only flood policies are typically the cheapest type of flood coverage, although the rates will ultimately come down to the details of the flood zone in which the property is located. Contact your current agent about getting a quote, but be aware it may take awhile to get a flood zone determination. Also, be aware that there is no point in shopping rates for flood coverage, because rates are federally mandated. (If you're getting different rates for the same coverage with the same options, then someone has assigned you as a preferred rate as opposed to a standard rate. That may very well be an error in entering your flood zone, so don't assume you'll necessarily get the better rate, regardless.)"
Flood is not a covered peril under your homeowners or renters insurance policy. Homeowner's insurance policies exclude flood coverage. Therefore, if you live in a flood zone you will have to purchase a separate flood insurance policy through the National Flood Insurance Program.
The Mythical Virus Threat on the Macintosh.. If you buy and install a Macintosh antivirus program, you'll wind up guarding against a minimal threat, much like buying flood insurance for a house located in the desert. Also, a tip on using Google Street View on your iPhone.
Stimulus package, A Water Pipe Line, pumping water from the Mississippi River to every state. Saving Billions of Dollars each Year in Government disasters. FEMA, State Emergency Funds, Insurance Industries in areas that flood each year, destroying property and crops. Technology, the Alaska Pipe Line. Mississippi River drains into the Gulf of Mex.
People who own property that sustained damage during the Sept. 12 to 14 flood are urged to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.Mike Sweet, a field specialist with FEMA, said even people with flood insurance should register. To register, call 1-800-621-3362 (FEMA) or go to the FEMA Web site at www.fema.gov.
If you live in a flood prone area, you probably already know a few things about flood insurance. You know that most homeowners insurance policies do not cover floods caused by storms. You may have neighbors or friends who have lost everything they own because of a sudden flood caused by a hurricane or sudden storm.
