Why Buy Flood Insurance?
August 30, 2022
For starters, because you live in Florida. Flooding is a coast to coast threat in the Sunshine State and one of Florida’s most frequent homeowner hazards. According to SERT, a Division of Emergency Management that provides direct aid to disaster impact areas across the state, the primary reasons a community may flood are storm surge, river flooding, coastal erosion, or heavy rainfall.
For many homeowners living in Jacksonville or Jacksonville beaches, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, and St. Augustine, their home’s elevation may increase their overall flood risk. To review your home’s risk, visit the Flood Map service center and enter your address. The Center is the official public source for flood hazard information in support of the nation’s public flood insurance program.
FEMA to Build a Culture of Preparedness
The National Flood insurance Program's new pricing structure will leverage the industry’s best practices and leading-edge technologies to enable FEMA to deliver rates that better reflect your property’s overall flood risk. Although the reasons for restructuring the nation’s flood insurance program is multifold, a major reason is that the metrics have been predominantly based on relatively static measurements for the past fifty years. Risk Rating 2.0 addresses previous rating disparities by incorporating more flood risk variables, including a property’s distance to a water source.
As everyone emerges from the pandemic era, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is updating the National Flood Insurance Program’s risk rating methodology through the implementation of Risk Rating 2.0.
FEMA’s primary mission is to support citizens and their community’s first responders to promote America as a nation of people who work together to build, sustain, and improve a community’s capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate natural hazards. As part of the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA grant-in aids for disaster preparedness can help communities in support of flood control districts. Florida residents also have the State Emergency Response Team to assist with natural disasters.
Purchasing Florida Flood Insurance
Florida flood insurance rates should be easier for homeowners to understand and now more accurately reflect a given property’s risk of flooding. Plus, the government’s Risk Rating 2.0 considers a building’s rating variables related to both where it is built as well as the impact of how well it is built. Unfortunately, many Floridians are not aware of changes and some do not know that their property, home, and contents are likely not covered by their homeowners insurance policy. Others are just living in denial of their need for flood insurance coverage.
At Nsurance Nation, our agents know and understand the risks that flood damages pose and can help you find the most affordable options to protect your assets. If you live in an area that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, you may qualify for a standard flood insurance policy. If you live in a low to moderate risk zone, your home or business may qualify for a lower-cost, preferred risk private insurance policy. While you are not required to purchase flood insurance in Florida, living in a low to moderate risk zone increases you risk that a few inches of water can result in very expensive damage.
If your flood zone has changed, you will want to ensure your home and possessions are fully covered. Many private insurance companies offer enhanced or excess flood protection. To find out how much your yearly premium should be, contact Nsurance Nation for residential or business flood insurance coverage.
