Read Flood Insurance Policies closely

With Hurricane Irene hogging all of the headlines it might be a good time to check out your flood insurance policy if you have one. You should know exactly how it works and what is and isn?t covered in it. This means you?ll have to get out a magnifying glass to read all of the fine print.

There are several important things you should be aware of concerning flood insurance. Your flood insurance plan has a waiting period of 30 days. So if you?re worried about something like Hurricane Irene it?s actually too late to protect yourself from it.

However, there is an exception for the 30-day waiting period. This occurs if the policy is considered to be part of a lender requirement for home refinancing or a new mortgage. In that case, the insurance kicks in when the loan is closed as long as it?s been paid for. When the flood insurance starts it lasts for a year.

Under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the maximum coverage to a building is $250,000 and the contents of a home are capped at $100,000. If your building and/or contents exceed these amounts then you?d basically be under insured and you would likely want to get some additional coverage.

It?s possible to find excess flood insurance from some private insurers, but you first have to have NFIP coverage in place. An average premium for NFIP insurance is $540 each year for about $100,000 worth of coverage for your building and excess coverage prices vary from company to company.

According to an article on MSN, if you?ve recently made any improvements to the basement of your home you?ll find they?re not covered. The insurance covers the basics, such as ceilings, furnaces, water heaters, and foundation walls etc, but it won?t cover any cosmetic improvements that have been made to basements.

In addition, flood insurance will cover damage to a building, but not to its surrounding areas, including your garden and landscaping. Also, most policies won?t cover you for temporary living expenses if you need to move out of your home.

Source: http://www.insurelane.com/insurance/blog/Homeowners+Insurance/?permalink=Read-Flood-Insurance-Policies-closely.html

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