April showers do not necessarily bring May Flowers. Sometime, they bring floods. What do floods bring? An insurance nightmare is what they bring. It is important that everyone understand that “property” insurance policies exclude flood. THERE IS NO COVERAGE FOR SURFACE WATER. Let me repeat that. THERE IS NO COVERAGE FOR SURFACE WATER.
Since all property policies exclude flood, how does one secure coverage against a flood? First, let me spend a moment on the definition of a flood. According to the National Flood Insurance program, a flood is the over-flow of a body of water. (That makes sense.) It is also the collection of water that affects you and an adjacent property.
It is easy to figure out whether the Schuylkill River or the Atlantic Ocean has come to visit. So what does “the collection of a body of water that affects you and an adjacent property” mean? If the storm sewer at the end of the block gets clogged, and you neighbor and your neighbor’s basement get filled with water as a result, that would be a flood. If the snow drifts and causes a winter rain storm to redirect all of the water into your basement ONLY, that would NOT be a flood.
30% of all floods that occur are in non- flood prone areas. Your home insurance does NOT provide any coverage for this. Flood insurance MUST be purchased separately. Curious if your home is in a flood prone area? Try www.floodsmart.gov. Additional questions? Call us.