With the large influx of rain that the Bay Area has been getting in the last few months it is important to spruce up your knowledge on flood insurance policies before it is too late. Just because you may not live in a hurricane prone town that doesn’t mean that you are safe from flood damage. All it takes is one bad wet winter to cost you thousands. Remember flood insurance doesn’t just cover the actual flood but most mud slides are not covered by your typical homeowner’s insurance. In those cases, your Danville home is covered by flood insurance. It is important to know these 4 key points regarding floor insurance.
30 Day Grace Period/90 Days Moratorium
It is important not to leave getting flood insurance until the last minute right before the big storm is going to hit. Most Bay Area home flood policies take at least 30 days before they will go into effect. In addition, many of them even have a 90 Days Moratorium before a claim will be valid. This is something that many people Bay Area residents fail to take into account when they are applying for their Diablo home flood insurance. In other words, if you are seeing possible a possible mud slide, you cannot just go buy insurance and expect to be covered right away if the slide occurs in a week or two. Planning ahead is critical.
Flooding is the #1 Natural Disasters in the U.S.
It might come as a shock to some that flooding is the number one national disaster. California is not only at a high risk of flooding but it also prone to mud and landslides. How many times on the news have you heard about a home sliding down a cliff? Rain can do a lot more damage to your Alamo home than you may think. All it takes is a bad winter to take you from a drought to flash flood warnings. The Oroville Dam in Northern California is an example of what can happen when too much rain hits. The dam is failing and now thousands of residents below the dam are at risk of completely losing their homes. Your Diablo home might not be by a dam but there is still a high risk for flooding being at the foot of a Mount Diablo.
I Don’t Live in a Flood Zone So I Don’t Need Coverage
This is one of the biggest myths out there about your Bay Area home. Just because your Alamo home isn’t listed in a flood zone currently doesn’t mean that you are without risk of flooding. According to FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 25 % of flood damage claims were for structures outside of a flood zone. With the average flood claim costing $46,000 you are taking the risk of paying for the damage out of pocket if anything were to happen to your Diablo home or Alamo home.
Whether you are refinancing your Diablo home or purchasing an Alamo home take into consideration the risk that you are taking on by choosing not to get a flood insurance policy. If you need help getting directed in the right direction of a flood insurance company talk to your local Bay Area mortgage consultant.
Elevation Reports Can Save You Money
While flood insurance can get fairly pricey for your Alamo home, it’s important to obtain an elevation report prior to purchasing flood insurance. Even though the report does cost a bit of money, they tend to make up for it in the savings in your insurance coverage. They show the provider how much better equipped your home maybe designed to minimize flood risk so the insurers of your Danville house could substantially reduce the premiums.