What you need to know about flood insurance going forward

Josh Spreiter by Josh Spreiter

Of the more than $200 million in flooding damage done across the state, estimates put damage to homes at $98 million alone. Many of the people stuck paying for that damage to their property don’t have flood insurance.

Flood insurance is entirely separate from home insurance or personal property coverage, and even if you have flood insurance, that doesn’t cover indirect damage. It only covers building and property damage from floodwaters. Personal property is not included in that.

It’s a common misconception that if you don’t live in a flood zone, you can’t get insurance. You can get it as long as a flood control plan is in effect.

Officials say you should check to see if your home is eligible to get covered because all of damage from weeks of flooding in our area should be reason enough to consider it.

“I would recommend everybody check in to see what the potential of flood insurance would be for them because again, the less likely your area is to have a flood, the lower your premium is going to be,” said Martha Lester, Risk Management and Insurance instructor at Madison College.

If you want to check out what it will cost to get flood insurance on your home or just get more information in general, go to floodsmart.gov.

According to Risk Management, you are four times more likely to experience loss from flood damage than you are from a fire.

COPYRIGHT 2020 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.