Must Read Article: Californians buy flood insurance in record numbers - Californians buy flood insurance in record numbers
ARE YOUR FISH MORE PREPARED FOR A FLOOD THAN YOU ARE?
What is a Flood?
Anywhere it rains, it can flood. A flood is a general and temporary condition where two or more acres of normally dry land or two or more properties are inundated by water or mudflow. Many conditions can result in a flood: hurricanes, broken levees, outdated or clogged drainage systems and rapid accumulation of rainfall.
Just because you haven’t experienced a flood in the past, doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. Flood risk isn’t just based on history, it’s also based on a number of factors: rainfall, river-flow and tidal-surge data, topography, flood-control measures, and changes due to building and development.
A flood can wreck your home and sweep away a lifetime of memories. Here are some flood facts:
- There is a 26% chance of a flood during the life of a 30 year mortgage compared to only a 4% chance of fire.
- In the past 5 years, 61% of all disasters included flooding.
- You don’t have to be near water to be at risk. Between 20 and 25% of all flood insurance claims are paid to people who are living outside a high-risk flood area.
- Floods are becoming more severe because roads and parking lots are being built where forests and meadows used to be.
Homeowners insurance does not cover this kind of flood damage, only federal flood insurance does. Flood insurance also covers mud flow resulting from moving water. You can also include the contents of your home in your flood insurance policy.
Many people are under the impression that federal assistance will pay for flood damage, this isn’t always the case. To qualify for federal assistance, the U.S. President must first declare a flood a federal disaster. Federal disaster assistance declarations are awarded in less than 50% of flooding incidents. Uninsured property owners who have suffered previous disasters may not qualify. Federal assistance is only a loan that is repayable with interest!
The average federal assistance loan payment is $140 a month. Paying back a $50,000 disaster home loan will cost an average of $300 a month, with an average repayment period of 20 years. Compare that to the average flood premium of $400 a year. That’s little more than $1 a day for complete peace of mind!
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