In Case of Flood
Courtesy of iii.org
Floods occur in every region and 90 percent of all natural disasters the United States involve some type of flooding. Minimize the damage and losses from a flood by taking these precautions.
Understand flood watches and flood warnings
There are different alerts for floods, depending on the type of and immediacy of the potential danger. Educate your family and yourself about your community's flood warnings:
- Flood watches are issued when rain is heavy enough to cause rivers to overflow.
- Flood warnings describe the severity of the situation and indicate when and where the flood will begin.
- Flash flood watches are issued when heavy rain is occurring or is expected to occur.
- Flash flood warnings are issued when flooding is occurring suddenly. In the event of flash flooding in your area, move immediately to high ground.
Take practical measures to protect yourself, your family and your property
Preparedness is paramount when it comes to encroaching floodwaters. Here are precautionary steps to take well before the threat of a flood is upon you.
- Have an evacuation plan for your family in case the authorities officially evacuate your area. If you have pets, create an evacuation plan for them, too and make sure to develop a "what if" process for communication in case family members become separated.
- Maintain a supply of emergency provisions, such as flashlights, batteries, a battery-operated radio, a first aid kit, medication, sturdy shoes, emergency food and water, cash and credit cards.
- Maintain a supply of building materials and tools so you can fortify your house from a storm. These would include plywood, plastic sheeting, nails, hammer, shovels and sandbags.
- Install a backwater prevention valve, so floodwater doesn't back up into your sewer drains.
- Make a home inventory listing all of your possessions to help facilitate the claim filing process if your belongings are damaged or destroyed.
- Locate switches for gas, electricity and water and know how to shut them off. In the event of an evacuation, you'll want to turn these off before you leave.
- Purchase flood insurance. Your standard homeowners policy doesn't include flood insurance, so if your area is at risk, you may want to consider getting it through the National Flood Insurance Program. Know that there is a 30-day waiting period before flood insurance takes effect, so don't wait.
For more preparedness tips, handy checklists (including ones you can personalize yourself) and evacuation planning advice to cover a variety of disasters, get the I.I.I.’s Know Your Plan app. It's a great tool to help get you and your family—including pets—organized and ready to act more quickly if an emergency strikes.
Next steps link: Think you'll need financial protection against flood damage? Read these facts about flood insurance.
Understanding Homeowners Insurance Coverage
Courtesy of iii.org
Homeowners coverage provides financial protection against loss due to disasters, theft and accidents. Most standard policies include four essential types of coverage: Coverage for the structure of your home; Coverage for your personal belongings; Liability protection; Coverage for Additional Living Expenses
Coverage for the structure of your home
Your homeowners policy pays to repair or rebuild your home if it is damaged or destroyed by fire, hurricane, hail, lightning or other disasters listed in your policy. Most policies also cover detached structures such as a garage, tool shed or gazebo—generally for about 10 percent of the amount of insurance you have on the structure of the house.
A standard policy will not pay for damage caused by a flood, earthquake or routine wear and tear.
When purchasing coverage for the structure of your home, remember this simple guideline: Purchase enough coverage to rebuild your home.
Coverage for your personal belongings
Your furniture, clothes, sports equipment and other personal items are covered if they are stolen or destroyed by fire, hurricane or other insured disasters. The coverage is generally 50 to 70 percent of the insurance you have on the structure of the house.
The best way to determine if this is enough coverage is to conduct a home inventory.
Personal belongings coverage includes items stored off-premises—this means you are covered anywhere in the world. Some companies limit the amount to 10 percent of the amount of insurance you have for your possessions. You also have up to $500 of coverage for unauthorized use of your credit cards.
Expensive items like jewelry, furs, art, collectibles and silverware are covered, but there are usually dollar limits if they are stolen. To insure these items to their full value, purchase a special personal property endorsement or floater and insure the item for its officially appraised value.
Trees, plants and shrubs are also covered under standard homeowners insurance—generally for about $500 per item. Trees and plants are not covered for disease, or if they have been poorly maintained.
Liability covers you against lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that you or family members cause to other people. It also pays for damage caused by your pets. So, if your son, daughter (or even your dog) accidentally ruins a neighbor’s expensive rug, you are covered. (However, if they destroy your rug, you’re out of luck.)
The liability portion of your policy pays for both the cost of defending you in court and any court awards—up to the limit stated in your policy documents.
Liability limits generally start at about $100,000, however, it’s a good idea to discuss whether you should purchase a higher level of protection with your insurance professional. If you have significant assets and want more coverage than is available under your homeowners policy, consider purchasing an umbrella or excess liability policy, which provides broader coverage and higher liability limits.
Your policy also provides no-fault medical coverage, so if a friend or neighbor is injured in your home, he or she can simply submit medical bills to your insurance company. This way, expenses can be paid without a liability claim being filed against you. It does not, however, pay the medical bills for your own family or your pet.
Additional living expenses (ALE)
ALE pays the additional costs of living away from home if you cannot live there due to damage from a an insured disaster. It covers hotel bills, restaurant meals and other costs, over and above your usual living expenses, incurred while your home is being rebuilt.
Keep in mind that the ALE coverage in your homeowners policy has limits—and some policies include a time limitation. However, these limits are separate from the amount available to rebuild or repair your home. Even if you use up your ALE your insurance company will still pay the full cost of rebuilding your home up to the policy limit.
If you rent out part of your house, ALE also covers you for the rent that you would have collected from your tenant if your home had not been destroyed.
Next steps: Purchasing a home? Get the Home Buyers Insurance Checklist.
Do I Need an Umbrella Insurance Policy?
Courtesy of iii.org
If you are ever sued, your standard homeowners or auto policy will provide you with some liability coverage, paying for judgements against you and your attorney's fees, up to a limit set in the policy. However, in our litigious society, you may want to have an extra layer of liability protection. That's what a personal umbrella liability policy provides.
An umbrella policy kicks in when you reach the limit on the underlying liability coverage in a homeowners, renters, condo or auto policy. It will also cover you for things such as libel and slander.
For about $150 to $300 per year you can buy a $1 million personal umbrella liability policy. The next million will cost about $75, and $50 for every million after that.
Because the personal umbrella policy goes into effect after the underlying coverage is exhausted, there are certain limits that usually must be met in order to purchase this coverage. Most insurers will want you to have about $250,000 of liability insurance on your auto policy and $300,000 of liability insurance on your homeowners policy before selling you an umbrella liability policy for $1 million of additional coverage.