Who likes to flush money down the toilet? Even with all the existing differing viewpoints and perspectives, it’s safe to say that most people would probably prefer to spend their cash efficiently. This is why, in previous blogs, we’ve discussed ways to save on flood insurance. But what happens when you live or work in a high-risk flood zone, and paying for insurance is just a necessary evil?
If that’s the case, it would serve you well to understand the main differences between FEMA flood insurance and the kind provided by private sellers. Once you have a clear picture of what’s going on with both, you would likely see the advantages of choosing private insurance as your provider.
For your home:
FEMA places a $250,000 cap on your flood insurance. If your home is worth less than that, it could possibly be a good option… except that FEMA has been broke for a while and there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel yet. Something else to keep in mind is that once you sign up for insurance through FEMA, it takes 30 days for it to go into effect (as opposed to the typical 15 days through private insurance). So if you do choose to go that route, make sure you’re not signing up right after you realized there’s a hurricane warning for your area.
Another benefit of private insurance is that you can use it to provide coverage for several properties. FEMA only provides assistance to your primary residence.
For your business:
Listen up, business owners! Being an entrepreneur is an exhausting 24/7 job, but you do it because, well, it’s satisfying. But it also comes with many expenses, and the last thing you need if you ever experience flood damage is for FEMA to tell you to take out a loan. While FEMA may offer limited assistance for physical losses, most of the resources you can obtain for this purpose are through a loan through the Small Business Administration. For example, let’s say that in addition to water damage, you are in the hole because you had to continue paying your employees’ salaries, even though the business was closed down. For that type of damage, your only assistance would come from an SBA business loan.
How do you like them apples?
So do your homework to find out what would really work best for you. If you’re not even sure if you need to be covered, contact us. At National Flood Experts, will do a free evaluation of your property. Once you know where you stand, it’ll be easier to narrow down your options. Give us a call and see what we can do for you.
It’s interesting to learn that there is a 30 day installation period for when you sign up for flood insurance. I just moved to Florida last week for my job and I’m wondering what kind of flood insurance to get to protect my house. I’ll be sure to shop around for different insurance companies and what can work for me.
Taylor, we can actually write a policy if you need one as well. We try to me a 1 stop show in all areas. Just give us a call or send us a request via our website