Hurricane Florence – Why you should be prepared with flood insurance

Hurricane Florence has left more than 740,000 people without power in North and South Carolina and leaving homeowners in a tizzy as they are filing insurance claims.

Typically, hurricane deductibles are a set percentage of the total insured value of the home. In North Carolina, most homeowners have 1% deductibles for damage caused by storms, while South Carolina has about 1-10%. Either way, this makes for very high deductibles for homeowners and this doesn’t include auto insurance claims.

Flood insurance is a separate policy to purchase for homeowners that could save you a significant amount of money. Using Florence as an example, only 1-3% of homeowners in the inland counties of North Carolina had flood insurance policies in place. It’s common to believe that because your home isn’t in a high-risk flood zone, that there’s “zero risk” of a flood. However, this is not true. Flooding is the most common natural disaster in the U.S. and it can happen anywhere.

So how can you stay prepared?

Before the flood strikes:

• Evacuate the area before flooding starts to avoid being trapped
• Protect your property by elevating critical utilities and structures
• Waterproof your basement
• Check your sump pump to make sure it’s working and install a battery-operated backup in case the power goes out
• Clear debris from gutters and downspouts
• Move valuables and important documents to a safe place
• Purchase flood insurance

What’s important to know about flood insurance?

There are a few key elements to take into consideration about flood insurance:

• Flood insurance is not covered by a standard homeowner’s policy
• Flood insurance covers direct physical losses from floods, but coverage for structure and contents of the home are sold separately
• Flood losses for cars is a separate coverage under auto insurance
• Buying flood insurance requires a waiting period of 30 days before the policy goes into effect
• The cost of premiums vary based on the amount of coverage you need, what’s covered and your property’s flood risk

If you’re concerned about your home or would like more information about flood insurance as a whole, contact us today and we’ll walk you through what you need to know. At Shepherd, we would like to help you find ways to stay