Real Estate
Sponsored by

Advice on flood insurance

3,572 Views | 34 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by schwack schwack
dubi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
6 years ago I "blindly" signed up for flood insurance on my home. I am outside the 100 year flood plain and have never had a claim.

After seeing issues with repairs after Harvey, are there flood insurance providers that come highly recommended?
Martin Q. Blank
How long do you want to ignore this user?
yah, FEMA is pretty good, but I've also heard good things about the NFIP.
tford12
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Martin Q. Blank said:

yah, FEMA is pretty good, but I've also heard good things about the NFIP.
The NFIP is FEMA
dubi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I have a FEMA policy through a company called 'Homesite Flood Insurance".

I was wondering if I should have my policy with another more reputable insurance company? Or doesn't matter and all the FEMA policies are the same?
SteveBott
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Will not matter. Any sales rep sells the same product at the same price according to your risk level. You do need to make sure you are rated correctly. An elevation survey is used to confirm the rating.

Since I personally know your situation I would think flood insurance is a good idea.
SteveBott
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Also 450ish per year is the lowest pricing
East Dallas Ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
FEMA=NFIP, and you go through various carriers who have access to the NFIP program to purchase the coverage. NFIP is in place to provide coverage to markets where private flood insurance is either not offered or prohibitively expensive. Preferred risk NFIP flood insurance (outside of the 100/500 yr plains) is cheap, and it's all going to be the same since it's all NFIP. Private flood insurance in preferred areas is typically a little higher, but still not too expensive and you avoid NFIP. Some general carriers, Central being one i work with is now endorsing flood directly onto your homeowners policy, and several high value carriers are as well. As you can imagine anything govt related is going to be slow and probably painful.
dubi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
SteveBott said:

Also 450ish per year is the lowest pricing
$450 is my annual cost.

The morning I woke up with water on my doorstep was an eye opener for sure. Elevation is not my problem, it is Bee Creek behind my house.

Thanks for your comments. My renewal is approaching so I wanted opinions from folks who are more knowledgeable.
SteveBott
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Agree with the slow and painful part but better then nothing
dubi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
East Dallas Ag said:

FEMA=NFIP, and you go through various carriers who have access to the NFIP program to purchase the coverage. NFIP is in place to provide coverage to markets where private flood insurance is either not offered or prohibitively expensive. Preferred risk NFIP flood insurance (outside of the 100/500 yr plains) is cheap, and it's all going to be the same since it's all NFIP. Private flood insurance in preferred areas is typically a little higher, but still not too expensive and you avoid NFIP. Some general carriers, Central being one i work with is now endorsing flood directly onto your homeowners policy, and several high value carriers are as well. As you can imagine anything govt related is going to be slow and probably painful.

I will talk with my homeowner's insurance to see if I can just get a rider on my policy. Thanks.

That will help me avoid the govt related pains.
dubi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Quote:

Amica can provide flood insurance to policyholders through the government's National Flood Insurance Program.

My HO policy is with Amica, so it looks like they would not be offering me a rider for my current policy.

I'll email them to confirm.
SteveBott
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I am not familiar with any flood insurance not .gov so will defer to the other poster. But regardless if you file a claim it will be a difficult process. Personally I'd go .gov since at least you know what you're getting.
94chem
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Be sure to purchase contents coverage. Also, if you are being required to purchase, your mortgage company may either require you to purchase the full policy, or they may only require you to purchase the amount to cover the mortgage. If you are buying it on your own, you can select the coverage level. In a 1 story home, you can save a little money by selecting a lower coverage level. The big downer for us is that there was no loss of use coverage, so 13 months of rent while our home was being restored was a lot of money.
SteveBott
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Every loan is required to have a flood cert pulled. Its binary and yes or no. If no which sounds like this situation is you can do what you want. If yes you have to identify where in the zone which dictates costs. Then you overlay the elevation survey to get a final price. There are times though you may be in a grey are on the map. I had a client that his home literally was on the corner of three different zones. The lender of course wanted the costliest zone and the client did not. PITA
BrianDemarais
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I work in Insurance, and I don't believe any Home Insurance carrier offers a Rider/Endorsement for Flood Insurance as it refers to water rising from the ground. If your home floods due to a busted pipe or something that is an entirely different thing. As mentioned above, no matter what insurance carrier you contact, we all have to go through the government.
Martin Q. Blank
How long do you want to ignore this user?
tford12 said:

Martin Q. Blank said:

yah, FEMA is pretty good, but I've also heard good things about the NFIP.
The NFIP is FEMA
I know that.
dubi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
94chem said:

Be sure to purchase contents coverage. Also, if you are being required to purchase, your mortgage company may either require you to purchase the full policy, or they may only require you to purchase the amount to cover the mortgage. If you are buying it on your own, you can select the coverage level. In a 1 story home, you can save a little money by selecting a lower coverage level. The big downer for us is that there was no loss of use coverage, so 13 months of rent while our home was being restored was a lot of money.

I have $250k home coverage and $100k contents.

How on earth do you value your contents? I'm not sure if I'm under-insured on contents.

SteveBott
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
talk to the insurance company about price difference from 100K to 200K and so on. If the pricing is like auto insurance it might be a small difference and worth it. I getting out of my zone but that is what would do.

No matter what you need to inventory your home with pictures and store them in a safe place. Both for this and theft.
TXTransplant
How long do you want to ignore this user?
dubi said:

94chem said:

Be sure to purchase contents coverage. Also, if you are being required to purchase, your mortgage company may either require you to purchase the full policy, or they may only require you to purchase the amount to cover the mortgage. If you are buying it on your own, you can select the coverage level. In a 1 story home, you can save a little money by selecting a lower coverage level. The big downer for us is that there was no loss of use coverage, so 13 months of rent while our home was being restored was a lot of money.

I have $250k home coverage and $100k contents.

How on earth do you value your contents? I'm not sure if I'm under-insured on contents.




AFAIK, the NFIP does not allow you to change coverage. I've had the $250k structure/$100k contents plan for 5+ years. I pay $450/year based on the zone I'm in. I've never been offered any other option.

Some of my neighbors have said they also have "private" flood insurance. I've never asked the details, but maybe you can customize coverage on this.
springagg
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I own an insurance agency.. FEMA, NFIP, majority of flood insurance unless through a private carrier are all paid by FEMA. As for claims, FEMA pays out higher then almost anyone else. I mean unless you are calling servepro and getting ripped by all the out of state storm chasing contractors you should always come out way ahead on a flood claim. We bought some flips after harvey as well. Couple we bought FEMA paid over $200k for the damage and we put the house back together for under $100k
schwack schwack
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Those rates seem reasonable. My Mom in Bryan checked rates and was quoted over $4000. Can that be correct? Her house did flood a couple of years ago when that storm stalled right over Bryan & let go of 10" or so of rain in a few hours. Never had an issue before & house was built in the 70's. There is a creek behind her that did not cause the flooding, but it does put her in a zone.

She checked thru her State Farm agent.

For a reasonable rate, she'd even consider no content coverage.

BrianDemarais
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
If it flooded just a couple of years ago, then yes, 4000 is likely correct.....Being in Insurance, I see this all the time. The mortgage company will require flood insurance due to the flood zone a home is in, I provide the flood insurance quote through FEMA, it comes out to be $2000+ a year ON TOP OF THEIR STANDARD HOME INSURANCE WHICH IS $1000+. Boom, kills the deal and they have to go find another home.
ratfacemcdougal
How long do you want to ignore this user?
It has been years, so insurance people can correct me, but the commercials I have seen for rising water Flood Insurance is only sold by FEMA/NFIP. I also believe you cannot have a claim until 6 months after the policy is in effect.
Ornlu
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Ornlu
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
East Dallas Ag said:

FEMA=NFIP, and you go through various carriers who have access to the NFIP program to purchase the coverage. NFIP is in place to provide coverage to markets where private flood insurance is either not offered or prohibitively expensive. Preferred risk NFIP flood insurance (outside of the 100/500 yr plains) is cheap, and it's all going to be the same since it's all NFIP. Private flood insurance in preferred areas is typically a little higher, but still not too expensive and you avoid NFIP. Some general carriers, Central being one i work with is now endorsing flood directly onto your homeowners policy, and several high value carriers are as well. As you can imagine anything govt related is going to be slow and probably painful.
This is the correct answer. NFIP is the only insurance program that offers true "flood" protection ie: insurance against rain building up outside the home and backing up or flowing through the home, causing damage. It's not explicitly against the law for a private carrier to offer such a policy, but in practice the government's subsidies thru the NFIP this make it wholly impossible for a private insurer to compete - so no one does.

Private carriers may offer a "water damage" policy that covers a missing shingle, roof leak, or damaged pipe - but that policy varies carrier-to-carrier.

The NFIP uses insurance carriers as a middle-man for billing & customer aquisition, but all of the coverage rates, premium costs, claims adjustments, and disbursements are fixed by NFIP so it doesn't matter which carrier you use.

Edit: splelling is hard.
Ornlu
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
schwack schwack said:

Those rates seem reasonable. My Mom in Bryan checked rates and was quoted over $4000. Can that be correct? Her house did flood a couple of years ago when that storm stalled right over Bryan & let go of 10" or so of rain in a few hours. Never had an issue before & house was built in the 70's. There is a creek behind her that did not cause the flooding, but it does put her in a zone.

She checked thru her State Farm agent.

For a reasonable rate, she'd even consider no content coverage.


RANT ALERT:

There was a brief period of time, between 2014 and 2016, where FEMA changed their rate tables to use "actuarial" premium rates instead of their normal bull**** premium rates. That policy was ended because politicians lacked the spine to stand up to a little outrage in order to get public policy to be sustainable long term. Instead, we have "subsidized" rates where the government taxes all of us so that a few people who live in VERY flood-prone areas can have very nice houses which get totally replaced every few years.

</RANT>

Sounds like your mom got quoted an actuarial rate. However, FEMA has now eliminated that program and the rate would likely come down a lot if she got a new quote.
East Dallas Ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Thanks for agreeing with me, but many of your statements (and several others' posts) are incorrect. As I stated in my post Central Mutual is one carrier that offers private flood insurances directly endorsed to the homeowners policy:

Central Mutual Flood

PURE insurance offers a private flood policy, separate from their homeowners, but then offers the ability to endorse excess flood to the homeowners policy. Other carriers have similar offerings.

In addition there are several private companies offering flood insurance with similar terms/coverage as the NFIP, but not underwritten through NFIP, one group we work with is NFS EZ Flood:

NFS Edge EZ Flood

And something everyone should be familiar with is the insurance industry standard definition of 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."

So just because you have rising waters come through your home, it may not be defined as a flood if it's not affecting your neighbor, or a larger area. It would likely fall under your coverage for water backup of sewers and drains. And a word of warning there, many policies have pretty low sub-limits for this coverage, while some offer up to the policy (Dwelling) limits. If you live in a house where water naturally drains back to the house ponding and potentially causing water to come into your home, but doesn't affect your neighbors similarly, check your water backup of sewers and drains coverage.
schwack schwack
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Quote:

Sounds like your mom got quoted an actuarial rate. However, FEMA has now eliminated that program and the rate would likely come down a lot if she got a new quote.

I'll have her check again. Her house is a typical, 70's brick house around 2,000 sq ft. It's never come close to flooding before. She does not have a mortgage - never has - so it was not a requirement to have flood insurance when they bought it + it had never flooded and there was no reason to think it ever would. The creek in the back has never been the issue or worry - it does just fine with large volumes of water when that happens - just that freak storm they had and the drains along the street could not handle it. The water came from the front, not the back.

I do see your point on the <RANT> though. However my Mom is 89 this month and I'd like to see her be able to get an affordable policy for some peace of mind while she's still in that house. I hate that she worries every time there's a storm in the gulf, etc. And, no, she won't move yet. : )


SteveBott
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
is her house in the flood plain? if so what zone is she in?
schwack schwack
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
She's in some sort of flood plain. I don't know. It's right over by the old Briarcrest golf course.

Hmmmmm..... Yep. In a flood plain. That said it NEVER flooded for 40+ years!





JP76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
schwack schwack said:

She's in some sort of flood plain. I don't know. It's right over by the old Briarcrest golf course.

Hmmmmm..... Yep. In a flood plain. That said it NEVER flooded for 40+ years!










AE is 100 year floodplain

Is that briargate or apple or cherry creek ?


SteveBott
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
You can get an elevation survey to reduce costs but based on that map I doubt it would help much.
schwack schwack
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Cherry Creek
JP76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
When did it flood ?

How much got inside ?

How did the houses on each side do ?

Memorial Day weekend 2015?
Memorial Day weekend 2016 ?

Or Harvey August 2017 ?

Do you know what the BFE is at her house and is the slab above or below ?
Ornlu
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Yikes. Her rate was quoted high because she's halfway into the floodway. That's the FEMA equivalent of a live electric wire; thou shall not touch the floodway.
Page 1 of 2
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.