Flood insurance, time to see if you need it

By: Michelle Carolla | SCNOW
Published: April 15, 2009

We're a little more than a month away from the start of hurricane season. If you don't have flood insurance, now's the time to look into it. It takes 30 days for a flood policy to become active. Floods are the most common natural disaster in the U.S and most home and business insurance policies do not cover flooding.
Don't think because you live in a low to moderate risk area you won't see flooding. A quarter of flood claims are paid for homes and businesses not considered high-risk.
Policies are limited to $250,000 dollars for damages and $100,000 for content replacement. Depending on the value of your home, you may need several policies to cover your costs.
Some of the things covered by a flood policy include:
-The structure
-Garages
-Permanently installed cabinets, paneling, wallpaper and carpets
-Limited coverage for basements
-Debris Removal
-Contents, if contents coverage was purchased.

Allison Dean Love of the SC Insurance News Service http://www.scinsurance.net said it’s a wrong he perception that flood insurance costs a lot of money. “Actually flood insurance doesn't cost that much and can cost as little as 119 per year, depending on where your home is located and what kind of property you're trying to insure.” said Love. “The average cost of flood insurance in sc is 550 per year."
When you live in low-lying areas, flooding is a risk. But you can determine your risk by going to http://www.floodsmart.dot There you enter your physical address and the website will tell you whether your property is in a low, moderate or high risk area.
You can ask questions about flood insurance or any insurance related question Thursday on our Ask An Expert online chat. Keywords: Ask An Expert.

Flood insurance, time to see if you need it

Flood Insurance (Added: April 15, 2009)

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