Hurricane News, Safety & Checklists

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Have you Got Hurricane Insurance – And Do You Need Hurricane Insurance

Hurricane insurance, have you got it? The world of hurricane insurance is pretty unique, even in the rather complicated world of home insurance, why is it do you think that so many people assume that there home will be covered against flood damage, hurricane damage, flood damage etc, but never actually think to read the small details of their insurance policy and find out for sure . . . not until it’s too late anyway.

The problem with hurricane insurance is that hurricanes can do all sorts of damage, in all sorts of different ways, and your regular house insurance might cover you and your property against some hurricane damage, but not cover you for other types of hurricane induced damage. See, I told you it was complicated.

Why Is Hurricane Insurance So Tricky

• Private home-owners insurance policies do not include flooding, so if your house floods because of a hurricane then it’s bad luck.
• Private home-owners insurance policies, however, very often include damage which might be caused by high hurricane winds and wind damage, so if your house floods, make sure that it also gets blown away if you want to make any type of insurance claim.
• All is not, however, doom and gloom, if your house suffers water damage because of a hurricane, because if you have flood insurance then it’ll be covered by that.
• Many private home-owner insurance policies deal with the hurricane problem through special deductibles, which are kept completely separate from the general deductibles which are set aside for other types of damage.

Flood Insurance – A Type of Hurricane Insurance

Right then, we’ve established that many home-owners insurance policies will cover you for wind damage during a hurricane, and flood insurance will cover you for flood damage caused by a hurricane . . . let’s talk a little bit more about flood insurance policies.

Flood insurance policies aren’t simple either, because they can be divided into two separate types of insurance policy. You can get flood insurance for buildings, and you can get flood insurance for personal property. If you don’t have hurricane insurance but do have flood insurance then you ought to be able to claim at least a part of water damage from a hurricane.

• A building flood insurance policy gives you cover against hurricane water damage to the structure of your property, including the foundations and the exterior. Some permanent and semi-permanent fixtures and fittings indoors may also be covered – carpets, built-in appliances, heating and cooling systems etc.
• A personal property flood insurance policy will provide cover against portable items which are damaged because of a flood, even if the flood is caused by a hurricane. Stuff like clothing, furniture, electronics, personal appliances, artwork, artifact etc.

The price of your flood insurance (which, remember, can help to pay for water damages caused by a hurricane) depends largely on where you live. If you live in a high risk flood zone then you’ll pay more for your insurance than you do if you live in what is regarded as a low risk flood zone.  People who live in coastal areas are, not surprisingly, classed as living in high risk hurricane flood areas, and premiums for flood insurance in those areas starts from less than $600 (at the moment, don’t quote me on that, it could have increased by the time you’ve found this fantastic information) for around $45,000 for both personal property and building damage. Visit the National Flood Insurance Program for more up to date information and more details about prices and options for hurricane flood damage.

Check out those percentages on your hurricane insurance policy people . . . NOW.