It can be hard to justify buying a flood insurance policy if you already have home insurance, but here are four things to keep in mind.
#1: Home Insurance Doesn’t Cover Flood Damage
While home insurance covers important risks like theft, fire, and liability charges, it does not cover natural disasters, including floods.
Don’t limit floods to ocean water — basement flooding may not be a “natural disaster,” but it can happen with just one bad rainstorm and cause lots of high-cost damage, not just to your belongings but to your house itself as well.
13% of all properties in Minnesota have a greater than 26% chance of being severely affected by flooding over the next 30 years. And in addition to property and personal belongings damage, flooding can also cut off access to utilities, emergency services, and transportation.
In short, floods aren’t covered under regular home insurance, but they do cause many of the same problems that you count on your home insurance policy to cover. Purchasing flood insurance makes sure that your vital costs are covered.
#2: Flood Damages Are Expensive
Floods cause more than $40 billion in damage worldwide annually, and damage across the five-state area of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota is estimated to be about $160 million.
Your home can experience anything from a leaky roof to a structural issue from flooding. Any damage in this category tends to be costly. In Minnesota, you have a few different types of floods to worry about besides just rain:
- Flash Flooding
- River Flooding
- Dry Wash
- Ice/Debris Jams
- Snowmelt
- Dam Breaks/Levee Failure
With flood insurance, you wouldn’t have to worry about what damages these events may cause. It covers:
- Detached garages
- Electrical and plumbing systems
- Foundation walls, anchorage systems, and staircases.
- Fuel tanks, well water tanks and pumps, and solar energy equipment
- Furnaces and water heaters
- Permanently installed cabinets, paneling, and bookcases
- Permanently installed carpeting
- Refrigerators, cooking stoves, and built-in appliances like dishwashers
- Window blinds
The only thing flood insurance won’t cover is damages not directly caused by flooding, like sewer backup.
#3: It’s Inexpensive But Invaluable
Flood insurance costs about $700 a year nationally, and Minnesotans tend to pay about that range as well, depending on their specific area’s flood risk.
Flooding can happen any time of the year in Minnesota, and those along the Mississippi River have a bit extra to worry about. The eastern side of the state, which is located in the Mississippi River basin, is particularly vulnerable to flooding. The Twin Cities, Red River Valley, and the Driftless areas are also susceptible to flooding.
It’s always a risk, and the cost is often well worth the protection.
#4: You Have Reliable Insurance Guidance
If unanswered questions are holding you back from looking deeper into flood insurance and other home insurance options, All Things Insurance has you covered. Call us at (763) 645-5450.