Chances are if you live anywhere near Springfield Illinois you are familiar with the flooding this area can be exposed too. The majority of the flooding comes from melting snow, heavy rains and the low land areas where structure are blocking the flow of water. Illinois Insurance hotline reminds you that no matter where you live you are still at risk for flooding and they offer suggestions on how you can become prepared in case of an event. There are three major keys to remember: One is to know your threat. Knowing the threat of the area and its history is key to preventing flood damage. Step two, always have a plan. Know what you're going to do should flooding occur and three get flood insurance.
Many times homeowners will turn to their regular insurance for their homes in hope to find a saving grace when the unthinkable happens. It only take a little bit of water for thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to occur. The sad truth is that your homeowners insurance does not cover flooding. This is a separate policy that must be purchased to protect your assets. Even though Illinois comes in at 7th place there are other states that fall in this top ten list of area that will suffer from flooding at one point in time. These areas include Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, and Oklahoma. And if you are geographically aware you will note that these states are not even coastal areas.
In the case that homeowners had not purchased flood insurance this could mean the total loss of their home or even as mentioned before hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair. The federal disaster agency required a presidential approval along with additional funding and many will not receive the funding they need in order to make their repairs possible. So the flood insurance is there to be the saving grace.
Unless you are participating in the FEMA floodplain management in your community, be aware that flood insurance will only cover flood related property damage. There are several agencies out there that will handle standalone policies that covers floods. And your policy has to be active for 30 days prior to any coverage taking effect. So you cannot go out and buy it the day after the flood occurs and expect to be covered. Along with finding the right policy you will need to know there are several factors that will determine the price of the flood insurance. These factors are, location, zoning, design of the building, the year it was built, the insurance deductible and lots more. You will find that most of the coverage has a max of $250.000 per building and up to $100,000 for personal belongings.
Lastly know your policy coverage. For example if you have a fairly new home with a basement and it floods due to a drainage issue, your flood policy may not cover it. Be sure to ask your agent about separate policies for these types of accidents. Water Damage Miami