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Flood Insurance Facts 1. There are times when you are required to purchase flood insurance. • If you buy a house in a designated high-risk area and receive a mortgage loan from a federally regulated lender, your lender must require that you buy flood insurance. • If a high-risk area is determined after you buy a house and you receive a mortgage loan from a federally regulated lender, your lender must require that you buy flood insurance. • If refinancing or borrowing money to build, repair, reconstruct or improve a structure in a flood hazard area, your lender must require that you buy flood insurance. 2. Flood damage is not covered by homeowner's policies. • You can protect your home, business and belongings with flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program. • You can insure your single-family home with flood insurance for up to $250,000 for the building and $100,000 for the contents. 3. You can buy flood insurance no matter what your flood risk. • It doesn't matter whether your risk is high, medium or low. You can buy flood insurance as long as your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program. • It's a good idea to buy even in low- or moderate-risk areas: Almost 25 percent of all flood insurance claims come from low-to-moderate risk areas. 4. There is a low-cost policy for property in low-to-moderate risk areas. • The Preferred Risk Policy is available at a reduced premium if your property meets certain requirements. 5. Flood insurance is affordable. • The average flood insurance policy costs a little more than $400 per year. • In comparison, a disaster home loan can cost you more than $300 per month for $50,000 over 20 years. 6. Flood insurance is easy to get. • You can buy NFIP flood insurance from private insurance companies and agents. 7. Contents coverage is separate, so renters can insure their belongings, too. • Up to $100,000 of contents coverage is available for homeowners and renters. • Whether you rent or own your home or business, make sure to ask your insurance agent about contents coverage. It is not automatically included with building coverage. 8. Up to a total of $1 million of flood insurance coverage is available for non-residential buildings and contents. • Up to $500,000 of coverage is available for non-residential buildings. • Up to $500,000 of coverage is available for the contents of non-residential buildings. 9. There is usually a 30-day waiting period before the coverage goes into effect. • Plan ahead so you're not caught without flood insurance when a flood threatens your home or business 10. Federal disaster assistance is not the answer. • Federal disaster assistance is only available if the president declares a community a federal disaster area. • Federal disaster assistance declarations are issued in less than 50 percent of flooding events. • Flood insurance pays even if a disaster is not declared. 11. You can buy flood insurance immediately before or during a flood. • You can purchase flood insurance at any time. • There is a 30-day waiting period after you've applied and paid your premium. ---PAGE BREAK--- • There is a one-day waiting period if the initial purchase of flood insurance is made during the 13 months following a revised flood mapping for a community. • The policy does not cover a "loss in progress." 12. You can buy flood insurance if your property has been flooded. • You are still eligible after your home, apartment or business has been flooded 13. The NFIP does offer basement coverage. • The NFIP defines a basement as any area of a building with a floor that is below ground level on all sides. • Flood insurance covers structural elements, essential equipment and other basic items normally located in a basement, such as clothes washers/dryers and food freezers. • Flood insurance does not cover basement improvements including finished walls, floors or ceilings, or personal belongings kept in the basement.