Flood insurance| Home
FLOOD INSURANCE CHECK-UP

To prepare for a flood, Noah built an ark. Fortunately, we haven’t had another "Great Flood," but we have had many smaller floods. According to the federal government, during a 30-year period, "the chance of flood damage to a residential property is 26 times greater than the chance of a fire loss."

If you are flooded, the damage can be the same from a small flood as a "Great Flood". Like Noah, you need to be prepared for a flood. Flood insurance should be part of your preparation. Flood insurance provides coverage to manufactured homes and contents when damage occurs due to direct physical loss by or from flood.

What is a flood? A flood is a general temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land. A flood can be from an overflow of inland or tidal areas or it can be caused by an unusual and rapid accumulation of surface waters from any source.

How can you protect yourself against loss from flooding?

1. Check your manufactured home insurance coverage.

• The federal government requires flood insurance for all manufactured homes located in a Special Flood Hazard Area that are financed by a federally insured financial institution.
• As a result of this federal requirement, some manufactured home policies include flood coverage. If that is the case, you have coverage and you will be protected if you have a flood.
• Unfortunately, not every manufactured home policy covers flood. Therefore, you need to read your policy and/or contact your insurance agent to make sure you have flood coverage.

2. If you do not have flood insurance, check and see if your home is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area.

• You can hire a surveyor to do this for you but this can be expensive.
• Another alternative would be to go to your city or township office and check with the local zoning and building board. They will usually do this without any charge to you.
• A third way is to have a zone determination done by one of the flood mapping companies. They will charge a fee but it will cost less than a survey

3. If you are located in a Special Flood Hazard Area, like Noah, you need to protect yourself.

• You can do this by purchasing a policy through the National Flood Insurance Program. This is a federal program enabling manufactured home owners to purchase flood insurance.
• You can also replace your manufactured home policy that does not have flood insurance to one that has flood insurance. This may not be possible because of your location.

4. If you do not have flood insurance and you are not located in a Special Flood Hazard Area what should you do?

• According to government statistics, more than one third of all flood losses occur in moderate to minimal Hazard Areas.
• Manufactured homes located in moderate to minimal hazard Areas are eligible under the federal program for low-cost coverage through the Preferred Risk Program.
• Ask your neighbors, your manufactured home community manager, your local zoning board, and people with local knowledge about flooding in your area. If you determine that a flood is possible, purchase a flood policy under the Preferred Risk Program. If you feel no flood will occur, and you do not purchase a flood policy you are taking the risk yourself.
• Floods happen in some unusual places and unexpected times. If you want a sense of security, regardless of what your neighbors say, purchase a Preferred Risk Program policy.

More than 90% of all property damage caused by natural disasters is the result of flooding. Be like Noah, be prepared and protect yourself against financial loss. But like Noah, you must prepare ahead of time because there is a 30-day waiting period after you apply and pay the premium before a federal flood policy is effective. Make sure you are protected; check your policy today.

Flood insurance| Home