Tropical Storms, Hurricanes Remind of Need for Flood Insurance

As Tropical Storm Alex raised concerns about weather-related risks to life and property not long after summer officially started this year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reminds U.S. residents nationwide to protect themselves and their properties by having an emergency readiness kit and acquiring flood insurance.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an active Hurricane Season for 2010. In addition to their other efforts to prepare their families or businesses, consumers should obtain flood insurance, since the majority of policies take 30 days to go into effect.

Past hurricane seasons have proven that flood damage from seasonal storms can be devastating - and you don't have to live right on the coast to face significant damage. The largest amounts of rainfall from hurricanes are often produced by slow moving storms that stall out miles from shore - as far north as New York in the case of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and through much of the Midwest as a result of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Obtaining flood insurance is important for several reasons:

Most homeowners' insurance policies don't cover flooding, and without flood insurance policies many will have to pay out-of-pocket for most of the damage to their property and possessions. The damages can be costly: the average paid claim per homeowner for flood damage in 2009 was nearly $27,000. Equally important, for homeowners in the highest flood risk areas, flood insurance is required as a condition of most mortgages. Why? In these areas a home is more than twice as likely to be damaged by a flood as by a fire.

As demonstrated by the flooding in the Nashville area this year, homes in areas where flooding has not been frequent in recent years are still at risk. Close to 25 percent of flood insurance claims come from moderate-to-low risk areas.

Flood insurance is available through some 90 insurers in more than 20,800 participating communities nationwide. Flood insurance can be purchased by nearly everyone - including renters, business owners and homeowners - with policies starting as low as $119 per year.

For those homeowners, business owners and renters who are worried about what could happen to their residences and possessions this summer; giving flood insurance a look is definitely worth it.