Flood Insurance Policies
What you should know when considering how much coverage should you have...

Just an inch of water can cause costly damage to your property. Flash floods often bring walls of water 10 to 20 feet high. Floods and flash floods happen in all 50 states. Everyone lives in a flood zone.

Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage! Always check you policy to insure you are covered. Shore Line can additional coverage for a already existing policy to protect you and your family.

If you live in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) or high-risk area and have a Federally backed mortgage, your mortgage lender requires you to have flood insurance. (To find your flood risk, fill out the Flood Risk Profile to the left.)

Does your Automobile policy cover Flooding?
A car can easily be carried away by just two feet of floodwater. Cars can be reconditioned after being in flood water, but it is an expensive and time-consuming process. It is also easier and cheaper on older cars with fewer electrical systems (such as motorised seat adjusters) in them.A flooded car will need to be decontaminated, as sewage will almost certainly have been mixed with water, and then silt and mud will need to be removed. This can only be done by taking out every part of the car that was covered in water, including carpets and underlays. Odour-fighting enzymes will be sprayed on interiors, everything must be pressure washed at 80 degrees centigrade or above and the inside of the car will then be misted with an atomiser, ensuring disinfectant gets into every part of the car such as the ventilation system. If your car is being repaired, check that the garage cleans up behind the door panels and in any nooks and crannys. Silt and mud will have been carried into every extreme of the car. If the car was lifted up and floated away, it is likely to have panel damage from hitting other cars and obstacles on its journey. Electrics may work once they have dried out, but the damage usually means they need replacing. The drying process can be speeded up by use of a professional dehumidifier and air blower.

Hurricanes, winter storms and snowmelt are common (but often overlooked) causes of flooding.

New land development can increase flood risk, especially if the construction changes natural runoff paths.

Federal disaster assistance is usually a loan that must be paid back with interest. For a $50,000 loan at 4% interest, your monthly payment would be around $240 a month ($2,880 a year) for 30 years. Compare that to a $100,000 flood insurance premium, which is about $400 a year ($33 a month).

If you live in a low-to-moderate risk area and are eligible for the Preferred Risk Policy, your flood insurance premium may be as low as $112 a year, including coverage for your property's contents.

You are eligible to purchase flood insurance as long as your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program. Check the Community Status Book to see if your community is already an NFIP partner.
It takes 30 days after purchase for a policy to take effect, so it's important to buy insurance before the floodwaters start to rise.

Your home has a 26% chance of being damaged by a flood during the course of a 30-year mortgage, compared to a 9% chance of fire. Last year, one-third of all claims paid by the NFIP were for policies in low-risk communities. The average annual U.S. flood losses in the past 10 years (1994-2004) were more than $2.4 billion. When your community participates in the Community Rating System (CRS), you can qualify for an insurance premium discount of up to 45%. Read more about CRS Ratings. The NFIP awarded over $16 billion in flood claims in 2005. Since 1978, the NFIP has paid $31.4 billion for flood insurance claims and related costs (as of 3/31/06). Over 5 million people currently hold flood insurance policies in more than 20,200 communities across the U.S.