Your home lender may only require flood insurance if you live in an area at high risk of flooding, but we all live in a floodplain. We talked to a FEMA expert about how flood insurance works and why you may need it.
Check FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center to see if you live in or near a flood hazard area. But as the FEMA expert explained, even those living outside high risk areas may flood. He said as many as 65% of disaster assistance claims for flood damage have come from people living outside areas designated as flood hazard areas.
He also explained the limits of disaster assistance. It’s not a substitute for flood insurance. First, you can only get disaster assistance after a disaster declaration. And disaster assistance is designed to help you get back on your feet – to make your home livable – but not to rebuild it as it was before. For that, you need flood insurance.
Just one inch of water can cause $26,000 of damage to a home. To make sure you’re protected, ask your insurance agent or company about flood insurance.
To learn more, go to FloodSmart.gov or review these tips.
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