As you know, damage due to rising water is not covered on a Homeowner’s or Windstorm Insurance Policy. Rising water can only be covered on a Flood Insurance Policy.
Flood insurance covers losses to your property caused by flooding (rising water and/or wave wash). This includes everything from structural and mechanical damage to flood debris cleanup and floor resurfacing (like tile and carpeting). In all cases, your investment is protected by a flood insurance policy, something that your homeowner and windstorm policies do not offer.
There are a number of frequently asked questions and concerns that Alliance Insurance Agency can help you answer.
1. Who writes Flood Insurance?
Many different companies write Flood Insurance. All flood insurance utilizes the same rules, rates, and procedures. All flood insurance is underwritten by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) a department of Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) through what they call the “Write Your Own” (WYO) flood insurance program. In ALL instances, the WYO program follows the same guidelines of the NFIP.
At Alliance Insurance Agency, we use a WYO program through a company called Fidelity National Insurance Company. Fidelity writes approximately 32% of all Flood Insurance written in the USA and is the largest single writer of Flood Insurance in the country.
2. Can I purchase flood insurance?
Only if your community participates in the NFIP, can you purchase Flood Insurance through a licensed company or an independent property and casualty insurance agent in your state.
3. Is flood insurance required?
If you buy a house in a designated high-risk area and receive a mortgage loan from a federally-regulated lender, then by law your lender must require you to purchase and regularly maintain flood insurance coverage.
It is important to note that there is a standard 30-day waiting period for a new flood policy to go into effect. However, if your lender requires flood insurance in connection with the making, increasing, extending or renewing of your loan, then the 30-day waiting period is waived. This ensures that you don’t get caught without flood insurance if a flood threatens your home.
When you are ready to discuss and purchase a South Texas flood insurance policy, contact us and we’ll be glad to help. We will be glad to assist you in determining the flood insurance coverage that best meets your individual needs.
As an independent insurance agency, we are able to shop over 20 Texas insurance companies for you in order to find the insurance product that best fits your needs. Moreover, when it’s time to renew your policy, we will once again shop our companies to find the best product for you.
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