Flood insurance

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

We live only 2 miles from the ocean as the bird flies, and our backyard is on a lake, though the homes are on the high side of the lake so a few years ago when the lake did flood no homes were touched and the water all went out the other side onto the road. Anyway, we certainly have flood insurance and it is pricey. Our community is all villas (duplexes) though and many of our neighbors have not purchased flood insurance. For about 80% of the homeowners here this is a vacation home only and they still maintain a home somewhere up north. Many freely say that if this home was damaged by a storm or flood they would walk away & take the loss, because they don't want to pay for the flood insurance. When we signed our HOA agreement it said we promised to have the home adequately insured, and the HOA has a right to demand proof of insurance.A few of the homeowners are passing a petition around to make the HOA manager demand to see the proof of insurance including flood - can you imagine if the other half of your house was flooded and the owners just walked away? The place would be filled with toxic mold in a week! Of course those who don't want to pay for insurance are resisting this.

My cousin , who owns an insurance agency in south Texas told us that storm surge from a hurricane can occur as far as 10 miles from the ocean, however this is not covered by flood ins., but by your hurricane insurance. It gets very confusing which ins. covers what, and a lot depends upon if it is a named storm or not.

I can't understand why anyone would have something as valuable as a home and not have it fully insured.

sunshine45 · ‎03-09-2010

we have had a condo at the beach in the delmarva area for many years. we are required every year to provide a copy of our insurance to the management company of our homeowners association.

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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein

Sunshine Kate · ‎03-10-2010

@151949 wrote:
We live only 2 miles from the ocean as the bird flies, and our backyard is on a lake, though the homes are on the high side of the lake so a few years ago when the lake did flood no homes were touched and the water all went out the other side onto the road. Anyway, we certainly have flood insurance and it is pricey. Our community is all villas (duplexes) though and many of our neighbors have not purchased flood insurance. For about 80% of the homeowners here this is a vacation home only and they still maintain a home somewhere up north. Many freely say that if this home was damaged by a storm or flood they would walk away & take the loss, because they don't want to pay for the flood insurance. When we signed our HOA agreement it said we promised to have the home adequately insured, and the HOA has a right to demand proof of insurance.A few of the homeowners are passing a petition around to make the HOA manager demand to see the proof of insurance including flood - can you imagine if the other half of your house was flooded and the owners just walked away? The place would be filled with toxic mold in a week! Of course those who don't want to pay for insurance are resisting this.
My cousin , who owns an insurance agency in south Texas told us that storm surge from a hurricane can occur as far as 10 miles from the ocean, however this is not covered by flood ins., but by your hurricane insurance. It gets very confusing which ins. covers what, and a lot depends upon if it is a named storm or not.
I can't understand why anyone would have something as valuable as a home and not have it fully insured.

I don't understand why anyone would not be fully insured either. I guess the bottom line is that they don't have the money and/or uneducated.

The HOA should absolutely demand inspecting homeowner's insurance policies. They have every right and people that pay a HOA annual fee should demand it.

software · ‎06-08-2016

I'm sorry you are dealing with this situation. IMHO, insurance is a scam, they are in the business of collecting checks, not writing them.

I remember all the hassles everyone went through after Katrina. And yes I can imagine people walking away. Thousands did. Because in a flood, you don't just lose your home, you may lose your job, your kids lose their school, much of the infrastructure is gone. Heck yeah, I'd get out of town too

Does the government offer any advice, assistance, coverage?

I've never lived under an HOA but can hardly blame the snowbirds for their attitude. But they should have considered that when they purchased in that community!

@151949

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

One of our neighbors used to live in a high rise condo in Miami and he said a few years back they had a hurricane - someone on an upper floor just ran scared and lefty without putting up their hurricane shutters. Well, the windows all blew in and in poured the water , which then damaged several condos below that one as the water ran down the inside. The owner who did this was never seen again, and all those who sustained damage had to pay their deductibles and then try to sue to recover their money. He said they have still not seen a dime.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

@software wrote:
I'm sorry you are dealing with this situation. IMHO, insurance is a scam, they are in the business of collecting checks, not writing them.

I remember all the hassles everyone went through after Katrina. And yes I can imagine people walking away. Thousands did. Because in a flood, you don't just lose your home, you may lose your job, your kids lose their school, much of the infrastructure is gone. Heck yeah, I'd get out of town too

Does the government offer any advice, assistance, coverage?

I've never lived under an HOA but can hardly blame the snowbirds for their attitude. But they should have considered that when they purchased in that community!

@151949

There is no company - to my knowledge - that offers flood insurance. You have to buy it from FEMA. It can be very reasonable or very expensive depending on maps the feds have made of how high your risk is. Our risk is not the worst but is still very high. Our insurance is $850 a year I believe. Which I believe is based partly on those maps and partly on the value of the house & contents, & partly on the history of storms in your area. Our area has not had a direct hit from a hurricane for 50 years but that doesn't mean we couldn't get the next one.

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

I live in an area where "flash flooding" can be a problem. People who move here from other parts of the country where there are none do not understand how serious this can get. People buy homes on what appears to be a high 'n dry place, then suffer greatly when the water comes. For this reason many insurance companies in this area will advise you to get insured IF your home is located in one of these flood zones. Otherwise people around here don't buy it.

I live in Colorado where there are mountains, hills and valleys.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

Where we lived in Pa we had a very high hillside to the south of our house - at the back of our yard - and one to the east and one to the west of us . We lived in the little dip at the base of these 3 high hills. We were advised to get both flood and sewage back up insurance which we did. My DH also , very intelligently, had a drain put in our driveway so if the sewer backed up it would come out there instead of in the basement. That sewer in the driveway backed up & overflowed several times while we lived there - we would have to call the plumber to clear it , and then we would turn over his bill to the insurance co. That around $40/year saved us thousands as it isn't cheap to have a plumber clear lines all the way to the main line in the street. We never had a claim on the flood insurance.When hurricane Ivan came through it flooded our backyard but the storm sewer took that water and nothing came in the house.

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

My standard homeowners insurance doesn't cover flood damage due to sewer-line back-up. If my house gets flooded from a clogged drain or toilet then I am faced with having to pay for all the damages out of pocket, including the cost of the plumbing repairs. My insurance agent told me that if I want to be covered for this kind of event then I would have to purchase a separate type of insurance.