Do I Need Flood Insurance If I am Not in a Flood Plain?

Many residents living in or near Emmaus, PA, think they don’t need flood insurance if their home is not in a designated flood zone. That misconception can lead to substantial out-of-pocket expenses as flooding can occur from various unexpected circumstances. Patrick McNealis Insurance and Financial Group can advise you on why flood insurance is an excellent idea to protect your home.

Flooding Comes From Many Sources

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) indicates that as many as 25% of flooding claims come from homeowners who live in low to moderate-risk areas. Still, the agency’s statistics only include homeowners who have flood insurance. That means many more must pay for the damage themselves. Some mistakenly believe that Federal Disaster Insurance will cover flooding damage. However, the federal government must declare a disaster area for a community to be eligible for federal disaster assistance. Even then, the assistance comes from loans the borrower must repay with interest.

Floods can come from many sources, including rapidly melting snow, excessive rain, mudslides or mudflows, land collapse along lakes and rivers, dam failures, sump pump failures, and backups, and even something as odd as a neighbor’s pool collapsing and flowing onto your property.

Protecting Your Property With Flood Insurance

While most homeowners’ policies include protection from water damage, this coverage only provides damage from broken pipes, rain that enters your home from a storm, and similar incidents. Flooded basements are caused by drain pipes and other causes that require flood insurance. Even then, homeowners must be careful about covered incidents in their policy.

If you want to add flood insurance to your home policy, contact the experts at Patrick McNealis Insurance and Financial Group, serving Emmaus, PA. Our agents will gladly help you select a policy that fits your needs and budget.

 

Myths and FAQs About Flood Insurance

At Patrick McNealis Insurance and Financial Group, we offer many types of insurance to meet all your insurance needs, including flood insurance. We serve residents of Emmaus, PA. 

Myth: You Can’t Get Flood Insurance in High Flood Risk Areas

As long as your area participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This includes those who live in a high flood-risk area, as well as those who are in a low-risk area.

Myth: You Don’t Need Flood Insurance if You are in a Low-Risk Area

You may think you don’t need flood insurance if you live in a low flood-risk area. However, 30% of flooding damage occurs in low to moderate-risk areas. This means flood insurance is an intelligent buy, regardless of your flood zone. 

Myth: Disaster Assistance or Homeowner’s Policies Cover Flood Damage

The truth is that federal disaster assistance can help, but it’s often not enough to repair the flood damage on its own. There’s also no guarantee that the area will be declared a national disaster area in the event of a flood. 

Homeowner’s policies cover many causes of damage to your home but do not cover flood damage. 

Myth: Renters Can’t Get or Don’t Need Flood Insurance 

If you are a renter, you can purchase flood insurance to cover your belongings, including furniture and valuables. It’s the landlord’s responsibility to provide insurance for the structure of the home itself, but this will not cover the contents of your home.  

Flood Insurance with Patrick McNealis Insurance and Financial Group

If you need flood insurance in Emmaus, PA, contact us at Patrick McNealis Insurance and Financial Group. Our agents will discuss your specific needs and help you select the best policy for your situation. 

What is the value of having flood insurance?

Owning a home in the Emmaus, PA area has continued to be an excellent long-term housing option. If you are looking to get a home here, you will want to know that you have the right insurance. In some cases, this can mean having an additional flood insurance policy. A few benefits come when you do get this type of insurance for your home. 

Ensure Covered Against Flood Damage

If you live in an area prone to flooding, it is a risk that you should not take lightly. As you are looking for a way to protect your home, getting a flood insurance plan would be a good idea. With a flood policy, you will have coverage that can help mitigate this specific risk as it offers more support than you may receive through a standard home insurance plan. 

Comply with Obligations

You may also want to have a flood insurance plan as it can help ensure you can comply with insurance obligations. Any mortgage lender is going to run a flood search for your home. If you are in a zone with a heightened risk of flood damage, you will likely be required to carry the proper insurance. Having flood coverage will help you meet this requirement. 

If you would like to get a flood insurance plan for your Emmaus, PA area home, you can start your search by calling the team with the Patrick McNealis Insurance and Financial Group. This can be a complex type of coverage to understand, and calling Patrick McNealis Insurance and Financial Group will help ensure you have the support you need to select your next plan. This can help ensure your home is protected against the risk of flood damage. 

Is flood insurance in Pennsylvania always needed?

In the Emmaus, PA area will want to ensure that they get the right insurance in place for their homes. Depending on your situation, having flood insurance may be a necessity to ensure you have proper coverage. This could be required for a few different reasons. 

You Want to Protect Home

One of the reasons you will want to have a flood insurance plan here is to ensure you can protect your home. If you are going to buy a property, protecting the investment with insurance is a great idea. While you will want to have home insurance, it may not offer much flood coverage. With a flood insurance plan, you can be assured that you will have full protection to mitigate the risk of flood damage.

You Want to Comply with Lenders

You will also want to have a flood insurance plan to ensure that you can comply with your mortgage lender. Anyone that is going to take out a mortgage will have to meet their lender’s insurance standards. If your home is in a designated flood zone, your lender will likely require that you maintain flood insurance at all times. Complying with these requirements will keep you in good standing with your mortgage provider.

It continues to be very important to protect your home with insurance properly. If you are in the market for a flood insurance plan in the Emmaus, PA area, it would be wise to call Patrick McNealis Insurance and Financial Group. The insurance professionals with Patrick McNealis Insurance and Financial Group know the value provided by flood coverage. They can offer you any support needed to build the right plan for your situation. 

Do I Need Flood Insurance?

Flood insurance is one of the more commonly referenced forms of add on insurance coverage for your home. Is it necessary, though? Every homeowner needs to make this decision on his or her own, which is why you need to consider your personal property and whether flood insurance is right. Here at Patricks McNeals Insurance and Financial Group, we want to do whatever we can to educate you on flood insurance and assist you with finding the right answers. So, if you live in Emmaus, PA, here is what you need to know. 

Do You Need Flood Insurance?

Living in Pennsylvania, you might assume you don’t need flood insurance because you’re not at risk of a major hurricane. While this is true, it isn’t the only way properties flood. For starters, after a major winter thaw, you might have far more water around your property than the ground can handle. A massive storm can blow through and damage it, or a pipe might even burst. You probably know someone who had flooding due to a frozen pipe. 

Beyond this, if there is a fire within your property, there’s a good chance of flooding because of the amount of water used to put the fire out. For all these reasons and more, it is a good idea for you to invest in flood insurance.

Flood Insurance For Your Property

With flood insurance, you’re able to protect your property even further. If you are interested in flood insurance, or if you want to learn more about its coverage and other home insurance opportunities, our staff at Patricks McNeals Insurance and Financial Group is here to help. When living around Emmaus, PA, feel free to give us a call to talk about your insurance options and how you can get started with a policy.