The nuances of home insurance can be confusing at best, but add on to that the additional, specialized insurances that a homeowner may need, and our eyes all begin to glaze over!

Here in Florida, one of the major concerns many homeowners have is the potential for flooding in their home. And some don’t realize that their homeowner’s insurance does not cover rising water or “floods,” which can be caused by excessive rains and tropical storm systems.

Due to this, it’s smart for every homeowner – whether in a designated “flood zone” or not – to have flood insurance coverage. For example, in Brevard County, most of the inland portions of the county are considered an “X” Flood Zone type – or an area with minimal flood risk. However, from 2014 to 2018, approximately 25%-40% of flood insurance claims came from those living in Flood Zone X. For this reason, we already recommend considering flood insurance, no matter which flood zone you are in.

In terms of when to consider purchasing a flood insurance policy, don’t wait until a storm is coming. Insurers have built in a 30-day waiting period before new policy holders can file a claim after securing a policy. This is to protect those companies from customers who are trying to jump in and out of insurance coverage based on an impending storm only. With flood insurance, once you bind your policy, you are covered for the next 12 months (after that 30-day waiting period, of course).

If you’re not sure what type of Flood Zone your home is in, or if you’re shopping for a new home and want to know if that property is within a Flood Zone, there are a handful of online tools you can use. We like this one… simply enter your address to see what your flood zone status is. 

In the weeks ahead we will be posting more information about Flood Insurance since it’s such a hot topic for Florida homeowners today. And as always, if you have any burning questions about the topic, feel free to contact us any time!

Kirk Ball is the Principal Agent and Owner of Wren Insurance Agency.