Finding the Right Insurance Coverage
Determine how disaster risk and home construction impact policy needs
- Adequate home insurance is essential to resilience.
- Determine if you need separate policies for wind, earthquake, or flood.
- Understand how the home’s construction and location affects your policy and which features qualify for discounts.
Having the right amount of home insurance is critical to resilience and your ability to bounce back after a disaster, so take time to understand the different factors before you buy.
For example, you will typically need separate policies to cover different disaster events like earthquakes and flooding. And most hurricane policies carry percentage deductibles, so you should establish an emergency fund to pay the deductible if a hurricane strikes. Older buildings may have to be updated to meet newer building codes if substantial damage occurs, so it is essential to know how much coverage you will have if that happens.
Your insurance company or agent can walk you through the contingencies associated with insuring your new home. However, it is critical to speak with someone before you commit to buy. Knowing details about your prospective home’s construction, mitigation features, and other features can help you better understand how your home details affect your insurance policy and potential discounts.
For more information about insurance and disasters, refer to If Disaster Strikes, Will You Be Covered? In the guide, you will learn more about essential considerations, including that flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period and that flood losses often occur well outside the mandatory flood insurance area. Flood insurance is an excellent economic investment — whether it is required or not. For example, the 2019 Florida average annual FEMA flood insurance premium was $700.
Fortunately, policies outside the mandatory purchase area can be very affordable. The emerging private flood insurance marketplace offers competitively priced policies, as well.