HOME INSURANCE IN HIGH RISK AREAS

When searching for a home, whether flat, bungalow or house; many homeowners try to do their research prior to buying a piece of property in a certain living area. Some try to stay away from the flood zones, others try to stay away from the high crime, and many potential new homeowners just desire a responsible priced home regardless of the living area.

A recent study found insurance companies who are able to give quotes on individual home properties, rather than a large geographical area. Meaning if the home is in a flood zone but the individual property does not get affected by the flooding waters, some insurance companies will evaluate this fact and quote the insurance policy accordingly. Due to the limited space to build new homes, flood zones are becoming more common to build in and homeowners need to be aware of this. Insurance companies are working with the builders to try and find the best way to build the future new homes, as well as plans of alleviating some of the flooding in these areas. Either way, shopping around for home insurance is always a good idea to find the lowest quote for the best coverage.

Most insurance premiums in flood zones can be close to 60% higher than average premiums, while high crime areas premiums can be more than 65%. Not all insurance premiums need to be this expensive; by shopping around on websites and telephoning for quotes, homeowners found they could save close to £100 on their policies.

For homeowners in flood areas, there are a few suggestions to consider.

• Adding contents insurance to your policy is a safe way to insure your possessions, extending your excess would be helpful, and think about adding sump pumps or special plumbing to the home.
• If a home begins to flood, the sump pump automatically pumps the water out of the home and can save the homeowner some headaches.
• Living in a flood zone, homeowners should review their policy taking special notice to the amount of coverage they are carrying.
• If a flood should occur, the drying and recovering process can take months and if there is proper insurance coverage, the insurance company can help with this process financially.

If for some reason an insurance company denies coverage on a home in a flood zone, most are open to making suggestions to the homeowner of what can be done to their home to help gain coverage. It is a horrible situation but it is the reality of living in a flood zone.