Peak hurricane season is here —  is your community protected  with flood insurance?

Atlantic peak hurricane season has arrived, and residents and business owners should not assume that a calm June and July mean a major hurricane is not on its way. There is often a “calm before the storm” during early summer months – minimal storm activity followed by massive tropical storms and/or hurricanes occurring mid-August through October. Over the last 158 years, nearly 80 percent of all tropical storms and hurricanes develop during this time. This August three named storms formed in just 33 hours. These late summer storms can cause massive flooding that devastate communities and destroy homes.

Past seasons have shown that peak hurricane season can bring severe weather to the Gulf and Southern coasts, the Eastern Seaboard, as well as far inland. While storm surge caused by hurricanes and tropical storms can wreak havoc on coastal areas, hurricanes and tropical storms moving inland can bring torrential rains and high winds that intensify the risk of flooding for residents living hundreds of miles from the coast.

Remind home and business owners in your community that the only protection against costly flood damage is flood insurance. Unprotected property owners should seriously consider purchasing a flood insurance policy now – especially because there is typically a 30-day waiting period before it becomes effective and most standard homeowners insurance policies do NOT cover flood damage.

Attention Agents: Protect Your Customers!
If you’re an insurance agent you already know that without flood insurance, property owners may have to absorb the financial losses caused from flooding on their own, potentially wiping out their savings. Let your customers know that flood insurance is more affordable than they may think. The average flood insurance policy is around $540 a year, but for homes in moderate-to-low risk areas, Preferred Risk Policies start as low as $119 a year.

Encourage your customers to visit FloodSmart.gov/hurricane to learn more about the risk of flooding during hurricane season and how they can protect their homes and its contents with flood insurance. Agents.FloodSmart.gov has tools and resources that will help you reach out to your customers to warn them about hurricane season, including hurricane-themed direct mail templates (sent directly from your desktop!) and hurricane season ads available in the NFIP Agent Co-Op Advertising Program. And while you’re there, sign up for the Agent Referral Program and receive free leads.

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