Category Archives: flood

Flood Insurance Checklist

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The following check list is designed to help the applicant understand the process of obtaining coverage.

Many of those looking for Flood Insurance coverage are only doing so due to the mortgage company requiring the policy.  The way to negate the bank’s requirement is to obtain an Elevation Certificate to prove the property is not in a flood prone area.

If your home is in a Flood Plain, the only way to obtain a flood policy is to obtain an Elevation Certificate.

If your home is not in a flood plain and is instead in a “X” or “AB” zone, flood insurance quotes and policies are quick and simple to engage.

So… To start the process of getting a flood policy, consider reviewing the following:

  1. Start with a Flood Certificate if required.  http://www.nationalfloodelevations.com.   The certificate will look like this.  elevationcertificate
  2. If you are not in a flood zone and desire coverage, submit the online quote request form and we will send you a quote FAST.
  3. Submit a quote request via the following link and include your Flood Certificate.
  4. Expect a quote expediently.

The process sounds simple.  The reality is a Flood Policy is one of the few type of policies that require funds to be paid prior to purchasing a policy.  Certificates can range in price…

When you are ready for that coverage to start, give us a call or submit the application on line.  Coverage has a waiting period of 30 days.  If you are closing on a home, the coverage can start on the day of closing.

Thank you for considering Georgia Flood Insurance.  Do take the next step and submit a quote request.  We will contact you promptly.

National Flood Insurance Funded by Congress

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September 30, 2011

We are writing to inform you that Congress passed a bill that reauthorized the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) prior to the program’s expiration.  The bill contains a short-term re-authorization that extends the statutory authority to issue flood insurance policies pursuant to the NFIP until October 4, 2011.

 

What does this mean for your agency and your clients?

  • This short-term statutory authorization will allow us to continue issuing flood insurance policies with no impact to you or your clients.
  • Our Agency will continue to work with industry trades, legislators and FEMA to help support a longer term reauthorization of the NFIP prior to the expiration on October 4, 2011.

If you have any questions regarding the issue, please feel free to call our office at 678-648-1900 or 1-877-MattLocke.

 

 

 

National Flood Insurance Program

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Congress Passes Year-Long Extension
for National Flood Insurance Program

After months of uncertainty, and several lapses, Congress finally passed a long-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Earlier this week the Senate passed a one-year extension, through September 30, 2011, by voice vote and the House followed by passing the measure on September 23, 2010 under suspension, a vote without controversy.

A one-year extension will allow the NFIP to operate with no further interruptions and gives Congress time to explore full reforms of the program. Our federal affairs and flood teams have been working with Congress and our trade and industry coalition on extension efforts. We have also provided input covering initial reform concepts and will be involved as reform discussions progress.

In addition, a year extension also brings much needed certainty to the program and enables write-your-own companies and producers to better serve policyholders. Before this vote passed, the NFIP was set to expire this month on September 30, 2010.

President Obama has the passed legislation and he is expected to sign the bill before the end of September.

If you have any questions, please contact your sales team at 1-877-77GoAIB or 1-877-774-6242 or submit the following application.

Flood Definitions

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Standard residential and commercial property policies normally exclude flood losses, due to their
catastrophic nature.

In response to an overall need for flood insurance, Congress passed the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. This Act established the operation of a national program for providing this much-needed coverage. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is managed by the Mitigation Division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Homeowners, commercial property owners, and residential and commercial renters desiring flood insurance must
procure this coverage directly through the NFIP or through the insurer who writes their homeowners
coverage in some cases.

Flood Definitions
A flood is a great flowing or overflowing of water, especially over land areas that are normally dry. There are several types of flooding.

  • Coastal flooding occurs when hurricanes and storms produce heavy rains or drive ocean water onto land. Coastal flooding is also produced by tidal waves created by storms, earthquakes, or volcanoes. Beaches and houses are often swept away by the force of the water.
  • River flooding is normally seasonal because of snowmelt or heavy rains. The water fills the river basin too quickly and the river flows over its banks. The floodplain becomes covered with water, often damaging homes and other property.
  • Flash flooding is caused when small and powerful fast-flowing rivers are quickly formed because of excessive rainfall or dam failure, sometimes triggering catastrophic mudslides. Flash floods can be powerful enough to carry away roads, bridges, and other structures, and can occur with little warning.

We will post more information soon about flood insurance soon.  In the mean time, consider giving us a call for a quote or for more information about coverage.

1-877-MattLocke or 678-682-9700

Basements and Flood Insurance

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Regarding basements, coverage is extremely limited:

Regarding basements, coverage is extremely limited:

Up to 4 items are covered in the basement if they are essential to operating the house – for example: the hot water heater, furnace, AC equipment, sump pumps, circuit breaker boxes , outlets & switches.
Drywall is covered, but we only nail it to the studs (no finishing work).
Clean up is covered .

There is no coverage for any other contents, carpet, flooring, electronics, kitchens, media room, furniture… nothing.  There is no endorsement available to expand the coverage.

History Proves the Risk is Real

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One Year Ago
This year’s peak hurricane season marks the anniversary of several major tropical storms and hurricanes that have hit numerous states in years past – just last year Tropical Storm Fay began one of the worst storm seasons in U.S. history. Fay hit South Florida on August 18 and became the first storm in recorded history to make landfall in Florida four times, causing more than $560 million in damage. Hurricane Gustav quickly followed, hitting Louisiana on August 31 and causing more than $6.6 billion in damage. Hurricane Ike came shortly after Gustav on September 13, bringing extensive flooding and wind damage throughout the Midwest and as far north as Pennsylvania. Damage from Ike is estimated at $24 billion.

Five Years Ago
The 2004 hurricane season is one Floridians won’t soon forget. The season got a late start with the first storm forming on August 1. Things progressed quickly from there with the development of Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley, both making landfall in Florida within 24 hours of each other. The season brought an additional three storms, Hurricanes Francis, Ivan and Jeanne, to the Sunshine State causing more than $42 billion in total damages.

Ten and Twenty Years Ago
Last year’s hurricanes aren’t the only storms that are still fresh in most people’s minds. Some property owners still remember other devastating hurricanes that struck long ago and resulted in years of costly clean-up and rebuilding. This September marks the ten-year anniversary of Hurricane Floyd, which made landfall in North Carolina on September 16, 1999. The storm traveled up the East Coast as a tropical storm and passed over Long Island and into New England, causing record rainfall and flooding across the east coast, with Wilmington, NC and Philadelphia, PA setting 24-hour rainfall records of 15.06 in. and 6.63 in. respectively. Floyd was one of the costliest hurricanes on record, with an estimated $4.5 billion in damage.

Hurricane Hugo marks its twentieth anniversary this year, as it made landfall and caused extensive damage to Charleston, SC on September 21, 1989. By the time it moved up the coastline and reached inland to Charlotte, NC, Hugo was still a Category 3 hurricane and ultimately caused 29 counties in North Carolina to be declared federal disaster areas.Hugo’s storm surge was the highest ever recorded on the East Coast and its 150 mile wide swath resulted in major damage hundreds of miles inland – it caused $7 billion in damage and remains the sixth costliest hurricane in U.S. history.

INFO FROM: info@floodsmart.com

Peak hurricane season is here

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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.

Business Flood Insurance

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Flood insurance is available for the business.  Coverage for the risk of flood damage is available for business personal property, business real property.

The application process is consistent to the underwriting issues of a personal line policy.  Grade of the structure, flood zone, location of property and systems, and more.  The Elevation Certificate continues to be a need to document each structure’s propensity to flood.

Need Flood coverage for your business?  Contact our agency for a solution that positions you to survive when water damages your business’ property.

Need Flood Coverage Today

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Binding Flood coverage for the same day as the “need” is possible.  To be successfull, the following checklist has to be ready and in our possession early.  The possession of a Elevation Certificate is KEY to the success of binding today.

The only other requirement to bind Flood Insurance today is the impending sale/closing of the home.  Coverage can be provided at the time of closing.  If there is no pending purchase, flood insurance has a waiting period of 30 days to go in effect.

Planning, preparedness are terms we often think about when planning for hurricanes and other flood causes.  The reality is it takes planning and preparedness to obtain a flood policy too.

Are you ready to start the process?  We are ready to help… Our Flood Insurance specialist is ready for your call or online submittal.   We look forward to hearing from you.

http://www.GAFloodInsurance.com