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HURRICANES DON’T JUST AFFECT COASTS; EXPERTS SAY: “GET FLOOD INSURANCE

With the 2020 hurricane season activity expected to be “well above average” in intensity; three named storms having formed already; and Tropical Depression Cristobal brought flooding rains and powerful winds from the South to the Midwest as it made landfall in Louisiana, preparedness should be on the minds of everyone who could be affected – and that means more than just people in coastal states.

Cristobal’s moved from the lower Mississippi Valley to the Midwest – just ahead of a cold front that will eventually absorb Cristobal’s remnants as it moves into southeastern Canada, according to Weather.com: “The combination of deep, tropical moisture from Cristobal and the cold front will wring out heavy rain along a swath from the lower Mississippi Valley into the Midwest. Strong winds will also develop in the Midwest and Great Lakes from this setup.”

“Inland flooding has resulted in more deaths in the past 30 years from hurricanes and tropical storms in the U.S. than any other threat,” said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller. “Though wind speeds and storm surge are important, and get a lot of the headlines, flash flooding from intense rainfall associated with the storm’s rainbands impact far more people and stretch over a much larger area.”

About 90 percent of all natural disasters in the U.S involve flooding. This is why experts like Dan Kaniewski – managing director for public sector innovation at Marsh & McLennan and former deputy administrator for resilience at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – strenuously urge everyone to buy flood insurance.

If it can rain, it can flood

“Any home can flood,” Matt Jones said (Matt Jones Owner of Jones Family Insurance in Punta Gorda and Fort Myers Florida). “Even if you’re well outside a floodplain…. Get flood insurance. Whether you’re a homeowner or a renter or a business – get flood insurance. It’s not included in your homeowners policy, and most people don’t understand that.”

Dr. Rick Knabb – on-air hurricane expert for the Weather Channel – was similarly emphatic:

“If it can rain where you live,” he said, “it can flood where you live.”

He recounted buying a new home, asking his agent about flood insurance, and being told, “You don’t need it.”

“I told him, ‘Get it for me anyway,’” Knabb said.

Flood insurance purchase rates too low

2019 was the second-wettest year on record across the continental U.S., yet flood insurance purchase rates remain low. To illustrate the difference between having and not having flood insurance, Jones described two scenarios related to 2017’s devastating Hurricane Harvey.

“The average [FEMA] payout for the uninsured homeowner in the Houston area was about $3,000,” Kaniewski said. “But if you were proactive and took out a relatively low-cost flood insurance policy…you would have received not $3,000 but $110,000. You’re not going to recover on $3,000, but with $110,000, you’d be well on the path to recovery.”

Unfortunately, he said, even inside designated floodplains, “two-thirds of homeowners do not have flood insurance.”

Shop for your Flood Insurance Policy today! CLICK HERE

Six Ways to Lower Your Homeowners Insurance

The cost of homeowner’s insurance is one of those unavoidable expenses that comes along with owning a house.  How much you’ll pay for insurance varies depending on your location and the age of your home.  It can feel like a big expense, but knowing you’ll be reimbursed if something happens to your most valuable investment can be priceless. Plus, your mortgage company may require that you keep a certain level of homeowner’s insurance as well.  There are typically four parts to a normal homeowner’s policy you’ll see on your quote that you should make your agent explain to you.

3rd Make sure you are getting every discount available. Its important to deal with an insurance agent that knows how they can get you all the discounts you qualify for. I’ve personally seen when reviewing quotes other agents have prepared sometimes $300-600 dollars’ worth of savings left on the table and shake my head.  Make sure if you’ve upgraded your roof, windows, security systems, smoke detectors, etc you let the agent know too, so they can apply those for you. Jones Family Insurance always has you get a 4pt and Wind Mitigation Loss inspection. The savings you get is way more than the $250 you spent on the report.

Thank You,

Matt Jones, Owner of Jones Family Insurance

Part 1 — Six Ways to Lower Your Homeowners Insurance

The cost of homeowner’s insurance is one of those unavoidable expenses that comes along with owning a house.  How much you’ll pay for insurance varies depending on your location and the age of your home.  It can feel like a big expense, but knowing you’ll be reimbursed if something happens to your most valuable investment can be priceless. Plus, your mortgage company may require that you keep a certain level of homeowner’s insurance as well.  There are typically four parts to a normal homeowner’s policy you’ll see on your quote that you should make your agent explain to you.  Those coverages are:

Dwelling– This covers damage to the house itself. This covers the rebuild of the home from the slab up in the even of a loss due to fire or any other disaster that make it impossible to salvage the house.  Lots of homeowners think the numbers that agents quote their dwelling at is a lot and we are trying to make more money. When reality 20% of average Americans homes are underinsured. From Talking to different contractors, it cost about $150-$200 x Sqft to build a house. This means when Jones Family is trying to find out your dwelling coverage depend on the grade of the house we multiply the under air sqft and multiple by it anywhere between $150-$200, the number we get is the number we insure your dwelling for.

Click here for a no obligation, fast Homeowners Quote!