flood insurance

Flooding occurs in low-to-moderate risk areas as well as in high-risk areas. Poor drainage systems, rapid accumulation of rainfall, snowmelt, and broken water mains can all result in flood. Properties on a hillside can be damaged by mudflow, a covered peril under the Standard Flood Insurance Policy.

Structures located in high-risk flood areas have a significant chance (26 percent) of suffering flood damage during the term of a 30-year mortgage. A home mapped in a high-risk area is five times more likely to suffer damage from a flood than a fire in the lifetime of a typical mortgage!

For these reasons, flood insurance is required by law for buildings in high-risk flood areas as a condition of receiving a mortgage from a federally regulated or insured lender.

It's a good idea to buy flood insurance even if you live in a low- or moderate-risk area. Almost 25 percent of all flood insurance claims come from areas with low-to-moderate flood risk. You may qualify for the Preferred Risk Policy (a lower-cost flood insurance policy) that provides contents coverage beginning at $39 per year and building plus contents coverage beginning at $119 a year.

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