Rhode Island Flood Insurance
Recent severe weather events highlight the increasing need for flood insurance. It’s no longer an option, but a real life necessity – even if you do not live on high hazard flood plain. Loiselle Insurance tailors insurance to your requests so your home and possessions remain protected based on your educated decisions. Here’s what you need to know.
Your Homeowner’s Policy Does Not Protect You
Homeowner’s insurance protects against many perils, but flood water is not one of them. You need a Rhode Island flood insurance policy to protect you from the financial implications of damage repairs, relocation, and returning your home to its previous state.
If your home sits on a high hazard flood plain, your mortgage company probably requires flood insurance. However, 25% of flood claims originate from homes outside of high hazard flood zones and many mortgage-free homeowners disregard flood insurance. The reality is that every Rhode Island home sits on some kind of flood plain and therefore qualifies for flood insurance, regardless of whether your mortgage company mandates it or if your home is free of any mortgage.
Many homeowners do not realize that most flooding occurs from heavy rainfall, not coastal flooding. Since heavy rain can occur anywhere, your home and possessions are vulnerable without flood insurance.
What Does Rhode Island Flood Insurance Cover?
In Rhode Island, flood insurance protects you from the financial impact of the physical destruction of your property and possibly its contents contents. Even when a small amount of water enters your home, it can cause extensive, expensive damage.
Flood coverage offers protection against losses resulting from many water-related events including flooding from rain or storm surges. Flooding is defined as ground water entering your home (usually through door or window openings or even through foundation seepage). Two or more adjacent properties must also be flooded in order for your damages to be covered by your flood insurance policy.
Let our independent agents review your property’s location and flood history to find the ideal coverage options for you.
Policy Types
Loiselle Insurance accesses many insurers and many insurance products. We have the experience and industry knowledge to present you with options on coverage and price, allowing you the freedom to choose the right balance between protection level and budget. Here are a few possibilities depending on your personal situation:
Standard Flood Insurance Policy
If your area voluntarily participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which every city/town in Rhode Island does, you are eligible to buy a standard flood insurance policy through the NFIP. These policies have a maximum $250,000 dwelling limit and a maximum $100,000 contents limit and do not cover costs such as hotels and meals when displaced from your home. There is also a 30-day waiting period before the policy takes effect. The premium is based on the coverage limits you select and the level risk associated with the flood zone you are in.
Preferred Risk Flood Insurance Policy
You aren’t required to buy flood insurance in low or moderate risk areas, but it does not mean you can ignore floods. According to FEMA, more than 20 percent of all NFIP claims occur outside of high risk zones and when they do occur they’re very costly. They account for one-third of federal disaster assistance.
The truth is flooding can occur anywhere and flooding is the top natural disaster in the United States.
A preferred risk policy offers home and content protection, like a standard flood insurance policy through the NFIP, but at a very reasonable cost for homeowners who live in low or moderate flood risk zones. Often times, floods extend from high risk areas into your supposedly safe zones.
Loiselle Insurance offers free, comparative quotes from multiple insurance carriers. Let our industry expertise work for you so you have the options for your home and possessions to remain protected, despite increasing chances of flooding.