Who needs flood insurance? See the story below.
Flood Stories
They should have bought Flood Insurance
"Dan Pollman and his wife felt a rumble. Then their entire house was lifted off its foundation. A wall of their Franklin home had collapsed, and 8 feet of water rushed into their basement, damaging the home beyond repair..."
As insurance agents, the storyline above hits us right in the gut and we instantly react hoping that this was not one of our insureds. Have we offered flood insurance to everyone? If not, start now and consider sending an offer of flood to all your current clients, to be sure they are informed.
"The Pollmans' home sat in a low-risk flood area that has just a 0.2% chance of flooding, according to FEMA. ....few people buy the insurance package if they live in a low-flood-risk area because they don't think they need it."
Help your insureds to recognize that flood risk is unpredictable and that low risk doesn't mean no risk. Just because it has not flooded recently does not mean it won't flood in the future. Many established neighborhoods may still be uncovered for flood and could be good prospects for flood marketing.
"After more than a year of trying to recover financially from the disaster, the Pollmans said they felt as though they've been ignored by government agencies and left out of relief funding."
Disaster assistance is offered only by presidential declaration and is most frequently a loan that must be repaid with interest. In contrast, a Fidelity flood policy offers a benefit to individual policyholders with no repayment, nor rebuilding required.
"Family heirlooms such as their antique china set are buried under muck and debris in the basement of their 53-year-old home. The Pollmans have spent the past year trying to get money for the damaged home."
Contents coverage is an important feature of a Fidelity Flood policy and should be part of every offer of flood insurance. However, contents coverage does not include personal property stored below ground level. The most important things in a basement are the foundation, the walls and the equipment that services the building and those are all covered by Fidelity flood policies.
"To make matters worse, the Pollmans now know that their home and everything in it could have been paid for if they had bought a $300-per year insurance policy. Pollman said that had he known how affordable the insurance was, he would have avoided the financial storm that has left him in ruins."
Don't leave your insureds feeling this pain. Be sure to offer a Fidelity flood policy quote to all property owners, whether they are in a high or low risk zone and always get the Fidelity Flood Waiver signed, so your agency can be protected when an uninsured owner claims he was not informed.
To read the entire article: Franklin couple's pain lingers year after flood (Journal Sentinel, WI)
July 12, 2009 By Nicholas Penzenstadler
All prices, programs, features, underwriting, offers, representations and companies shown in this site are subject to change without notice. We may add or discontinue a company or program or an insurer may change underwriting criteria or product line availability without notice to us. With the insurance industry constantly changing we may not be able to keep the site up with the latest information. For the up to date info please contact us. All insurance applications are always subject to current underwriting rules, acceptance of the insurer and adequate premium paid.