How to SAVE MONEY Flood Insurance Michigan
Flood Insurance Michigan
Does my Michigan homeowner insurance cover flooding?
A typical Michigan homeowners’ policy is written through Farmers, State Farm, Allstate, and Progressive, for instance, excludes flooding as something that will be covered under their homeowner’s policy.
In most cases, the only way to get flood coverage is by purchasing a stand-alone flood insurance policy. However, you should ask your homeowners agent if you can add an endorsement to your homeowner’s policy to cover flooding. Yet, don’t be too surprised if the answer is NO.
Do I need flood insurance in Michigan?
It is important to have flood insurance coverage in Michigan because our beloved Cowboy State has seen a fair share of flooding, and more is likely coming.
We believe that most homeowners think about Flood insurance in Michigan at some point, maybe before buying a home or during the closing process. However, many of us only think about it when a big storm looms, or we have heard on the news that there is flooding forecasted or happening too close to our home.
If your home or business is in a flood zone, that is considered a low flood risk area. Sadly, many homeowners decide to forgo purchasing coverage because they believe they are safe from flooding. Some real estate and insurance agents may even say you don’t need it.
Flood Zone Maps Michigan
I ask you to consider the facts: 20 percent of all flooding events across our nation come in areas that are considered low risk. After our last few major storms (Hurricane Harvey), we saw flooding in these low-risk areas. In 80 percent of these individuals had water in their homes or buildings and didn’t have flood insurance coverage.
In Harris county, nearly 135,000 homes were damaged. Three-fourths of these properties were considered low to moderate risk.
Michigan flooding map
We often hear that people believe that the government will help, which is true. However, a few things must align for you to get government assistance.
1 – The president of the United States must declare the flooding event a state of emergency. If this doesn’t happen, then there won’t be assistance.
2 – Homeowners’ average amount of assistance after a flood, when they do not have flood coverage, is $5,000. The average cost of damage to one’s property after a flood is $38,000+. That $5K you get from the government? It comes as a loan, and you will need to pay it back. Are you willing to gamble on your financial future by forgoing flood insurance coverage?
One more note on these low-risk flood zone maps. Many of these maps are over 40 years old. If the area has been developed, there is likely more concrete, creating a barrier for land that previously might have absorbed the massive downpour.
Because of all these factors, it is difficult for property owners to know their true risk of flooding. FEMA admits that their flood maps only give an idea of part of the risk. Our recent storms are facts that it can rain anywhere within Michigan, and you should consider getting flood coverage so you are not uninsured when you need it most.
FEMA flood zone maps often take years to go into effect after the terrain was studied; this gives the impression that the area is “more up to date” than it is.
The average cost for Michigan flood insurance in these Low-risk areas is $595 per year.
FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and all federally backed lenders rely on these Michigan flood insurance maps to assess risk, set premiums, and determine who is required to purchase flood insurance. Bad information about an area’s flood risk can leave property owners under or uninsured.
How much is flood insurance in Michigan?
There are many options available in Michigan regarding flood insurance, but they fall into two main categories.
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The government option (the NFIP, also called FEMA)
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The Private Flood insurance market