True Private Flood Insurance
Get Flood Nerd to help with purchasing flood insurance.
Government Flood Insurance is a Mess
Since the government established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968, most of the flood insurance coverage in the US has been administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). When the agency isn’t busy cleaning up after tornados, fires, and floods they dabble in flood insurance. And they don’t do such a great job.
The NFIP is set to expire almost every year and as the latest of their extensions runs out. They’ve managed to rack up over $20B in deficits. Typical of a government operation, they way overcharge some people and undercharge others.
They lure developers to build in areas at high risk of flooding and then bail them out when the inevitable flood happens.
If a gridlocked Congress doesn’t renew the NFIP regularly, there could be claims that never get paid.
Enter the Alternative – Private Flood Insurance
In 1983, the NFIP started the “Write Your Own” program. This allowed the major insurance companies like The Hartford, Allstate, State Farm, etc. to issue NFIP policies under their own logo. It was still the same mess, just with a new logo. That’s NOT real private insurance.
Then in 2012, Congress acted to allow private insurance companies to rate and write their own policies. And since late 2013, the private flood insurance market has been growing.
The NFIP generally overcharges 50% of the flood insurance property owners and undercharges the other 50%. No matter who you are, you probably are paying the wrong amount.
No wonder the private flood insurance market is a popular option for government flood insurance.
But most insurance agents don’t understand private flood insurance because it is more complex than standard homeowner’s insurance. If you ask them to get you flood insurance, most will just give you one of those NFIP policies under their company logo.
But Flood Nerds thrive on complexity. We love base flood elevations, floodplain maps, and the ins and outs of grandfathered flood zones. Flood Nerds know and understand the private insurance market. That’s how we can save people money with REAL private flood insurance.
Innovation Makes Private Flood Insurance Cheaper
The private flood insurance market is competitive and innovative. And they know how to use technology. Our government agencies aren’t really known for products that are competitive, innovative, or packed with technology unless it’s for the military. Right?
Because the NFIP had a monopoly until 2012 they didn’t even think about being innovative or using technology to create products that benefit the insurance-buying public.
Nope, the NFIP solely relied on flood maps created by the Army Corps Of Engineers. And many of those maps are more than 50 years old. The NFIP program created a one size fits all plan that doesn’t fit almost anyone.
FEMA’s idea of innovation is to have property owners pay $600 or more for a piece of paper called an Elevation Certificate that may or may not get you a better rate. Wow! Talk about innovation……not!
Private Flood Insurance Technology Uses Technology
The private flood insurance market threw out the old paper flood maps that FEMA uses exclusively.
Private flood insurance companies innovate with technology.
They use technology from satellites and aircraft to create maps that accurately reflect the topography of the land to better understand the risk of flooding.
Then they take those maps and use computer models to create multiple flooding scenarios. This risk modeling stuff is way cooler than those old paper maps AND the private insurers get a more exact picture of how an area would flood.
Technology lets the private insurers better determine where water is going to go and identify the properties that are really at the highest risk of flooding.
Better Flood Data Makes for Better Flood Insurance
With technology, the private flood insurance market can determine the real risk of flooding and calculate the actual cost of flood insurance. They save millions of homeowners and businesses money.
Real data is really important to saving you significant money on your flood insurance.
Using a Flood Nerd to take your property data and shop the private flood insurance market is the best way to get the cheapest flood insurance available.
Get Fast, Better Coverage with Private Flood Insurance
Paying lower prices for flood insurance is awesome. But the private flood insurance market has other benefits – you can get better coverage while saving money and you can get it fast.
With over 40 private flood insurance companies to shop, Flood Nerds can tailor your coverage to your unique needs.
The NFIP makes you wait 30 days for coverage. If you are buying a home that can really mess up your closing date!
Waiting periods for private flood insurance are as short as 10 days or 15 days and the Flood Nerds even know about options with no waiting period!
Your loan will close on time when you get Better Flood Insurance from the Flood Nerds.
The private flood insurance market lets you cover more of your assets. And insurance is all about CYA (covering your ass-ets)
The NFIP only covers up to $250,000 for the building and $100,000 in contents.
With some private flood insurance you can get coverage for:
• Actual replacement cost of the structure
• Temporary living expense coverage
• Basement contents (Limited but better then nothing)
• Pool repair/refill
• Higher coverage limits on detached structures
Private flood insurance offers higher coverage limits too – up to $2,000,000 for your home and $500,000 for your personal items. Not all policies cover all things. So tell your Flood Nerd what is important to you (maybe you don’t have a basement but need to cover the pool) and we’ll shop for the coverage you want.
Get a Free Quote from Flood Insurance shoppers – The Flood Nerds
Better Flood Insurance starts with a free quote from the Flood Nerds.
Your personal Flood Nerd will shop the private flood insurance markets and then compare them to the NFIP and guarantee that you get the good option. We even have tricks in our pocket protectors to save with the NFIP coverage too.
Private Flood Insurance for Commercial Properties
As with a homeowner’s policy, most business insurance policies do not cover flooding.
The only way to get coverage is with a stand-alone commercial flood insurance policy.
Businesses Have Two Options for Commercial Flood Insurance
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Buy the government flood coverage with a limit of $500,000 for the building and $500,000 for the contents.
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Buy a private flood insurance commercial policy.
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Get broader coverage with higher limits.
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Take advantage of business income or business interruption coverage. Historically flooding shuts down businesses for 64 days and many never come back. Dreams – washed away with the floodwaters.
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