Don't wait for rising water to think about flood insurance
5:51 p.m. Wednesday, September 17, 2008
It was a question most homeowners in this Valley Center neighborhood asked only one time...Do we need flood insurance? And every time the answer was the same...No.
Why? Because they were told they didn't need it.
"We asked when we moved in because we lived on a pond, do we need flood insurance? We were assured the pond would not flood. We did not live in a flood plain. There is no reason in the world we would need to have the added expense of flood insurance," flood victim Shirley Guy said.
"Well, we thought about it and talked to our agent and the real estate agent and they said we wouldn't need it," flood victim Earl Dick said.
It's got them thinking about it now, as well as many other homeowners in south central Kansas.
Insurance agents like Doug Adams are getting calls from clients asking the same question.
"It used to be the measure was the Halloween flood of '98. If the water was close to you then you might want to consider it," Farm Bureau Insurance agent Doug Adams said. "I think a lot of those improvements helped, but new areas that blossomed this time."
Here's something else to think about. Friday's flood waters pushed sewer into many homes in the county and caused sump pumps to fail.
Those, however, are covered under a different policy.
"To have coverage for what we call dirty water, which would be sewer or drain not covering floodwater, you have to have sewer and drain and the failure of a sump pump as well," Adams said.
His best advice is don't wait until you in this position to think about what kind of coverage you need, because if asked about flood insurance again, these neighbors will give you a different answer.
"I have to. I can't finish my basement until I know I'm protected if this happens again."
Several insurance companies say if you're not in a high risk area for flooding, you can buy flood insurance for about $400 a year.
You can buy sewer and drain insurance, which covers sump pump failure, for about $40 a year.
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