FEMA: Consider Flood Insurance

This article by Kenneth HartThe Independent  summarizes the importance of having flood insurance.  With the snow beginning to melt and the rivers at an all time high, you may want to consider purchasing this low cost insurance.

ASHLAND — Kentucky is far enough inland its residents have no reason to be concerned about hurricane season, right?

Wrong, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. And such thinking can be dangerous, an agency spokesman said Wednesday.

According to Mike Sweet, hurricanes, particularly those that strike the Gulf Coast, very often produce emergency declarations in areas great distances from where they initially hit.

For example, he said, Hurricane Ike — which made landfall in Galveston, Texas, in September 2008 and caused widespread devastation in coastal Texas, Louisiana and other areas — caused an emergency to be declared in Chicago after it passed through there on its northward track across the country.

The remnants of Ike also caused some major problems in Kentucky. The Louisville area declared a state of emergency because of major damage from high winds. Gov. Steve Beshear declared a statewide state of emergency.

Hurricane season began on June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, Sweet said. August and September are typically the peak time for the storms, he said.

“We want people not be scared but to be ready,” he said. “The time to start thinking about protecting yourself is now.”

And the best for homeowners to protect themselves is by purchasing flood insurance, he said.

Many homeowners are under the misconception they don’t need flood insurance because they don’t live in areas that typically flood, Sweet said. However, “there is nowhere that’s immune” from flooding, he said. “It can happen anywhere.”

Home flooding can be caused by a number of things, not just overflowing bodies of water. Among other causes are hillside runoff and overwhelmed storm drains, Sweet said.

According to Sweet, insurance is aways a homeowner’s best front-line defense against disaster.

“FEMA is not designed to get you back to where you were prior to the disaster,” he said. “FEMA can’t and won’t do that. But insurance can.”

If you would like a fast free flood quote contact  CCIS today!.  We will be happy to review your homeowners plan to make sure you are protected against water damage.