Flood Insurance in The Villages???

[pmbinnj]

Looking to hear from anyone with flood insurance on their Village's home or any new home buyer who has been told flood insurance is needed in The Villages. We are in the process of buying a home but were surprised to hear flood insurance may be needed. Unfortunately, after super-storm Sandy hit the Jersey shore we became very sensitive to flood prone areas. Never thought we'd have to again buy flood insurance in the center of Florida :(

[indianavette]

I bought it but will not renew it. I don't believe it is needed.

[buggyone]

It would depend on where you have your home. I have seen some houses over at Hill Top golf course that probably needed it due to how the hill slopes right down into their house.

[OBXNana]

We bought flood insurance without a second thought when we purchased in The Villages. We have property in the Outer Banks that has a high premium and have never filed a claim. We live in PA, no place near an ocean or sound, and had extensive damage from a weak hurricane that was down graded by the time it hit us inland. We had damage. A bank may not require flood insurance for a loan, but that doesn't mean you will never be hit by a storm in the middle of Florida.

It's our personal choice to buy the insurance. Only you can determine your comfort level. There are other threads on this subject that deal with the state of Florida and damage done by storms in the past. You may want to do a search.

[Bonanza]

The flooding in most areas in TV is a real possibility. Not much fill was used in the construction of any of our homes. You do not have to live in a flood zone to need flood insurance. A homeowner's policy does not protect you from flooding, which can come from something as simple as a heavy downpour.


Floods are the #1 natural disaster in the U.S.
Losses total more than a billion dollars a year.
The average flood loss is in the $30,000+ range.
An inch of water can cause damage to your property.
Floods and flash floods happen in all 50 states.
Nearly 25% of all flood losses occur in low-to moderate-risk zones.
Flood damage is not covered by most homeowners policies.


And no -- I do not work for an insurance company
or have anything to do with flood insurance.
I just think that anyone who doesn't have it, is foolish.
JMO

[dbussone]

We bought flood insurance without a second thought when we purchased in The Villages. We have property in the Outer Banks that has a high premium and have never filed a claim. We live in PA, no place near an ocean or sound, and had extensive damage from a weak hurricane that was down graded by the time it hit us inland. We had damage. A bank may not require flood insurance for a loan, but that doesn't mean you will never be hit by a storm in the middle of Florida.

It's our personal choice to buy the insurance. Only you can determine your comfort level. There are other threads on this subject that deal with the state of Florida and damage done by storms in the past. You may want to do a search.

Well said. I also have coverage.

[Bizdoc]

If you go to www.sumtergis.com (for Sumter addresses) you can see the property map. One feature lets you click on the curves for revised flood plain (per Homeland Security). That may (or may not) influence you.

Keep in mind that 1 foot of water will make a mess out of your home - it isn't just the 10 foot tidal surge.

We have it and intend to keep it.

[meddicjr]

We were told we did not need flood insurance but went ahead and purchased it just to be safe. Also purchased sink hole insurance. May not need it but it makes me sleep better.

[Dreamer61]

Thanks Bonaza! Great information helped me decide to keep our flood coverage!

[justjim]

Unless you live in a floodplain I respectfully disagree about purchasing flood insurance. Sinkhole coverage yes. We are on our third TV home.

[NottaVillager]

We bought flood insurance without a second thought when we purchased in The Villages. We have property in the Outer Banks that has a high premium and have never filed a claim. We live in PA, no place near an ocean or sound, and had extensive damage from a weak hurricane that was down graded by the time it hit us inland. We had damage. A bank may not require flood insurance for a loan, but that doesn't mean you will never be hit by a storm in the middle of Florida.

It's our personal choice to buy the insurance. Only you can determine your comfort level. There are other threads on this subject that deal with the state of Florida and damage done by storms in the past. You may want to do a search.
Agreed. We spent a while living in a town that held the dubious honor of being the highest elevated borough in all of PA. Sitting up on top of a mountain we carried flood insurance there. Why? Because as the poster above mentioned there was a slow moving former-hurricane which hung in and poured down tons of water. As the water rolled down the streets it began finding it's way into basements.

One thing that needs to be remembered. When it comes to any form of damage where water MIGHT be considered the culprit do not expect your standard homeowner's policy to step right up and help you out. They will fight like hell to NOT pay you. They will NOT act as your friend.

Living in a place like FL where hurricanes and watery weather are a fact of life a flood policy makes good sense, and since TV as well as the surrounding towns are NOT in "major risk" areas the price for the policies are rather low. Ours costs a little over $200. A small price to pay for peace of mind on a major investment like your home.

[villagetinker]

BIZDoc, thanks for the link. I see from it that our house is only 5 feet above the "100 year" flood zone. I am going to take another look at the flood policy, we were quoted $129/year.

[Bonanza]

Unless you live in a floodplain I respectfully disagree about purchasing flood insurance. Sinkhole coverage yes. We are on our third TV home.

Jim -- I'm not sure you really understand what flood insurance is. I say that because you are basing having it or not having it upon whether or not you live in a flood zone.

Being in a flood zone is only one small part of having that kind of insurance. I'm not going to copy the many pieces of information here, but I think you will be surprised if you Google flood insurance and read the many different articles available on the subject.

[Bizdoc]

BIZDoc, thanks for the link. I see from it that our house is only 5 feet above the "100 year" flood zone. I am going to take another look at the flood policy, we were quoted $129/year.

We are above the 100 year plain, but still have flood insurance as we feel that it is prudent. Our last home did not have flood insurance, but it was 1400 feet above sea level on a mountain ridge. The closest body of water was roughly 500 feet below us. We figured that if we flooded, we'd need ark insurance rather than simple flood insurance... <smile>

[mulligan]

Simply put, your homeowners ins. does not cover rising water, irrespective of the source. That seems to be true of all policies, but I could be wrong there.

[dolpterry]

Just ask some of the locals that have lived here for years. They laugh and tell jokes about many areas of the Villages that are being built on very low land and swamp area. Just remember you can't sign up for flood insurance just before a wet Hurricane , I believe it's a 30 waiting period.

[Russ_Boston]

BIZDoc, thanks for the link. I see from it that our house is only 5 feet above the "100 year" flood zone. I am going to take another look at the flood policy, we were quoted $129/year.

Could you share that carrier? I thought flood insurance came from the Feds? For me it was over $400 per year. I'm in Buttonwood.

[graciegirl]

Been here for six years, and a couple of years ago there was seven inches of rain that fell here in a 24 hour period. There was some standing water in the road in the Mallory/Caroline area for a day or so.

You all do what you think is right. It is prudent to have insurance. But don't say that things are all graded incorrectly and shoddily. It doesn't appear to be true.


https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/how-much-rain-55693/

[NottaVillager]

Could you share that carrier? I thought flood insurance came from the Feds? For me it was over $400 per year. I'm in Buttonwood.
You can get Flood Insurance thru most any seller of homeowner's insurance. Mine comes thru Villages Insurance..BUT..the policy is written by FEMA.

[OBXNana]

Could you share that carrier? I thought flood insurance came from the Feds? For me it was over $400 per year. I'm in Buttonwood.

Flood Insurance is Federally mandated and every company, from our experience, quotes the same rate. Our villa is in Pinellas and we paid $176.00 in February 2014 for a flood policy. Our insurance is with The Villages Insurance and from what we could see, ASI wrote the policy's for the two insurance company's we contacted for a price. Both gave the same number.

I'm not familiar with FL insurance, but FEMA looks at maps to determine the possibility of having to pay a claim. In NC it's public record and you can see the rate of erosion and how the price of the policy is determined. Possibly, there is a similar map for the 3 counties that have The Villages.

Over $200.00 difference between our policy and your quote of $400.00 seems like a lot. Could it be you have a more expensive Designer Home and we have the Court Yard Villa? It would be cheaper to rebuild our villa, but having damage to adjoining villas, would seem to potentially drive up the cost too.

I hope you can work this out if you feel you would be more comfortable having the flood coverage.

[Russ_Boston]

Flood Insurance is Federally mandated and every company, from our experience, quotes the same rate. Our villa is in Pinellas and we paid $176.00 in February 2014 for a flood policy. Our insurance is with The Villages Insurance and from what we could see, ASI wrote the policy's for the two insurance company's we contacted for a price. Both gave the same number.

I'm not familiar with FL insurance, but FEMA looks at maps to determine the possibility of having to pay a claim. In NC it's public record and you can see the rate of erosion and how the price of the policy is determined. Possibly, there is a similar map for the 3 counties that have The Villages.

Over $200.00 difference between our policy and your quote of $400.00 seems like a lot. Could it be you have a more expensive Designer Home and we have the Court Yard Villa? It would be cheaper to rebuild our villa, but having damage to adjoining villas, would seem to potentially drive up the cost too.

I hope you can work this out if you feel you would be more comfortable having the flood coverage.

Ok some valid points. I had it for 2 years and the cost was $440. I dropped it last year.