Flood Insurance?

[cappyjon431]

My wife and I are so excited to become permanent residents at the end of the month (we close August 29th).

We are in the process of getting homeowner insurance for our home and we noticed that the policy does not include flood insurance. To add flood insurance is only $300/year more, but I was wondering if the area is prone to flooding? At that price I am leaning towards purchasing flood insurance. We will be moving into the Village of Alhambra and didn't know if this area might be more prone to flooding.

Thanks for any input!

[texasfal]

You are more likely to need sinkhole insurance than flood insurance.

[swrinfla]

cappy:

I personally cannot see any need for flood insurance. Unless you're living along a river (none in Alhambra, to my knowledge), or a major lake (no major lakes there, either), then it seems unnecessary!

And, consider, that almost every body of water within the confines of The Villages, has been lower than ever seen in the last several years all year!

Just my gut feeling!

Welcome to TV!

SWR
:beer3:

[RayB]

I have lived in Florida for 25 years and I would never be without flood insurance. Even if I am not in a flood zone. There are so many things in Florida which could go wrong related to water damage which is not covered by regular household insurance. Ask those people in the Panhandle in the Hurricanes several years ago. State Farm would not honor water damage for those not having flood insurance when the Hurricane not only caused physical damage to the houses but also caused water damage inland from the rising gulf waters. SF paid what they said was damage from the Hurricane but not damage from water. I believe lawsuits are still not resolved. The cost of the government underwritten flood insurance for homes not in a flood plain is so very low that it is not worth it to not have it. Over the years, I have seen rain come down so heavy that the back yard flooded from run off from neighbors yards and came up to my sliding glass doors and seeped in to the living room. I have seen rain during a tropical storm driven so hard by wind, it come in through the crack in a door or window. Why risk a fight with the insurance company over water damage? The cost of Flood insurance is so low, it is worth the peace of mind.

[wendyquat]

We just got our homeowners from AAA and they suggested flood insurance. I think it was less than $150 per year! We first said no but we bought a courtyard villa and I got to thinking about the surrounding walls and what might happen if we had more rain than the drains could handle. In my mind I can see it backing up into the villas sitting right on the ground! We saw the damages from floods in NC when areas in the town where we lived flooded up to 5 feet inside (and these had crawl spaces). There is no river or body of water within 10 miles of the place but 2 hurricanes hit back to back and dropped over 17 inches of water in a very short time swelling the drainage ditch that surrounded the town. All of the flooded homes were near the drainage ditch (which had become clogged with debris downstream). It was not in a flood plain and it was not supposed to happen but it did. It took several months for the homes to dry out sufficiently to repair everything but just about the time they were getting back to normal it happened again!
(By the way, since it was not in the flood plain the property owners had no flood insurance!) After the second flooding they did get a FEMA buyout but it is something I never want to experience! We decided to pay the $150 and have the peace of mind of having it.

[under55]

Very good response.

[cappyjon431]

Thanks for all the input. I am always impressed with the thoughtful information provided by TOTV members. You guys are great!

We decided to go with the flood insurance (at least for the first year, then we will reevaluate). One of the reasons that we decided to get the coverage is that we were told that while the house is covered by the previous owner's policy up until closing on August 29th, if a storm were to cause major damage to the property prior to closing, the insurance companies have the discretion of locking us out from purchasing coverage for up to sixty days. Being hurricane season and with a storm brewing in the Caribbean presently, we opted to buy the insurance.

I am well aware of the potential damage from hurricanes and tropical storms, having been raised in Miami (and living through Hurricane Andrew) and having lived in the Bahamas, Belize, and Wilmington, NC. My move to TV is the first time in my life I have not lived on/near the coast, so I wasn't sure if the coverage was really necessary. I guess it is better to err on the side of caution, especially for the minimal cost of the insurance.

[glenbrook]

We purchased flood insurance our first yr in a coutyard villa. When we have lots of rain, the water comes up to the front door. About an inch deep.
Although we are not close to a body of water, there is always a chance of a sewer back-up. Do not them fool you into a false sense of security about this not a possibility of occuring.

By-the-way, I understand there were some villas flooded during the last big rain storm. Caused by sewer back-up. It was in the Village of Mallory.

At least we have peace of mind that we have a flood ins policy. It is not that costly. It is well worth it to us.