Flood Insurance
 

My home backs to the Chitty Chatty Preserve. Is there any reason to get flood insurance? Does anyone know where the water in the creek that flows through the preserve drains? We are not in a flood plain but I'm worried.
Thank you for your advice.

If you are not in the flood plain, don't buy it.

As Retired Guy suggested " if you are not in a flood plain" you do not need flood insurance even if you have a mortgage currently. In an AE flood Zone the risk is 1 % in any year but it can happen at any time. You are basically self insuring.

What I will describe is what you see using the Sumter County GIS information and your property address to get a visual on the flood zones in your neighborhood. ( I believe that Chitty Chatty is Sumter County.)

From a cursory look at the flood zones, it appears that there are low lying areas such as wetlands and retention ponds that are in Flood Zones. But I did not see any homes/building lots in flood zones.
1. Go to Sumter County appraiser website
2. Go to search records
3 input your name or address and "agree " to conditions and search.
4 On the right side you will see GIS Map and click on it.
5. On the left side click on Layers
Check parcel, major roads, flood zones both A and AE.
You should now see the flood zones in reddish and greenish colors.
6. Move the map around and expand locate the flood zones.
7 Once you see the nearest flood zone to your home, zoom in and maybe you will see an exit waterway. My guess is that there is no stream but the rainwater seeps into the ground in the wetlands. I live on a retention pond that can overflow to a large wetlands area. This wetlands has a ditch that runs under Morse and eventually reaches Lake Deaton. Ditches generally show as different vegetation in a satellite view map.

Try it. It will help you get comfortable with no flood insurance but there is no guarantee.

Thank you. I went to the Sumter maps and we back to a red AE zone.

A flood implies moving water, meaning a river / stream / overflowing its banks from hurricanes and other NWS classified events. Insurance companies do use weather classifications for damage payout validation

Rising standing water implies a thunderstorm stuck over your house for two days, like what happened in Ft Lauderdale recently, and the drainage system is not adequate for that much water, like 23 inches in a two day stretch. .

ask specifically about other insurance offerings for water damage. .

what's the difference between your house and swampland?

about 2 feet of dirt. .

It's a good idea to buy the optional sewer backup insurance, which is usually available as an add-on to your homeowners policy. That is about the only rising water coverage available without having flood insurance.

I’m an Allstate agent working from home in The Villages. You do not have to live in a flood zone to experience flood. The recent heavy rains in Broward County reached catastrophic proportions. The hurricanes late last year also caused extensive flood damage and many areas affected were also not in a flood zone. The cost to protect a several hundred thousand dollar asset in my opinion are well worth not taking that risk. You are most likely looking at roughly $400-$500 per year. I’ll be happy to provide a flood quote to anyone interested. Please call 954-437-9220 ext. 308 or email hrichardson4@allstate.com. I am off today and will be back tomorrow. Thank you, Holly Richardson.

It was 23 inches of rain in 7 hours.

Good morning,
I took a Masters Naturalist class from the University of Florida on wetlands, my term paper was on the hydrology of the Hogeye sink, which is located in the Hogeye Preserve.

All of the runoff in the surrounding area of lake Deaton runs into Lake Deaton, which overflows into the Chitty Chatty Creek that goes under County Road 44 into the Chitty Chatty low lands were it gathers more water. It circles around and flows under Morris Boulevard on the north end of the Continental country club where it gathers more water while going through the Lake Okahumpka low lands. It then flows under the turnpike into the Hogeye preserve. The sink is located close to the pitch and putt golf course, where the water goes underground into the upper Floridian aquifer. It flows for 2 miles underground and comes out at the Fenney Springs. From there it goes into Shady Brook Creek, which flows into Lake Panasoffkee, which then flows into the Withlacoochee River that empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

Very interesting. Thank you!

True information.
If you talk to HR or not, you should investigate with an agent (or two) and as with any insurance.............it's a personal choice on risk assumption.

As a retired Flood Insurance adjuster I can tell you that any house can flood simply from heavy rain that overloads the drain. Living near a creek increases the possibility because creeks are meant to move water. If you are not in a flood zone then flood insurance would be pretty cheap. You can purchase it from most any insurance carrier that sells it. Check with your HO carrier first. It is better to purchase from an insurance carrier then from National Flood Insurance for customer service issues.

I would suggest everyone to look at your property and you should be able to see if you are higher up than others on your street or are you the lowest (they will flood first). Check out the cost and decide. Chances are you will never flood but chances are your house will never burn down too.

PS: Flood Insurance cost the same no matter who you buy it from so no need to shop around.

About 5 or 6 years ago there was a hurricane that came through ,mostly rain I had a courtyard villa on the golf course behind Pinellas Plaza they were set a few feet up above the course , in the morning after the storm the whole golf course was covered with water just the way the course was built to do , but is was very cool to have lakefront for the day , the villages flood plan works pretty good

Water that infiltrates the home, not as a result of storm damage is considered a flood. Even water entering the home from storm damage can be contested by your insurance company. Why? What came first...the flood or the storm? These catastrophic rain storms, that only happen every 100 years haha...,could potentially flood your house and you would not be covered. You need to weigh the cost.

We are going into our second insurance year starting Jun 15. I purchased a flood policy last year for under $500 - as stated all quotes were the same. I received a renewal letter for just under $1100. Not sure this year.