Natural disasters and weather-related factors can make for interesting television. It’s often fascinating how much power mother nature can have, and how we must respect that power. Even our finances should respect it!
Of course, what can be fascinating at times can be not so interesting when we are impacted personally. Unfortunately, we have seen some tragic weather disasters in the last decade throughout the world. Major earthquakes, hurricanes, devastating winter storms, and other events have occurred. While money obviously the isn’t the most important thing to think of when it comes to those situations, it’s still something to consider. This is why it can be really important to consider the right type of insurance for weather risks.
People living near water might want to think about this. I’ve previously written about my thoughts on waterfront living risks, and how there seem to be so many situations where people experience problems when living right by the water. By oceans we have risks of tsunamis, hurricanes, and simply major storms. By rivers and lakes we have flooding. There was even an “ice tsunami” this spring that resulted in ice being pushed ashore on lakes in Minnesota and Manitoba, crushing some homes. I’m not sure if snow insurance covered this, but it speaks to the need for a variety of insurance types.
Anyway, the bigger takeaway is that all of this shows why it can be important to consider flood insurance. You might be asking, “who should get flood insurance?” Well, with something you can’t control, like weather, there just might a need for such coverage for a lot of people.
Homeowners insurance might not cover all water damage. Of course, one must check his or her own policy for specifics, but quite often water damage from rain could be covered. However, if water damage resulted from ground-level water from flooding, storm surge, or events of the like – it might not be covered. As we can imagine, those situations can be devastating for homeowners! Thus, flood insurance can help out with those risks.
I don’t see the benefits of living on the water relative to the risks, or even in flood-prone areas. Apparently, some others feel the same way, as people in certain higher-risk areas might actually be required to get flood insurance in order to get mortgage.
Costs could vary, and specifics of coverage might vary as well. However, flood insurance could save you from a financial catastrophe, which might happen if somebody suffers flood damage and has no coverage.
My Questions for You
Have you thought about weather-related situations such as floods impacting your finances?
Do you think separate flood insurance could be important to obtain, in addition to homeowners insurance?
Do you know anyone who has been impacted by flooding?