Do You Need Flood Insurance?

10/30/2019 (Permalink)

As a business owner in Kansas City, MO, you may wonder whether you need flood coverage

3 Things To Know About Flood Insurance

As a business owner in Kansas City, MO, you may wonder whether you need flood coverage. Would your standard policy be enough to pay for damage? Commercial insurance agents should review your plan and discuss what is and isn't included. After all, your company is valuable, and you want to safeguard it. Since flooding is usually excluded, it often requires an additional protection. If you're exploring new policies, here are three things to know about flood insurance.

1. When Is It Needed?

While standard property insurance handles water damage from leaky pipes and other household issues, it does not pay for all conditions. For example, the following events usually require a flood policy:

• Water overflow from a lake, river or ocean
  
• Flash floods
  
• Intruding water from a land collapse
  
• Sudden mudslides
  
  

These situations can create a large financial burden, forcing owners to make significant repairs and call in water restoration teams to handle clean up and repairs.

2. What Does Building Property Cover?

Commercial insurance offers a building property policy that offers up to $500,000 to fix or replace your company's permanent structural features. After assessment, the agency would determine the cost to repair your business's water-logged areas. First, you would pay the deductible amount. Then, your agent would approve cash value replacement for your rebuild needs. This includes foundation or construction issues, carpet attached (when attached to bare foundation), walk-in freezers, fire systems, water heaters and air conditioner issues.

3. How Is a Personal Property Policy Helpful?

Purchasing NFIP's personal property plan through FEMA provides up to an additional $500,000 to replace items such as furniture, stock, food, and plug-in appliances. Submit an inventory of ruined items, including approximate cost to replace each one. Again, you'll need to pay a deductible first, before the check is sent.
Flooding may not seem likely, but it happens; therefore, take time to look over your coverage needs, considering both building and personal property policies. Then, set up a meeting to review the details. Commercial insurance agents, by finding the right plan, can help proprietors afford to rebuild, getting their property looking “Like it never even happened.”