How do you know if you need flood insurance?

How do you know if you need flood insurance?

Whether you live inside or outside of a high-risk flood area, if you own property, you should consider purchasing flood insurance for the protection and peace of mind it brings. Let TAS Insurance Agency, serving Phillipsburg, NJ, help you understand when your property requires flood insurance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) creates flood maps that rate the flood risk of an area. All properties located within this area get designated with that risk rating. Any property within a high-risk flood area must obtain flood insurance as long as it has a mortgage outstanding. That’s because the government, via the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), insures all mortgages. The government doesn’t want to lose its money, so it requires flood insurance via the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The government does not get your insurance premiums though. NFIP merely approves local insurance carriers who meet quality checks to offer you flood insurance.

You can easily find out if you need to buy flood insurance. If you already purchased your home, locate your closing paperwork. Find the section in the documents titled "Natural Hazards Disclosures." If there is a disclosure listed that classifies your property as Zone A or Zone B, you purchased property at high risk for flooding.

If you have yet to purchase property and you’re just house hunting, you can find out without the purchase information. You can look at a FEMA map to know if you will need insurance. You visit your post office or county assessor’s office to look at a map. Simply check the property address on the map. If it lies in Zone A or Zone B, it requires flood insurance.

Contact TAS Insurance Agency serving Phillipsburg, NJ, to learn more about flood insurance and what options you have. Ask us about contents only policies for renters, if you did not buy your property.