Mobile Homes should be insured like any other type of home. Normally this means hazard insurance. But it also could be for flood or earthquake.

Hazard insurance covers damage from: Fire, wind, theft, vandalism, collision, freezing and pipe burst (leaks from pipes, washing machines, water heater, etc.)

Collision would be from a car or other automobile, or an aircraft. Hazard insurance includes the following categories:

A – Dwelling – this covers the actual structure. Typical cost per year for a normal mobile home will run from a couple hundred dollars to several hundred dollars.

B – Other Structures – this would be any other buildings like a shed.

C – Contents – this would be up to a certain amount for all of the belongings and appliances in the home. Make sure you video tape all of your contents and put the record of this in a safe deposit box.

D – Loss of Use – this would be for any expenses when you cannot use your home for any reason. An example is recently there were some fires in Santa Barbara California. Some residents did not have any damage to their homes, yet they were forced to evacuate. Well, their costs of evacuation would be covered. Not many people know this!

Flood insurance is either Preferred or Normal.

Preferred is when the home is not in a flood zone according to the FEMA flood maps. These maps are constantly changing and it is possible for a home to not be in a flood zone one year, and in a flood zone the next. Now, this is not typical but it can happen.

Normal flood insurance is when the home is in a FEMA flood zone.

Flood insurance is some of the most expensive, costing upwards of $1,000/year for a typical mobile home. To decrease this cost the home owner could get an elevation certification by a surveyor and if the home is high enough, the insurance cost would be dramatically reduced.

Flood insurance would cover dirt and debris from a flood, water damage from an actual flood or from a burst pipe, or any other type of water disaster.

Last, there is Earthquake coverage. This covers the structure from damage from an earthquake. Typically the most damage a mobile home will have from an earthquake is from coming off the foundation piers. This usually is not that damaging and can be righted quite easily by a mobile home contractor with the right tools. But, the plumbing (including gas) and electrical connections would need to be repaired. Check out our other elerts for more about putting a new unit on your space.

Introduction
Flood Insurance protects your house & possessions from loss by rising water from the outside. Think about a river or creek overflowing into your home… a frightening thought. Homeowner’s and other property insurance specifically exclude this peril.

If you own a house in a known flood risk area (i.e., the 100-year floodplain) with a bank loan, your mortgage bank will normally require flood insurance. For most homeowners, handling this mortgage bank flood insurance requirement is all they focus on and they ignore their true flood hazard. Then when a major storm does come, they have inadequate flood insurance coverage often with too little coverage on their house (often only the home loan balance) and no contents protection.

Also, over 25% of flood damage happens each year to properties outside of a known flood risk area (100-year floodplain). Central Texas had a recent example of an “out-of-the-blue” rain event that caused very intense flooding well beyond the known flood risk areas. The so-called “Marble Falls Rain Bomb” in June 2007 damaged over 100 homes & business around the city of Marble Falls with a very sudden 19 inch rainfall. A “Preferred Risk Flood Insurance Policy,” available to homeowners beyond the 100-year floodplain, can protect your home and possessions at a very modest price.

My city of Austin is part of the Central Texas “Flash Flood Alley” and has a long history of major flooding along its creeks and the Colorado River. Dams located on Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan, built in the 1940′s, has helped control the very destructive flooding of the Colorado River. Today, the biggest risk is along the many creeks in our urban areas and the Colorado River south of Lady Bird Lake dam. Shoal, Bull and Walnut creeks in North Austin plus Onion and Williamson creeks in South Austin have considerable history of inundating adjacent areas.

Our neighboring Hill Country also has many creeks subject to flooding plus several major rivers that can rage with great torrents after heavy rain. The Llano and Pedernales Rivers both have had major flood events in recent years. The Llano River, surging into Lake LBJ has caused major flood damage along its normally calm waters on several occasions.

The hardest part of understand both your flood risk and flood insurance policies is the terminology. Most folks are confounded by its mix of insurance and engineering terms. Once you have a key to decipher the flood insurance nomenclature, things will make more sense. You also want to understand what your “Flood Zone” designation means. Finally, I have included an overview of the main components of a flood insurance policy.

Flood Insurance Terminology:

Base Flood Elevation – This is the level at which there is a 1% chance of flooding in any given year. A building that is located on land below the “Base Flood Elevation” is inside the 100-year floodplain.

Elevation Certificate – Clarifies the relative elevation of your house in relation to the know flood risk. This allows for more accurate rating of the flood insurance policy and may reduce your flood insurance rates.

Flood Maps (“FIRM” – Flood Insurance Ratings Maps) – Created by FEMA’s (Federal Emergency Management Agency), these maps were created to determine which land areas are likely to be flooded. These maps are based on surveys of the elevation of land areas relative to known flood risks (creeks, rivers, lakes, etc.).

Floodplain – Any normally dry land area that is susceptible to being inundated by water often because it is adjacent to a watercourse. The 100-year Floodplain is the land that would be inundated by a 100-year flood event.

Flooding – Rising water from outside enters a structure. An example would be a house inundation from a flash flood. The flood peril also includes mudslide.
Hundred Year Flood – An engineering term used to describe the relative flooding risk. A house that is located inside the Hundred Year Floodplain is considered to have a 1% chance of being flooded in any given year. Most mortgages require that a house that is located in a Hundred Year Flood risk area must be insured for flood.

LOMA (Letter of Map Amendment) – Document used to establish that a building is not located in a Special Flood Hazard Area. A typical situation in which a LOMA would be important is when a part of a house lot is subject to flooding in a 100-year storm but the house itself has been built at a higher elevation.

National Flood Insurance Program – This is the government agency that provides insurance for the flood peril in the United States. Insurance companies are licensed to sell flood insurance policies for this government agency. All financial backing, rules and contract terms are set by the National Flood Insurance Program which is part of FEMA.

Special Flood Hazard Area – A geographic area that is prone to flooding. An example would be an area adjacent to a river that has an elevation low enough to be subject to flooding.

Flood Zones Designations:

A – River / stream flood risk
AE – River / stream flood risk with mapped base flood elevations
AO – River / stream flood risk with shallow water depths (1-3 feet)
AH – River / stream flood risk with shallow water paths (flows of 1-3 feet)
V – Coastal or Storm Surge flood risk
VE – Coastal or Storm Surge flood risk with mapped base flood elevations
X – Not a Special Flood Risk Area (elevation above the 100-year floodplain)

Flood Insurance Overview

Property Coverages:
Building – Provides protection up to your limit for damage or destruction of your house or other dwelling from peril of flood including rising water and mudslide.
Contents – Provides protection for your clothes, appliances, furniture and other possessions at your residence from peril of flood including rising water and mudslide. Flood Insurance offers “Actual Cash Value” as the basis of settlement. Contents coverage is optional and has a separate deductible.
Secondary Structures (fences, sheds, etc.) – None (No coverage is extended to secondary structures from the standard flood policy. Coverage is only available for the main structure.)

Loss of Use: None (not available which is unfortunate)

Helpful Links
FEMA / National Flood Insurance: FloodSmart.gov
Visit our website for more information on Flood Insurance: http://www.quoteaustininsurance.com/pages/home/flood-insurance.php

After the last few years the United States has faced some major storms. While everyone saw the damages from hurricane Katrina, not as many see what happens in other states as these storms move north. To make matters worse, with the increased construction of new houses in the last ten years surface water has less room to run. Just a few inches of water can cause tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

An important thing to know about your homeowners insurance policy is that it will not cover flooding. Flooding, also known as surface water can come from a storm or local body of water. Over one quarter of all flood claims occur in low risk areas. If your house is in a high risk zone the mortgage company can require you to carry flood insurance and it can be expensive. If your house is located in a low risk zone the cost is very affordable and well worth it. Flood insurance is provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and sold through local insurance agents.

If you are considering taking out flood insurance you need to know that there is a 30 day waiting period for new policies. That means that from the day you start the policy there is 30 days before the coverage starts. This is to keep people from taking a policy when they see a storm coming on the weather channel. This is one more reason why it is so important to start your policy now. For more information on flood insurance or to get a quote, call the National Flood agency: (610) 532-2800.

Increase Your Deductible

Just like auto insurance, policies have deductibles, and the same rule of thumb applies–carry the highest deductible you can afford. The higher your deductible, the more premium credit you can expect to receive from your insurance company. Your savings could reach 25% by increasing the deductible from $100 to $1000.

Improve Your Home Security

Most insurance companies offer discounts for smoke detectors, burglar alarms, dead bolts, fire extinguishers, and Neighborhood Watch Areas. Homes with a fire and burglar alarm system hooked up to a third-party monitoring company receive higher discounts than homes with local bell alarms.

Consolidate Policies

Insuring two or more vehicles with the same insurance company can save you 10 – 15% on your premiums. If you cover your homeowners insurance and auto insurance together, you can reduce your premiums by another 10 – 15%.

Construction Type

Before buying a home, consider its construction type, such as frame or concrete block and steel (CBS). A wood frame house typically costs more to insure than one built mostly of concrete.

Verify Distance To Fire Stations And Windstorm Areas

If you live in the country, you’ll probably pay higher rates for your insurance than if you lived in town. Why? It’s because of the longer distance to your local fire station. If you live more than 5 miles from the nearest fire station, and more than 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant, you will most likely pay a higher premium.

Before purchasing your home, you may want to get a quote for both and flood insurance. Insurance companies may not offer you windstorm or flood coverage, depending upon the area in which you live. If your home is in a hurricane prone area and your insurance company offers windstorm coverage, then installing approved hurricane shutters should result in a premium discount.

Claims Free Record And Renewal Discounts

If you have not had a claim under your policy during the past 3 – 5 consecutive years, you could receive up to a 15% discount, depending on the insurance company. Plus, most companies will discount your premium if your policy has been in force for 3 straight years.

Mortgage Free Discounts

Some insurance companies target who have paid off their mortgage and offer them premium discounts of up to 5%.

New And Renovated Home Discounts

A majority of insurance companies offer a discount for new homes, and you may qualify if your home was built in the last 10 – 15 years. Also, a recently renovated home costs less to insure, so find out when the last major electrical, heating and plumbing update was completed on the home.

Non-Smokers And Early Retiree Discounts

Some companies offer a non-smokers discount of up to 15% to qualified . To qualify, you must be a non-smoker and you cannot permit smoking in your home by anyone. Retirees or senior citizens are usually offered discounts because insurance companies believe they are home more often and are therefore better able to protect their home against fire and burglary.

Live-In House Keeper

Some insurers offer up to a 2% premium credit if you have a live-in employee as they feel it could reduce the likelihood of burglary.

Conclusion

After reviewing the foregoing savings tips, you may think that if you added up all your credits you could receive a 70 – 90% reduction in your premiums. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Certain safety or other measures you take may qualify you for being placed with the “preferred” company of a particular insurance group. This “preferred” company will be able to give you more premium credits than a standard company is able to.

Any form of natural calamity is unavoidable, and if you have bought a home in a flood prone area, you would be better off getting quotes. There are many homeowners who have bought a home in flood prone areas and they realize how important it is for them to get insurance for their property.

You can expect severe damage to your property and other belongings during times of flood. All the damage to your property could amount to a lot of money, and the best way to get compensated for your loss is through quotes. While there are many people who think that they could very well do without any kind of insurance, the truth is that you can never be financially prepared for a flood situation that could create havoc in your home. Imagine replacing all the valuables in your home? It could drain out all your savings and even leave you bankrupt. The most practical and sensible way to recover from damages caused by flood is to go for the right quotes.

These quotes need not always be very expensive. There are many of these quotes that are available for cheap, and could really come of immense use during times of emergency. This gives you enough reason to look for a quote that would suit your lifestyle and your budget. The purpose of this insurance is to not just get compensated for your loss or damages to your assets, but also help you clean up your home. Cleaning a flood ravaged home is not as easy as cleaning up any other ordinary home. At times doing up your home after a flood could cost you heavily, and this is where affordable quotes come into the picture.

The cost of these quotes varies from one area to the other depending on the location of your home. If your home is situated in a high-risk flood prone area, the cost of will definitely be higher. This also implies that if your home is in a low risk area where floods might or might not come, the cost of policies will be lower.

If you live in a high-risk area, it only makes sense to get a reliable deal on this insurance. It may look a little expensive to you, however when you consider the enormous expenditures that come with the occurrence of a flood, it sure is worth investing your money in. The cost of rebuilding a home after a flood could really bog you down, and preparing for such a catastrophe through the right is the best thing that you can do.

Since home insurance does not cover the flood situations, it is wise to go for a separate plan to safeguard your finances. Once you know the value of your assets, you can go ahead and choose quotes that could relieve you from a lot of stress and heartburn during a flood.

Nobody knows when floods happen. These are natural disasters that can just strike when we least expect it. We may live in deserts or atop a mountain and still experience flooding.

In fact, 50 states have reports of flooding. The reason behind this is that hurricanes or tropical storms are not the only causes of natural flooding. Flooding inside homes can also be due to the flash flooding and rising river water.

In layman’s terms, flooding is the combination of mud and water in an area. So if the water is not wet on a normal basis but it still combines these two elements, then there is still the possibility of flash flooding taking place.

What does flood insurance cover? This is a question practical people ask. They know that it is a necessity for any homeowner.

It protects their assets and saves them from additional costs just in case flooding is something they have to include in their problems.

The coverage depends on the kind of plan your insurance company offers you. There is a definition that you should know. If you live in a 100-year flood plain, this does not mean that flooding in your area will just occur once in a 100 years.

In fact, a lot of people ask What does flood insurance cover when they are in a 100-year flood plain. They don’t know whether they should get an insurance or not because of this.

The solution to this confusion is to look at the flood maps in order for them to know whether the location of the home puts the homeowner at a risk when it comes to flooding.

The homeowner should know the kind of flood plain that the risk level he is in with the area that he is residing.

So after discovering the cost of flood insurance, the next question for homeowners is What does flood insurance cover. Well, imagine that there are a lot of factors that should be looked upon.

Flood insurance covers a percentage of the damages cost depending on the following factors. They look at the coastal policies of the client. For example, living along a coast gives the insurance holder a high premium.

In this scenario, the question to what does flood insurance cover is lower than people who are residing in an area that rarely gets wet.

As accommodating as insurance companies are to people who are looking for flood insurance, they still have to make a business and the coverage of an insurance policy really depends on the possibility of the area taking place.

The higher the possibility of this happening and the higher the flood insurance means the less coverage in actual cost.