BY LISA SHARRARD
SHORTS
Get Ready for Summer Storms
and Hurricane Season
Checking and updating flood insurance policies is recommended
TLANTIC hurricane season officially runs from June 1
to Nov. 30. In preparation, remember that Mother
Nature does not always abide by this time frame.
Coastal North Carolina has experienced storms
before and after those calendar dates.
In anticipation of hurricane season, property owners should
review and update all building and/or contents flood insurance
coverages and replacement cost values with an
agent.
Pro-Active Preparation
NATIONAL Flood Insurance Policies (NFIP) provide “loss avoidance” coverage. Per the fine print in
the policy, the NFIP will “reimburse certain actions you take to minimize damage to your home and
belongings before a flood. You may be eligible for reimbursement up to $1,000 for materials to
protect the property and up to $1,000 to move insured property away from an imminent flood,” not to exceed
the policy limits. There is no deductible and filing a claim for loss avoidance alone will not count as a claim
toward repetitive losses.
14 june 2022
WBM
Inflation has driven up the cost of repair and replacement,
so homeowners will need to ensure they have sufficient pol-icy
coverage to address their potential needs. This applies to
both homeowners’ insurance and flood policies. Flood pol-icies
require that the building coverage be 80-100 percent
of the Replacement Cost Value (RCV), up to the maximum of
$250,000 under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP),
to pay out replacement cost at the time of a claim. Under the
NFIP, contents coverage is confined to Actual Cash Value (ACV).
A. Sandbags, Supplies, and
Labor
(1) Up to $1,000 for costs you
incur to protect the insured
building from a flood or
imminent danger of flood,
for the following:
(a) Your reasonable expenses
to buy:
(i) Sandbags, including
sand to fill them;
(ii) Fill for temporary levees;
(iii) Pumps; and
(iv) Plastic sheeting and
lumber used in connec-tion
with these items.
(b) The value of work, at the
federal minimum wage, that
you or a member of your
household perform.
(2) This coverage for sandbags, supplies
and labor only applies if damage to
insured property by or from flood
is imminent and the threat of flood
damage is apparent enough to lead
a person of common prudence to
anticipate flood damage. One of the
following must also occur:
(a) A general and temporary condition
of flooding in the area near the
described location must occur,
even if the flood does not reach the
building; or
(b) A legally authorized official must
issue an evacuation order or other
civil order for the community in
which the building is located calling
for measures to preserve life and
property from the peril of flood.
A
Go over the specific language in an individual policy. Specifically, the standard NFIP Dwelling policy form allows for:
B. Property Removed to Safety
(1) We will pay up to $1,000 for the reasonable
expenses you incur to move insured property
to a place other than the described location
that contains the property in order to protect
it from flood or the imminent danger of flood.
Reasonable expenses include the value of work,
at the federal minimum wage, you or a member
of your household perform.
(2) If you move insured property to a location
other than the described location that contains
the property, in order to protect it from flood
or the imminent danger of flood, we will cover
such property while at that location for a period
of 45 consecutive days from the date you begin
to move it there. The personal property that is
moved must be placed in a fully enclosed build-ing
or otherwise reasonably protected from the
elements.