An Insurance Claim Post-Mortem for Hurricane Florence – Proactive Claim Solutions
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An Insurance Claim Post-Mortem for Hurricane Florence

Virginia and the Carolinas experienced the worst parts of Hurricane Florence through massive widespread flooding. This flooding has taught many lessons and echoes the experience of Superstorm Sandy. When nature calls with its feder bands and torrential rainstorms, it’s time to re-examine your insurance claims. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) issues policies that fall under a Federal Government program that carries out their own set of rules and regulations.

It’s insightful to understand the difference between a flood event and a water loss because these terms are usually misused among policyholders when filing a claim. Knowing the difference will actually make an impact on how much you receive from your claim. 

Water loss is the most typical claim in the insurance world and they are usually covered, if and only if the water event comes from inside the building or home. If a storm breaks a whole in your home or blows the roof off, allowing water to enter, then you have yourself a water loss situation and can file a claim. Other examples: broken water lines, water from an appliance like a dishwasher, a hot water heater break or a ruptured ice maker line. In order for coverage to exist, the accidents have to be sudden and accidental. If it’s been sitting there for a very long time and ignored, it might not be worth filing a claim.

Let’s look at a flood loss. According to the NFIP, “a flood is a general temporary condition where two or more acres of normally dry land or two or more properties are inundated by water or mudflow.” In the wonderful world of insurance, flood loss is associated with any water that enters from the outside, unlike water loss claims that are a result of an appliance inside a home. Flood events are only covered if the owner purchased a flood policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The next time a big storm gets on our radars, make sure you are covered by both water loss and flood loss claims. 

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