Dealing with your home being flooded is a traumatic experience that most people hope to never deal with. Unfortunately, it seems to become a more common issue. In an average year in New South Wales sees 300 houses left uninhabitable; fortunately deaths from flooding are relatively rare.
Your problems will be far worse if you do not have adequate flood insurance. This is why it is important to establish if you need it or not. You cannot always rely on your mortgage provider to tell you.
Have A Survey Done
The first step is to have a building surveyor come out to your house and inspect it. They will be able to establish if there has been flooding in the past and what the risk is of future flooding.
It’s not enough to check the area and see if there are any lakes or rivers nearby. While these things can increase the risk of flooding, poor drainage and the lay of the land can also cause floods.
Heavy rain can cause a house to flood in a matter of hours if the drains are overwhelmed and the land slope causes the water to go to your house.
A surveyor will tell you the risk and help you decide if it’s a good idea to have flood insurance.
Check With Your Lender
Your lender may not have asked you to take out flood insurance but that doesn’t mean they don’t actually require it. It is a good idea to either ask them or look at the fine print of your loan.
It will probably refer to whether you are in a high risk flood zone or not.
Look For Yourself
If you choose not to take out flood insurance you need to be happy with your decision. Even if the professionals say you are not at risk it is worth looking round your area to assess what water sources there are and whether you feel they are likely to overflow and cause an issue.
You may not be an expert but your peace of mind is important.
Know Your Flood Zone
Take a look online at your area using the flood insurance website. This will allow you to enter your address or area and see what risk factor has been put on your property flooding. The information provided will be based on the number of floods that have happened in the past, the level of rainfall and the drainage system in place.
It is worth noting that even if you are in a low risk zone this does not mean you will never experience flooding. The only way to have complete peace of mind is to take out flood insurance anyway.
Of course, the lower your risk area the cheaper the insurance premium will be.
Assessing Your Costs
Flood insurance should pay out for you to remove the water from your home, repair the damage and replace any items which have been damaged or destroyed by the water.
This is why it is essential to value your items correctly; it is often more expensive than you think to replace your furnishings.
