Emergency management planners in Cape Coral have believe that it is not a matter of “if” the city would be impacted by a major hurricane, but rather “when” a storm would arise. In August 2004, the City of Cape Coral first experienced the effects of a major hurricane. Hurricane Charley is the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. It attained a peak intensity 150 mph (240 km/h) winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The hurricane lasted from August 9 to August 15. The damaging impact of hurricane Charley left ten deaths in the United States and numerous cases of injuries. NHC estimated property damage in America to be around $15.0 billion.
Despite the effects of the tragic event, many homeowners are not acting upon the importance of flood insurance. On a national scale, only 20% of American homes at risk for floods are covered by this type of insurance. According to research from Bankrate.com and a poll from the Insurance Information Institute, more than four in five Americans know that a standard homeowner’s insurance policy doesn’t include flood protection. Nevertheless, only 13 percent of homeowners have a flood insurance policy in 2012.
Doug Whiteman, insurance analyst with Bankrate.com, said in a news release, “This is a classic ‘do as I say, not as I do’ situation,” Whiteman added, “The vast majority of Americans know the key facts about flood insurance, but they haven’t taken the necessary steps to protect their homes.”
According to the report of news-press.com, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) recognize flooding as the country’s No. 1 natural hazard. Whiteman said that homeowners should be familiar with their FEMA flood risk designation and then explore the possible cost and availability of a separate insurance policy. Regularly, the Federal Emergency Management Agency classifies properties as either high flood or low-to-moderate flood risks.
Since, the sunshine state is not always sunny and that it sometimes experience weather disruptions, it is important to be prepared. In Florida, there are more than 2.1 million flood insurance policies active today. Still, there are households in the sunshine state that remain at risk. With 11 million households in Florida, only 13 percent of the state’s households are covered.
To reduce homeowners’ flood risks, Cape Coral property management experts suggest purchasing a flood insurance policy as most homeowners insurance does not cover floods. Also, it is important that homeowners understand their policy. It would help to conduct a thorough documentation of your belongings. This will help you file your flood insurance claim. Usually, there is a 30-day waiting period before a policy becomes effective. Each year, the flood policy has to be renewed.
If tenants are renting a home they need to remember to get renters insurance to ensure that their belongings are covered in the event something happens to the home they have leased. It’s usually not the responsibility of the landlord to cover the tenant for loss of belongings so it’s in the tenant’s best interest to cover themselves no matter what type of homeowner’s insurance the landlord has for the home itself. Typically renters insurance for a year of coverage is not terribly expensive and is well worth the peace of mind the coverage will bring the tenant.
