So – Do you think Noah Bought Flood Insurance?

 

First of all, I have to apologize for ignoring all of you over the last couple of days.  You know how us Norwegians are – we sometimes get our priorities mixed up and don’t always do what we should be doing.  I also need to point out that you shouldn’t miss out on the “Norwegian Humor” that’s listed over in the right-hand column on this page.  You just might learn a thing or two about Lutefisk and Lefse!!

That being said, – what’s your opinion?  Do you think Noah bought flood insurance before the Big Flood?  His weather forecasters must have been pretty accurate – 40 days and 40 nights of heavy rain would do anybody in.  Back in the days when Ole and I made the last mortgage payment on our house there was no such thing as FEMA “flood insurance.”  I actually don’t think there was any such thing as FEMA!!  Now THAT goes back a long ways, doesn’t it?  Ole and I haven’t made a mortgage payment since 1987. 

Back in 1997 when the severe flooding started we had a long conversation with our insurance agent (Hi, Bob!).  Now, we’ve had the same insurance agent for many, many years and he’s never steered us wrong.  Back at that point in time we discussed flood insurance with him and he advised us not to bother because the coverage was so limited.  In so many words he said flood insurance is a rip off.  As Ole says, it’s a vehicle put in place by the lending institutions to protect their interests in your property.  If your home is flooded and you walk away from it, the insurance will pay to repair it so the lending institution isnt’ “out.” 

So all these years Ole and I have never carried flood insurance.  This year, due to all the gloom and doom forecasts that are being put out we decided to investigate again – possibly there have been some changes over the years, etc.  I spent one entire day on the phone speaking with a number of different insurance agents that handle flood insurance.  I came away very disillusioned with this government program – but then, People – it’s the Feds -why should I expect to feel positive about it.  I’m going to tell you what I found out and if there are any insurance agents out there that can give me DIFFERENT information, I would invite them to contact me or post a comment on this blog and inform me differently.  In fact I would welcome it.  I really would like to have more faith in our federal goverment.

First of all, I found out that the annual premium for flood insurance on our property would be $1100 +.   You have to have an elevation certification from an engineering company as to the elevation of your home which can cost anywhere from $1000 to $1500 in our case.  After checking on the FEMA Flood Insurance web page that gives you “everything you ever wanted to know about flood insurance and then some” I determined that NOW – which wasn’t the case a number of years back – you can get flood insurance coverage for personal belongings.  BUT – after speaking with a number of agents that all told me the same thing – even if you buy the coverage for personal belongings – if you have anything in your basement that is easily removable you better get it to the main floor of your home because the only thing that “personal coverage” covers is those items that are not “easily removable.”  IE.  furnace, hot water heater, water softener, freezer (in some cases), etc.  It DOES NOT COVER sheet rock in a finished basement, any furniture, carpeting, or other personal items you may have in your finished basement.  IN OTHER WORDS – empty your basement or suffer the consequences.  And then it also depends, as I was told by several agents,  on the adjuster that looks things over as to what will be covered.  If you have someone that’s “hard core” you’ll end up with a lot less covered than if you have someone with a “softer heart.” 

What a bunch of “crap” – at least that’s my take on it. 

I wrote recently about a flood information meeting that our community had.  I spoke with a gentleman after the meeting who lives in an area that’s flooded regularly but so far his house has remained dry, as has ours, although his access (driveway) also goes under.  He also hadn’t carried flood insurance because he didn’t have a mortgage.  Last year, due to the gloom and doom forecasts that the Weather Bureau put out he opted to buy flood insurance.  There’s something about a $1000 deductible, but if you put forth an effort to save your home you get that first $1000 back.  He told me that he put out several thousand dollars in sandbags and sand to protect his home.  Fortunately, the water didn’t get high enough to even touch the sandbags so as a result FEMA denied him the $1000 reimbursement because the sandbags didn’t get wet.  I’m not even going to comment on THAT item. 

Ole and I have been dealing with the Buffalo River Watershed Board for the last three years trying to get a ring dike to protect our property.  To this point we are still “dikeless.”  I’ll cover these issues in another entry.  At this point we would LOVE to have a buyout.  We’re both very tired of dealing with all this water every spring with all the cleanup that follows.  Here’s a few more pictures of “clean up.” 

 

Love, Lena