Flood Insurance

Water Damage Repair and Restoration

Here’s the first thing you need to know about your flood insurance: You may not have any.

Right, we know, you have a comprehensive homeowner insurance policy and you live in Tampa Bay, Florida, so you must have flood insurance as part of that policy, right? Nope, probably not. Not unless you specifically contracted for an addenda policy covering the cleanup, repair and restoration of water damage incurred as a result of flooding.

If not, if you do not have an adequate flood insurance policy in place and your home floods, in the State of Florida and the Tampa Bay Area your insurance claim will never become an insurance claim. Thus, you will be financially responsible for evacuating the water, cleaning up, replacing water damaged walls, ceilings, drywall, flooring, carpets, furniture… And then there is the mold…

So what types of water damage does your homeowner insurance policy cover? In general, you should be okay if, say, a severe storm shatters a window or blows the tiles off your roof. But if the insurance company decides you were negligent in the upkeep of your home, like they say you failed to repair bad and deteriorating plumbing, you might be in for a battle. f

In any case, if you live near the water, like on or near a floodplain, along the inland waterways or close to the Gulf, and if there is the slightest chance you may incur flooding due to, for instance, a tidal surge or overrun seawalls or river banks, make sure you have adequate flood insurance in place. flood insurance,  flood insurance, flood insurance,  flood insurance,  flood insurance, flood insurance, 

And here is a not very fun fact: According to FEMA, of all federal assistance rendered to households afflicted by flooding, 30 percent are not located in what FEMA designates as being of high risk of flooding. So your best bet is to cover yourself in advance. It may not cost as much as you think.

The good news from the Federal Government is that about 20,000 US communities can take advantage of the National Flood Insurance Program. Even better news, premiums start at about $130 a year (right, that’s a year). Do you live in a community qualifying for a policy issued by the National Flood Insurance Program? We think so, if you reside in the greater Tampa Bay Area or most other Florida cities. To be certain, you can check with FEMA.

Look for your city or town on the FEMA list. FEMA also provides a set of handy online tools to rate your risk, estimate water damage repair cost in advance and find an agent able to sign you up with the National Flood Assistance Program. To learn more. They also offer a handy PDF booklet about the program with easy-to-understand info. Once you have insurance in place, rest easy. Yes, the flooding of your home will not be pretty or pleasant, but at least you know it will be paid. Then you just need to call a qualified, certified and professional water damage repair and restoration contractor. That’s where we come in.

If we can provide more information, feel free to call or email Classic Restoration and Reconstruction. We’re here to help.

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Classic Restoration and Reconstruction, a building, construction and bio-hazard removal contractor fully licensed, insured and bonded within the state of Florida, primarily services the Florida cities of Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, New Port Richey, Clearwater, Port Richey, Holiday, Odessa, Oldsmar and Hudson.

Classic Restoration and Reconstruction is a private business owned and operated by Florida native, Michael Huss. Learn more about us.Flo