04 Sep Long Beach California Flood Insurance
If you are going to live in and around flood-prone areas, Long Beach, California is perhaps one of the best flood-prone areas to call home. As a result of careful planning and construction of floodplains and levees, only a minute portion of Long Beach is classified as a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), even though the city is located along the ocean and is home to two significant channels of water.
What is a SFHA? The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) performs assessments on swaths of land to determine if the area is at significant risk for flooding. Areas that have a one-in-four chance of flooding at least once during a thirty year period are considered to be SFHAs. Properties in a SFHA that are mortgaged by federal agencies are required to be covered by flood insurance, and all other property owners in and around the SFHA are recommended to be covered by flood insurance policies. All SFHAs in Long Beach are located in the channels that guide the rivers that flow through the city and the marina areas located in the bays.
| Additional Precautionary Steps for Protecting Property Against Flooding
1.) Keep valuable documents in watertight containers on the highest level of the house. 2.) Ensure that drains inside the property are clean and functioning properly. 3.) Have supplies such as sandbags on hand to surround your house or important appliances such as air conditioners. |
Like many other locations around the country, the typical homeowners and business insurance policies of Long Beach residents do not provide coverage for flood-related damages. This fact is often not discovered until after a flood occurs and the property owner is faced with the damage and the sky high cost of the repairs. Without a flood insurance policy, damage-related costs can quickly reach tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars and must be paid out-of-pocket. At the very least this is a significant financial setback, but typically leaves many individuals unable to recover or rebuild.
Residents of Long Beach, California who are interested in protecting their financial investments from flood damage have two options when it comes to purchasing flood insurance policies. The first is to obtain a policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is backed by the federal government. Policies can be purchased through a large number of state, local, or national insurance agencies. A newer option on the market is the privately-backed National Catastrophe Flood Insurance Program (NCIP). NCIP policies are available in a limited number of states at this time, including California. Agencies offering NCIP policies tout the program as having lower premiums for more comprehensive coverage.
Whichever plan you choose, it is important to make the decision to purchase flood insurance now. Long Beach residents are not immediately covered by their policy once it is approved, as both the NFIP and the NCIP have waiting periods before their policies are made active. For the NFIP, a thirty day waiting period is enforced, while the NCIP waiting period is fifteen days. While a flood is not likely to occur in Long Beach, failing to obtain flood insurance coverage is the surest way to find yourself stuck in an undesirable financial position when a flood does occur and causes damage to your home or business. Contact us now for more information about the Long Beach California flood insurance.
All information is general in nature and is intended to provide guidance only. It is up to you to request specific coverage options, the agency and agent do not bear this responsibility. Always read the policy if there is a questions about coverage or a claim. If any information herein should conflict with your actual policy’s specific language, the policy language will be controlling.
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