Miami Property Owners: Know the Difference Between Flood and Homeowners Insurance

6/6/2017 (Permalink)

Water that rolls into a property from the outside ground may not constitute a covered event by homeowners insurance.

Pretty much everyone we meet in Miami, Miami Beach and Surfside gets confused about one topic in particular: the differences between flood insurance and homeowners insurance.

The differences are substantial, and most definitely worth reviewing. Our first piece of advice is to consult with your insurance agent to understand the differences in your policies, so you know what covers what ... and what might NOT be covered.

Typically, flood insurance pays for damages caused by the rising of a body of water that covers normally dry land. For example, if heavy rains cause a river to overflow and the waters from this river rise up and enter your property from the ground, this would be a "flood" and you would likely tap your flood insurance policy for coverage; homeowners insurance would not apply. On the other hand, if a toilet supply line burst in your property and spread water into your home, the opposite would be true. 

These distinctions are critical for many reasons. Chief among them is the fact that many people think they are covered for both types of losses by having one type of policy, alone. This can be a costly mistake! Among the other important distinctions: In our experience at SERVPRO of Miami Beach, flood,insurance policies tend to be far less forgiving. The flood insurance programs tend to not cover many necessary elem to of a cleanup bill, and a property owner can end up being responsible for a larger portion of a cleanup bill compared to a standard homeowner loss.

These distinctions are increasingly important especially for property owners and property managers on coastal areas such as Miami Beach and Surfside, which are seeing higher incidences of flood losses.

Apologies for the cliche, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Being educated on these important distinctions is the first step toward securing that ounce of prevention.