Most homeowners’ policies
don’t cover flood damage.
If you are acquiring a property where floods have occurred in the past, it is foolhardy not to get flood insurance, especially in light of the fact that it is relatively easy to buy (more than 100 insurance companies offer it) and relatively inexpensive (government subsidies keep policy prices low).
To make it even easier, chances are that flood insurance will be available as part of the policy or policies you are already planning to buy.
The cost of a flood insurance policy for a single-family home averages about $475 a year. If you live in a low-to-moderate risk zone that is not near a lake, an ocean or a river, premiums might be even lower.
Two case studies you can profit from . . .
• The little house on the marsh. Paul and Rhonda bought a beautiful, brand new beach house on New Hampshire’s coast. It was located far away from the ocean, facing an inland marsh. “The marsh is not a tidal marsh,” the builder told them%
