Flood insurance: What is it and why is it important?

It has been a colder spring than other years, but emergency management officials say that flooding is still on its way. Here’s the question: Are you ready for it?

“Already down in Portneuf River, in the southern part of the state, they are having a little bit of flooding,” said Keith Richey, the Fremont County Emergency Management Office coordinator.

Which should also make homeowners concerned.

“Beware that there’s a possibility that there could be flooding in their area, and to be aware of their surroundings if they live close to a river, keep an eye on that,” Richey said. “We are encouraging people to get flood insurance now.”

What is flood insurance?

“The simplest definition of flood is any exterior water coming into your home,” said Michael Infanger, the owner of Infanger Insurance.

Infanger said that most home insurance policies will cover interior water damage, like if a water heater were to leak.

“But if you have anything outside coming in then it is considered flood which is normally excluded on your typical home (insurance),” Infanger said.

He said that home policies typically exclude: flood, earthquake or landslide. That’s where getting that flood insurance comes in handy.

“The thing with flood insurance is that it’s relatively expensive, you’ll pay almost as much as your home insurance is,” Infanger said.

If you are someone that lives in a place that has flooding typically, you may want to get insurance as soon as possible.

“If someone is having flooding right now, then they go get insurance it’s not going to do them any good,” Richey said.

According to Infanger, that insurance does not kick in until about two weeks to a month.

“There really isn’t a better time, the rates are all typically the same,” Infanger said. “Whether you buy it in the spring when there’s more of a risk or you buy it in the summer when there is less risk, the rate is going to be the same.”