The recent, nearly overwhelming, flooding in California has brought the importance of flood insurance, and understanding flood insurance, to the forefront. A new survey titled, The Neptune Consumer Survey of Flood Risk Awareness, finds that a huge percentage of consumers are totally confused about flood insurance.
Most insurance people understand flood insurance but very few consumers do. And when you consider that 98% of the homes in the Golden State do not have flood insurance, the issue becomes even more important.
Here’s what Neptune found about most consumers:
- A huge percentage think their homeowners insurance covers flooding when it does not
- Many think the risk of their home being flooded is lower than it really is
Neptune’s study did find that consumers do recognize that flooding could be an issue and is an important factor in any decision to purchase a home. Here’s more from the survey:
- 85% of homebuyers will look at flood risk before purchasing a home
- However, 65% think flood risk is higher now than it was in the past
- Older respondents think they’re at lower risk in the next five years than younger respondents
- 19% of homeowners responding with homes in a FEMA flood zone didn’t think their home was in a flood zone
- Of those knowing their home is in a flood zone, 17% don’t know the FEMA flood zone where their home is located
Of those 266 people surveyed that don’t have flood insurance:
- 60.9% said they don’t believe they are at risk
- 30.4% say flood insurance isn’t on their mind
- 30% noted they don’t have the disposable income to buy flood insurance
- 27% said flood insurance is too expensive
Neptune’s story found the most alarming part of the survey is that 75% of those responding claim they have flood insurance. However, FEMA statistics say that only 5% of us — on a national basis — are insured for a flood event.
Source link: PropertyCasualty360.com — http://bit.ly/3x22uEb
