MONSOONS, FLOODS, INSURANCE AND YOU!
When you think about insurance in Arizona, your thoughts might not immediately run to flood insurance.  After all, it might seem that buying flood insurance in the desert would be like buying sneakers for an elephant – – it just doesn’t seem to make sense!  That, however, might be an erroneous thought!  For example, between October of 1977 and February 1980, Phoenix experienced several “100 year floods” that resulted in eighteen fatalities and over $310 million dollars in property damage.  Bridges across the Salt were washed away and so many streets closed that the only way to traverse the Salt was at the Mill Avenue Bridge and Central Avenue Bridge.  Rush hour traffic became a complete nightmare, even worse than during the building of the light rail, and while property damage was high it was nothing compared to the adverse affect the floods had on commerce.
There is a host of people who do not have flood insurance in Arizona, or do not have adequate coverage.  In some parts of the country flood coverage is mandated, especially by banks, and, as a result homeowners find themselves at the mercy of the rules and regulations they must abide by.  Such is the case in Florida where, after Congress voted to extend the National Flood Insurance Program five more years in June of 2012, they face the possibility of having their flood insurance premiums double in the next four years!
“When I broach the topic of flood insurance,” Jim Bivona of BIVONA INSURANCE GROUP, an insurance brokerage firm in Glendale, Arizona, reported, “I usually get a wry smile or outright laughter.  What I explain,” he went on to add, “is that flood insurance, like any other insurance, adds piece of mind.”
Bivona had several interesting points to share in regard to what to consider for flood insurance in Glendale.  First of all, we are talking about water that comes in from the outside.  If you have a pipe burst or some other equally undesirable event happen inside your home, your homeowners policy will cover that.
Also, if you buy the standard, run of the mill flood insurance, you might find that it will only cover damage done to items six to eight inches above the floor!  To have everything “protected”, you need to have additional coverage.
The last point that Bivona made, and this is important, is that you need to find out whether you live in a flood plain or not.  If you don’t, then coverage for flood insurance will be relatively inexpensive.  However, if you do live in a flood plain, you are more apt to need the coverage should we experience another 100-year flood.
While there are many insurance companies in Arizona who offer flood insurance, such as TRAVELERS, you will want to check with your agent and see exactly where you are at in regard to this situation. Or, if you prefer, you can contact Jim Bivona at 623-256-1000 and he and his staff will be happy to review your policy and advise you whether or not you are properly covered should we ever be blessed with a major overabundance of rain!!
To learn more about the BIVONA INSURANCE GROUP go to www.bivonainsurance.com

To learn more about this topic, visit the sites below:
Flood insurance could double in four years
Floodinsurance mandate defeated in Congress [The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.]
Downpour floods streets, overwhelms resacas

http://www.fcd.maricopa.gov/education/history.aspx