Tips for Protecting Your Home and Business From Flood Damage

Maximize protection and minimize loss during an unexpected flood event.

The best time to prepare for flooding is before the risk is imminent. By taking a few measures before the risk is present, you can maximize protection and minimize loss during an unexpected flood event.

If a flood strikes your business, you could lose data, inventory, equipment, technology and other valuable assets. Your building could be destroyed or severely damaged. Depending on how long it takes you to get back up and running, you could also lose income while you’re closed.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE BUSINESS FLOOD PREPARATION CHECKLIST

Have the right protection in place

Talk with your insurance broker about flood protection. You might be surprised to learn that you often need additional flood insurance to cover flood damage.

Flood insurance typically covers damage to your home and its contents, as well as other buildings on your property. This may apply to a variety of situations, such as overflowing rivers, heavy rain, storm surges or excessive snowmelts.

Knowing what isn’t covered by flood insurance is also critical. For instance, property outside of your home is not covered. Vehicles aren’t typically covered under flood insurance purchased for a property, but may be covered under a comprehensive auto policy. Understanding coverage and limitations will ensure you’re adequately protected.

Basic commercial property insurance doesn’t usually cover floods, so look into getting coverage from your broker. As is the case with residential property, costs vary depending on how much coverage is purchased and the particular property’s flood risks.

Protect your property

Protecting your home or business involves knowing the potential flood risk. If you’re unsure of your property’s flood risk level, find out. Review the flood maps for your area or ask your insurance broker.

To safeguard your property against flooding, you can take the following steps:

• Protect electrical and climate systems. Homes and businesses have many electrical components, including switches, sockets and circuit breakers. This wiring should be at least a foot above the expected flood level in your area.

• Elevate outdoor equipment. Take an inventory of outdoor electrical equipment and create a plan to elevate it. This equipment may include fuel tanks, air conditioning units and generators.

• Modify water valves. Consider installing an interior or exterior backflow valve to minimize the risk of sewage backing up into your property.

Once a plan is in place, don’t forget to account for the contents of your home and personal property during a flood event.

Safeguard essential documents

Most people think about property damage during a flood, but there are additional risks like damage to essential and hard-to-replace items. Make a list of essential items and store them in a single location so they are ready to grab and go if you need to leave in a hurry. Examples include:

• Prescriptions — Gather essential prescriptions, medical equipment, batteries, eyeglasses, hearing aids and other important medical items.
• Critical papers — Assemble hard and electronic copies of critical documents like birth certificates, Social Security cards and passports.
• Personal needs — Gather food, water, first-aid kits, cash and phone chargers.
• Priceless items — Place irreplaceable mementos and other valuables like photo albums and keepsakes out of reach of floodwaters.
• Business Critical Information – Keep backup copies of important documents offsite, ideally in cloud storage

Move forward with greater security

There are many things to consider when planning for a flood, but among the most important is insurance. Are you adequately covered in the event of a flood? You may assume this coverage is provided under your standard policy, but special flood insurance is often required.

The best time to consider flood insurance is before a flood risk is announced. Speak with us about existing coverage, policy limits and additional options to protect your property.

 Give us a call

Speak with us about existing coverage, policy limits and additional options to protect your property. Don’t hesitate to “Collis” at 403-265-5475 or email us at info@collisinsurance.ca to discuss how you can protect your property and assets.

Copyright © 2020 Applied Systems Inc. All rights reserved.

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