As catastrophic floodwaters overwhelm local neighborhoods, what should you do if your home or car is hit? Rob Way has the story.
Rushing floodwaters gushing from buildings and damaging homes.
Cars suddenly submerged or wrecked by collapsing roads.
What should you do if your property is hit?
Experts say: take pictures and videos ASAP.
“It’s a good idea to document your losses. You can do that with a lot of people have cell phones with cameras on them,” said Loretta Worters with the Insurance Information Institute.
Dry out your house or car.
“It’s very important to start the recovery process. You want to make sure to dry everything out; mold can start very quickly,” Worters said.
Contact your insurance company immediately.
The good news, if you have comprehensive auto coverage, your car should be covered.
“You will have coverage for any kind of flooding that happens and that includes if the car is demolished if a tree falls on the car,” Worters said.
But unfortunately, flooding is not covered by standard homeowners insurance policies — only by separate flood insurance.
“Sadly, people will be getting a very traumatic surprise today because flood insurance, if you don’t have it, unfortunately, you’re not going to have coverage,” Worters said.
Experts say though the floodgates have opened for some homeowners — consider getting flood insurance before the next disaster strikes.
“We’ve done some surveys that show that people are not prepared for disaster. You know, people are living in more risk, riskier areas, building more expensive homes, and this is having a devastating effect on our country,” Worters said.
Bottom line, call your insurance company and file a claim. Find out what coverage you have or what you might need in the future. Here are links to more insurance claim information and how to protect yourself from a disaster:
How to file an automobile insurance claim
How to file a flood insurance claim
The Insurance Information Institute’s survey found 64% of homeowners say they are not at risk of flood, while 14% are unsure of their flood risk.
Here are some flood-related statistics.
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