Travelers Flood Insurance
Travelers Insurance is one of the leading carriers providing flood insurance, and is a participant in the United States federal government's National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP. Flood insurance is not included in a regular homeowners policy and must be purchased separately. It is expensive, so most people take the risk of not buying it.
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Requirements
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The federal government requires mortgaged homes in certain specific flood-prone regions to have flood insurance. Homes that are paid for do not have this requirement. A mandatory flood policy purchased from carriers such as Travelers Insurance is a federally-backed policy, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The fund finances nationwide disaster-relief efforts.
Considerations
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Since flood insurance from Travelers or other companies typically costs several hundred dollars a year, most homeowners do not add it to their standard policy, especially if they do not live somewhere that seems to have much of a flood risk. They judge for themselves whether the gamble is worth it. One problem arises when people are unaware that flood insurance is not automatically included and then find themselves with flood damage which they have to pay for out of pocket.
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Effects
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According to the NFIP, flooding occurs in all 50 states, and 25 percent of all floods happen in low-to-moderate risk areas, exactly the ones where people commonly do not buy flood insurance. Flooding causes more weather-related property damage than any other event. FEMA officials would prefer that homeowners buy the extra coverage. They say some people who live in flood plains believe they can receive disaster assistance if the worst occurs, but almost all floods are never officially declared as disasters.
Features
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Travelers Insurance flood coverage supplies reimbursement for building and contents damage. Coverage for contents is particularly important for expensive items such as the furnace. The insurance also covers other appliances, carpeting, furniture, and additional items, although some limits are set for basements. Travelers flood insurance also reimburses for clean-up, and preventive measures such as sandbagging. Flood insurance usually covers other events besides natural disasters, such as a sewer line backing up into a house and damaging carpet or personal property. Deductibles are low, about $500 to $1,000 as of 2008.
Geography
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Travelers Insurance, like other insurance companies, has been trying to scale back risk exposure after several years of destructive hurricanes along the east and southeast coastlines. In some areas, Travelers has canceled commercial or homeowner insurance policies by non-renewal and will not issue policies to new applicants. People interested in obtaining flood insurance from Travelers or any other company should call independent agents in their area to find out if they are eligible.
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