With confusion on whether they’d be at risk, many Hurricane homeowners did not have flood insurance, now battling checks for thousands of dollars in repair. (Photo: Samantha Hoffman, KUTV Reporter)
HURRICANE, Utah (KUTV) — With confusion on whether they’d be at risk, many Hurricane homeowners did not have flood insurance, now battling checks for thousands of dollars in repair.
Homeowner Elizabeth Lucas lives along 850 West in Hurricane. She says she first went to get flood insurance about a year ago after seeing clogged drains from a rainstorm.
"I was told that it's excluded from my policy and that I'm not in a flood zone. And so in my mind, that meant I don't need flood insurance," Lucas said. "They could, could have said, 'There are flood insurances that you can purchase that will provide safety for your home, even if you're not in a flood zone.' So that would have been really helpful."
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When monsoons hit Aug. 14, she watched the water take over her home, and lost flooring, cabinetry, beds and drywall.
"I wish I would've known the risks. I just didn't know," Lucas said. "I was relying on an insurance company to just know what was best for me and my family."
Utah Insurance Commissioner Jon Pike says the typical homeowner’s insurance doesn’t include flood coverage.
"If a flood really originates inside a home, like a pipe breaks, then that would typically be covered under your homeowner's insurance," Pike said. "But if that flood originates outside the home, then it's not."
He says it’s important to investigate a separate flood insurance policy.
"We have kind of a saying in the industry, if it rains where you live, you might want to consider having flood insurance," Pike said. "Even on any street, it may not even be close to a river or close to a hillside, some of these thunderstorms, these microbursts can happen, and you can end up with flood in your basement or flood in your home, floodwaters in your basement or flood in your home as a result of that, and that's not going to be covered by your typical homeowner's policy."
Pike says some homeowner’s insurance companies offer flood policies or private flood plans. More commonly used, there's a National Flood Insurance Program. Depending on if areas are in a floodplain, costs range from $500 a year to over $10,000.
"When there's been a flood, it very easily could be something that is noted by insurance companies and they could update their maps," Pike said. "You could see some increases."
While some insurance providers may drop coverage to an area more prone to floods, Pike says the National Flood Insurance Program allows people to still have coverage opportunities available, "but at what price?"
"That's the kicker, is depending on how high risk that property is, the premium could be very high," he said. "There will be coverage. It's just how much do you have to pay for it."
He added that as the national program and FEMA maps are updated, some premiums have gone up tenfold and become out of reach for many buyers.
Lucas asks individuals to do their research, insurance agencies to give clear information, and cities to ensure updated flood maps are easily accessible, with much of FEMA’s resources not up to date.
"[Flood insurance] is still expensive, but for us it would've been worth it," Lucas said. "It's far more expensive to replace all your furniture, all your carpets than just have a policy that would provide the coverage."
Pike says it is up to the individual to assess the cost of insurance and valuables and decide whether to get flood insurance, but there is a FAQ fact sheet by the Utah Insurance Department to assist decision making, linked here.