Insurance types

Flood Insurance

Flood insurance is becoming more and more popular as places that normally would not experience floods are suddenly finding themselves suffering losses as a result of extreme weather. To the surprise of many of these homeowners, their regular homeowners insurance policy did not cover against flood. This is a separate type of coverage that you will have to purchase if you consider flood to be a risk for your business or property. 

If you live in a flood-prone area and you have a mortgage, the lender will require you to purchase adequate coverage to insure the property. If you own the property, you can elect to self-insure and not buy insurance, but you have to remember that any damage caused as a result of flooding will be your financial responsibility. The cost of this kind of damage can run from the hundreds to thousands of dollars, so it's worth considering purchasing the insurance to transfer this risk, especially, if you live in a flood zone. If you don't live in a flood-prone area, you may qualify for a discounted rate, which means a lower premium for you. 

Windstorm Insurance

Like flood insurance, windstorm insurance is a separate type of coverage that protects your home or business against wind damage. Wind damage may result from items flying and destroying your property as a result of a hurricane, hail, snow, sand or dust.Coverage for windstorm may be limited in states prone to hurricane and tornadoes. If you live in a state likeFlorida, Louisiana, Texas or the Carolinas, which are frequently barraged by tropical storms or hurricanes, this should be an integral part of your asset protection planning. Consult with your agent or broker for more details on this type of coverage.

Umbrella Liability Policies

Umbrella insurance helps you protect your assets if you are sued. If you are worried that the liability insurance coverage you have through your auto or property policies is still not enough, you can consider adding an umbrella policy. An umbrella policy is basically an additional policy that kicks in when your other insurance policies have reached their limits. The amount of coverage and types of coverage offered by these policies varies, as will their premiums. You can tag on an umbrella policy to your homeowners or auto insurance policy to protect your assets against liability or lawsuits. 

Certain exclusions apply, including:

• Owned or leased aircraft or watercraft
• Business pursuits
• Professional services
• Any act committed by the insured with the intent to cause personal injury or property damage

Umbrella policies are fairly inexpensive to acquire, and coverage ranges from $1 million to $ 5 million or more. You might expect to pay between $200 to $500 for $1 million in coverage. There is no specific "umbrella deductible". Because an umbrella policy is written on top of any auto or personal property coverage you have, the benefit does not kick in until you satisfy the deductible on those policies and have used up the coverage from either the auto or property policy.