Have You Been Plugging the Gaps in Your Florida Home Owner Insurance?

Have You Been Plugging the Gaps in Your Florida Home Owner Insurance?

There's no place like Florida when it comes to kicking up your heels and kicking back with a Mai Tai on the beach, and the huge mosquitoes and the occasional hurricane are a small price to pay for your own little slice of paradise. And hey, as long as you've got a good home owner insurance policy watching your back you're covered no matter what, right? All you have to do is sit back, relax and watch the palm trees blowin' in the breeze.

Back up. Protecting your home from the little nasties Mother Nature and good

How much of this mess will be covered by your Florida home owner insurance?

ol' Murphy like to throw your way is a little more complicated than signing on the dotted line. Even after the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina thousands of home owners across the US are still blissfully oblivious about what their Florida home owner insurance does and , more importantly, doesn't cover. It's up to you to make sure you're filling in the gaps.

Floods

Living on the east coast in the middle of hurricane season makes you think two things when it comes to your home-wind damage and massive flooding. Most Florida home owner insurance policies offer some kind of coverage against windstorms (the better to rebuild your house if it decides to take a quick trip to Oz) but they're going to leave you high and dry if your house floods.

Figuratively speaking.

The best thing you could possibly do if you live anywhere near the Florida coast is to touch base with your insurance agent and talk to them about buying flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, sponsored by FEMA. These policies are available for anywhere $300 to $600 a year, depending on how "high risk" your part of town happens to be. Yes, that's a lot of money, but it's only a fraction of the cost youll pay to rebuild your house if it gets swept away.

Earthquakes

There's only been one earthquake in Florida history that's caused major damage to local buildings, so earthquake protection probably isn't something you have to worry about. It's good to know, however that your Florida home owner insurance policy probably isn't going to cover the damages if you happen to be one of those rare cases next time around-and if you ever decide to relocate to the west coast you need to know your insurance isn't going to pick up the pieces. Extra coverage is a must.

Sewage

Now, of all the things that your Florida home owner insurance could possibly say no to, you wouldn't think sewer damage would be it. Wouldn't you expect your home owner insurance to pick up the damages if your sewage pipes backed up and spilled over into your living room? So would I. Most of them don't, however, and those that do usually have a very strict cap on how much they're going to be willing to pay.

Not entirely fair if your backup isn't Hot Wheels related, but there you have it.

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