Running out of time to get flood insurance coverage

“It's always stressful.”

Business for Insurance Agent Christine Rasmussen is starting to pick up after Friday's new outlook.

“It's approaching quickly.”

The spike in calls comes after a lull where not many people had been interested in flood insurance. Rasmussen says too many people are putting off buying, hoping for the best.

“How could you possibly have two major floods, two 100 year floods in a row? It's unheard of.”

Since that now is a chance, time is ticking. For a policy to go into effect, it takes 30 days. That means if you buy tomorrow, your home isn't covered until March 22nd. The flooding had already started by then last year.

“It’s not just the river they need to be concerned about, it's the overland flooding.”

With the sheer amount of snow we have so far, homeowners are starting to buy flood fighting supplies, sandbags, plastic sheets, and pumps. But for your insurance to cover them, the receipts need to be dated after your policy takes effect.

“A flood policy will actually reimburse insurance up to $1000 for those costs, so that's a big investment they could get back.”

Flood insurance for a 150 thousand dollar home is about 326 dollars per year.