Home Owners Insurance Quotes – Are they really important?
Here is the story of how our home was almost wiped out by flood.
Why is a Home Insurance Quote So Important? For many years I didn’t think that I would ever need to use my Home Owners Insurance and I even wondered why I was paying monthly for something that would eventually cost me as much as my home. Well last year I found that my insurance was to save me and my family from being homeless. So, I thought I would share with you what happened to us and our home during a hurricane in Florida.
No, We did not get Hit By the Hurricane….No the hurricane didn’t flood our home and there were no tree limbs flying through our windows….
Our issue was a result of the hurricane but was more self inflicted than anything. After you hear this story, you will understand why you need to get a home insurance quote to protect you and your family from becoming homeless.
We were home for about 14 hours with no electricity and the weather was getting worse. We knew that it was just a matter of time before the storm would continue up the coast of Florida and there was a chance that the hurricane would hit our area.We decided to head out to a local hotel that we knew had power as a place to stay for the night. The storm came and we were in the hotel for 3 days and we heard that electricity had been restored in the area where our home is located.
We checked out of the hotel thinking that this was the end of our stay.As we made our way home, we saw many homes under water, cars and trucks were covered. We passed by cow pastures where cattle were up to their necks in water and were all huddled together trying to be on the high ground. There was not room for all of them so many were stuck with their heads held high trying to breath. Just a few more inches and they would not see the next day. I had many thoughts running through my mind about what we would see when we reached our own home.
When we pulled into our driveway we found that our home was not flooded. There were no signs of flooding like what we saw on our trip home. We though, whew, all is well at our house… Little did we know what we would find when we opened the door. I entered the garage and came into the house through the kitchen. Water poured out of our house like a flood and my heart sank.My kids were in tears and my wife was frantic as we made our way through the house in the water. I made my way through the house and found our wooden floors covered in water and warped beyond repair. We began sweeping and using shop vacuums to get the wate out of the house. But, it seemed we could not make a difference, the water was soaked into the carpet and was under the wooden flooring.
So, you may be wondering what happened… How did all of this water get in our house if there was no flood in the yard? Well very simple… We have a well and do not have city water. One of our children had turned the water on in our garden tub. The tub was already filled with water because we wanted to have water in case the electricity was out for a long period of time. Since the electricity was out when we left our home, there was no way for us to know that the water was in the on position.The water had been flooding our home for more than 24 hours.
I looked over our home owners insurance policy and we did not have flood insurance. I was very concerned when I called our Home Insurance Company. What a relief to find out that we were covered due to this being an internal flood. Had this water been a result of outside water, we would have been without coverage.
We spent several weeks back in that same hotel while the insurance company brought in specialist to clean up our home and replace the flooring.
I posted this personal story for a couple of reasons.to get the word out to others that do not have city water and run their water from a well. Make sure you check that all water is off when you leave your home for extended periods while the electricity is out. You may want to turn the pump off all together. Another reason is to encourage others to make sure they have the proper insurance coverage.You really want to make sure you are covered with the proper insurance. How close were we to being homeless?
