New Jersey Flood Insurance
(Quotes, Cost & Coverage)
Get New Jersey flood insurance quotes, cost & coverage fast with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Keep your NJ home and property protected from flood damage.
NJ Flood Insurance
When it comes to New Jersey flood insurance and your condo, renters and homeowners insurance there are some important points to keep in mind.
A common question is, "I already have NJ homeowners, renters or condo insurance - am I already covered?" The simple answer No. It is important to be aware that a standard homeowners, condo or renters policy does not cover damages resulting from a flood.
Homeowners, condo and renters insurance typically cover dwelling damage that comes from the top down; like as rain and wind damage, or originates inside like fire or burst pipes - but it doesn't cover rising water and flooding. This is why you might want to consider purchasing a New Jersey flood insurance policy.
There may be a waiting period for your NJ flood policy to take effect. For example, there is a 30-day waiting period for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) flood insurance policies to become effective. This is why you can't wait until you see a big storm on the weather channel, or wait until hurricane season to buy flood insurance for you home, apartment or condo.
Next, a "flood" is generally defined as "a temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from:
- overflow of inland or tidal waters, or...
- unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, or...
- mudflow or collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves, or...
- currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined above.
Do You Need Flood Insurance?
Now, in case you think that New Jersey flood insurance is only for homes that are on or near the water, that's not necessarily the case. For example, even if you live several miles away from water flood waters can still reach your home, as happened during hurricane Sandy. In fact, nearly 25% of flood insurance claims are paid on policies in low-to-moderate-risk areas.
What's more, it's not always a major body of water, or even a major storm, that causes a flood. Things like a broken sewer line to a slow moving rainstorm can cause flooding. Furthermore, experts say your home has a 26% chance of being damaged by a flood over the life of a 30-year mortgage.
Your mortgage company may require you to get NJ flood insurance if you live in a high-risk area, and this extra expense often surprises home buyers.
If you own a NJ business, you can learn about New Jersey commercial flood insurance.
How Much Does New Jersey Flood Insurance Cost?
How much does New Jersey flood insurance cost? This is the question most on people's mind when they are shopping for a flood policy. Because flood insurance is not a one size fits all, and there are many factors that are taken into consideration in your premiums - the easiest way to get flood insurance rates is to contact an agent to discuss your situation. Then you can get an accurate flood insurance quote to see the cost.
Below are some of the main factors that make up the cost of New Jersey flood insurance for your apartment, condo or home:
- Your NJ property's flood risk - what flood zone you are in. More risk = higher premiums, less risk = lower premiums.
- How much coverage you need. More coverage = higher premiums, less coverage = lower premiums.
Read more on the New Jersey Office of Recovery and Rebuilding page. You can also look up your flood zone at: FEMA Flood Map Service Center: Search By Address.
How Can I Buy New Jersey Flood Insurance?
Although flood insurance has only been available to homeowners or renters through the NFIP, it is now available through private insurers, including surplus lines insurers. This means more options when you are shopping for flood insurance.
When buying flood insurance, it is important to consider the kind of coverage you need. There are limits to these policies - the highest amount your policy will pay for a covered loss. If you have damage or losses over the amount of your policy limit, you are responsible for those costs.
Insurance companies write different types of flood insurance policies including dwelling - the structure of your home - up to $250,000, and its contents - your personal property within the dwelling - up to $100,000.
If you want to cover your dwelling and property for more than the NFIP's maximum limits, you may be eligible to purchase additional coverage known as an excess flood insurance policy.
NJ Flood Insurance Quotes
Request a New Jersey Flood Insurance quote in Atlantic City, Bayonne, Bergenfield, Bridgeton, Camden, Carteret, Cliffside Park, Clifton, Dover, East Orange, Egg Harbor, Elizabeth, Elmwood Park, Englewood, Fair Lawn, Fort Lee, Garfield, Glassboro, Hackensack, Hawthorne, Hoboken, Jersey City, Kearny, Linden, Lodi, Long Branch, Millville, Morristown, New Brunswick, Newark, North Plainfield, Palisades Park, Paramus, Passaic, Paterson, Perth Amboy, Plainfield, Pleasantville, Point Pleasant, Rahway, Ridgewood, Roselle, Sayreville, South Plainfield, Summit, Trenton, Union City, Vineland, West New York, Westfield and all other cities in NJ.
Insurance Regulations In New Jersey
There insurance regulations that govern both business and personal insurance in the state of NJ. There are certain regulations that you want to keep in mind whether you are getting insurance as a private party, or you may have a business and are concerned about the regulations and oversight of your business insurance.
New Jersey Commercial Insurance
The regulations governing business insurance start with general liability insurance. General liability insurance protects you from lawsuits from people that come on your property with a variety of coverages. For example, it may protect against bodily injury, it may also protect against property damage caused by your business - for example, if your sign falls on someone's car - or it may protect against advertising, false arrest and lots of other different things that can happen. However, keep in mind that general liability insurance is not required in the state of New Jersey.
There are certain types of insurance that are required by businesses in New Jersey though. One of the regulations governing business insurance in New Jersey requires that anyone who has a full-time or part-time employee carry Worker's Compensation insurance to cover that employee. Workers comp is sort of like health insurance for employees that get hurt on the job.
In addition, NJ law says that employers must provide employee disability coverage to provide income for employees who are injured on the job and have to take time off due to a temporary or permanent disability. Finally, businesses in New Jersey are required to carry commercial auto insurance for company vehicles.
NJ Personal Insurance
The first type of personal insurance that will be discussing is auto insurance. Personal auto insurance in New Jersey requires that the driver carry $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident in liability coverage. In addition, there must be an additional $5000 for property damage.
As far as life insurance regulations, insurance companies must be regulated by the Department of Banking and Insurance which maintains all records of insurance companies that are licensed to do business in the state. In addition, residents have a 10 day free look period, a grace period of 30 days and insurance companies must make payments in a timely fashion; which is within two months of receiving proof of death from the beneficiary.
If you are looking for state specific flood insurance quotes, costs and information: California Flood Insurance, Colorado Flood Insurance, Delaware Flood Insurance, Florida Flood Insurance, Illinois Flood Insurance, Kentucky Flood Insurance, New Jersey Flood Insurance, New York Flood Insurance, Oregon Flood Insurance, Pennsylvania Flood Insurance, Texas Flood Insurance, Washigton Flood Insurance.
More Information on Flood Insurance
Floods can happen suddenly and can do tremendous amounts of damage. Following is some more useful information about flood insurance polices: