The rains are here again! Yay or Nay? Your choice!
As we plan for harmattan and Christmas, so should we for the rainy season. It’s not only about clearing the drains, ensuring the roads to your doorstep are tarred, or taking other precautionary measures.
Have you thought about the consequence of your car getting stuck in a flooded road on your way to work? Your compound overflowing with water and it damages your generator? Your furniture being drenched in water that seeped in from your flooded premises?
Now would be a good time for you to do all you can to reduce any devastating consequences of the season and ensure you are still standing (financially) when the season is over!
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Everyday many people – individuals, organizations, governments, and businesses buy insurance to transfer the risk of facing an unexpected loss in exchange for payment of a fee (premium). Without insurance many activities and processes would be deemed too risky and would not be undertaken and those affected by a loss might struggle to recover.
What You Should Know About Flood Insurance
Here are a few things you should know as you prepare to insure for this season:
- It is better to get flood insurance as an extension of your Fire cover – there is no need trying to find a stand-alone flood cover; it hardly exists! But the good news is; flood insurance is offered as an extension on a number of policies such as fire for your home, motor insurance, and so on.
- Your premium rating is a function of your location – so if you live in an area that is more prone to flooding, you will have to pay a high premium. Insurance is basically about frequency and severity. Those who live on the island in Lagos, for instance, will suffer higher flood consequences than those who live on the mainland, hence the premium will be higher for the former.
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- Policy excess – So insurance covers your insured losses in the even the risk crystallizes, note however, that you will be liable to bear certain amounts of the risk yourself called an ‘excess’. Excess limits are usually contained in the policy document and could either be a percentage of the amount being claimed or a fixed amount per category
- Exclusions – You should note the things that are not covered under your flood insurance. These, however, can be specifically covered under another policy. Such exclusions will include: unoccupied premises for more than 30 days, premises under construction or renovation, and without any measures for adverse weather conditions.
It is highly recommended that you purchase a policy that protects you and your assets against flood this period. You should also find out from your Broker how to extend your current policy to cover flood.
Oyinpreye Aigbogun is the Chief Operating Officer at Epicure Insurance Brokers (www.epicureinsurancebrokers.com) and can be reached on oyinpreye@epicureinsurancebrokers.com
