Flood Insurance?

I wonder if you buy a separate flood insurace for your rental properties. I have rental properties in Tampa, Atlanta and Las Vegas. I do not worry about Las Vegas, but flood is a threat to my houses in Atlanta and Tampa.

My property insurance excludes any damages caused by flood, which I think is typical.

So, do you guys buy separate flood insurance for your rentals? If so, how much you pay and any recommendation for insurance company?

Brandon Turner

Real Estate Investor · Montesano, Washington

Pro

2,012 posts
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Dec 20 '12, 08:47 PM

I buy flood insurance if the lender requires it. Most of my properties are located in a federal flood plain, so they do require it. It's not cheap ($900 a year, or so) and you have to buy a separate policy for each house.

Brandon Turner, BiggerPockets
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Joe B.

Real Estate Investor · Sacramento, California

Pro Basic

277 posts
1 award

Dec 20 '12, 10:06 PM

All flood insurance is backed by the NFIP, the carriers just service the policies. The rates are all the same based on the floodzone and elevation. Buy it from the same agent that provides the landlord insurance. It is inexpensive if you are not in a flood zone. 30%+ of all flood claims are from water/sewer back ups that are generally not covered on landlord policies.

Marc Bodinger

· New York City, New York

253 posts

Dec 21 '12, 07:06 AM

Not sure what the laws are like in the states of concern to you but as someone from the NY metro area, get the flood insurance. I have never seen so much damage due to flooding in my life. One coworker of mine told me they had it for years and years and it was a complete waste of money and luckily they had it for this one.

Naga A.

Real Estate Investor · Atlanta, Georgia

117 posts
3 awards

Dec 21 '12, 08:07 AM

I wonder how many landlords have flood insurance for their rentals. $900 a year for each house is not cheap at all.

Marc Bodinger

· New York City, New York

253 posts

Dec 21 '12, 08:22 AM

Well I doubt landlords would have those policies unless their properties were near or in flood zones. I think going forward flood zones should be edited based on the frequency and impact of these mega storms have had in recent years.

Bienes Raices

· Orlando, Florida

2,427 posts
6 awards

Dec 21 '12, 09:44 AM

I don't have it because all of my houses are in Zone X (low to moderate). I'm taking a bit of a risk, I know. The problem would be if a tropical storm stalled over this area and created rising waters.

Ron Robin

Real Estate Investor · Marrero, Louisiana

43 posts
2 awards

Dec 25 '12, 05:39 PM

https://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1
This is fema flood zone map,
All flood Insurance is Federal.
My properties are all south of New Orleans (yes there is something south of New Orleans other then swamp.) One property is in flood zone X and I pay about $200 dollars a year. The others are in AE and I pay about 1200 a year each.