CINCINNATI — Severe weather overnight Wednesday into Thursday left homes rattled across the Tri-State.
One family in Aurora, Ind., had their home completely leveled, while neighbors in Florence saw trees collapse onto roofs. And in Clermont County, some residents near Stonelick Creek were left with flooding.
WCPO spoke with Chris Kendall, the executive director for the Greater Cincinnati Insurance Board, to hear what people looking for insurance can do.
Watch to hear an insurance expert explain the options for people looking for flood insurance:
“The first thing is you want to make sure you take an inventory of whatever damaged property you have," Kendall said.
Kendall also said it's important to act quickly.
“If you do it within a couple of days, at least inform your agent, 'Hey, I’ve had some damage. I’m trying to assess what has been damaged,'" Kendall said.
But not all types of storm-related damage are usually covered on standard insurance.
“Unfortunately, standard homeowners policies, flood is excluded. And the rule of thumb, again, is if it comes from the ground, you likely don’t have coverage. If it comes from the top, you should have some coverage," Kendall said.
Flooding can be very difficult to predict, which is one reason why it's not in most insurance policies, according to Kendall.
There are options to add flood insurance. Kendall pointed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Flood Insurance Program.
The NFIP works with 47 insurance companies in more than 22,000 communities, according to FEMA.
“There’s a limited amount of coverage you can buy from FEMA," Kendall said, "Now your agent may be able to sell you what’s called excess flood. It’s a policy that sits on top of the FEMA limits."
Kendall recommended working with your agent to find what policies and coverage work best for you.
