If you are thinking about buying a new beach home, you’ll likely find it worthwhile. Nevertheless, you’ll also have to protect your property with the right insurance. One of the most important coverages, that will prove critical, is flood insurance. This is a specialty type of insurance outside the standard realm of homeowners insurance. How can you make it work for your beach house?

With Maryland’s coast along both the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, there is plenty of space available. When setting up your new home near water, make sure you flood insurance to protect it.

How do you get flood insurance?

You will most likely have to carry homeowners insurance if you use a mortgage or loan to buy or build a beach house (and even if you aren’t required to carry homeowners insurance, you should to protect your investment). It will insure your lender that you have protection for their investment in the property.

However, what you may not know is that homeowners insurance policies usually will not cover flood damage. Given that a beach house has a central focus on or near the water, going without coverage is risky. Beaches are flat, low-lying areas. Everything from storm surges to heavy rain showers run the risk of flooding your home. All beach house owners can benefit from targeted flood insurance.

Flood insurance comes from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and certain private insurers. This coverage will insure damage from water that invades your home. For example, after storm surge, your coverage will often help you make repairs to the home’s interior and exterior. Coverage might also cover other flooding like river swells or heavy rain. Therefore, with this coverage, you will protect the home’s value to you.

Protecting Your Home

Beach houses are unique entities. Often, they even require special construction because of the threats of invading water. By following certain plans, you often reduce the threat of flooding in the home.

Many people build beach houses on elevated surfaces. Some have flood wash zones under the floors. It is also not uncommon to see houses build on top of stilts. These elevate the building several stories above the ground. These construction elements often prove extremely sturdy and protective. Should water rise, the stilts often allow it to flow under the home, with minimal property damage as a result.

Talk to your contractor about the most secure way to build your beach house, and don’t forget to disclose construction features to the home’s insurer. They’ll  need to tailor coverage to suit the property.

Also Read: Insuring and Protecting High Value Personal Property