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Neptune has entered the insurance market with a brand new product for homeowners — flood insurance. They have a slick interface and provide a customizable quote with only 12 questions.
Here’s everything you need to know about Neptune flood insurance:
- Neptune vs. the National Flood Insurance Program
- Who needs flood insurance?
- Where is Neptune flood insurance available?
Neptune vs. the National Flood Insurance Program
Let’s compare Neptune to the prominent government alternative, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP):
| Neptune | NFIP | |
|---|---|---|
| Underwriting questions | 12 | 60 |
| Elevation certificate required | No | Yes |
| Max. building limit | $2,000,000 | $250,000 |
| Max. contents limit | $500,000 | $100,000 |
| Waiting period | 10 days | 30 days |
| Lender accepted | Yes | Yes |
| Contents coverage | Replacement Cost | Actual Cash Value |
| Building coverage | Replacement Cost | Replacement Cost |
As you can see, Neptune offers more coverage than the industry-leading flood insurer, NFIP. They also don’t require an expensive elevation certificate (often costing you around $400 – $1000).
Additionally, NFIP only offers actual cash value on your home contents, so you would only get reimbursed for the used value of your personal belongings. For example, if your couch is seven years old, you are only getting half a couch back. With Neptune, you can include replacement cost on your house contents to ensure you get back a full couch to replace the one that went surfing in the floodwaters.
Who needs flood insurance?
Should you consider flood insurance? Most people think it will never happen to them (and most are right), though when catastrophe strikes, it can be devastating. The average flood claim in America is almost $50,000.
$50,000 is a lot to lose in one storm. Sadly, only 1 in 6 people flooded by Hurricane Harvey had flood insurance.
You can check the flood risk of your address very quickly using my online risk assessment tool. It’s important to know that over 20% of all flood claims come from homes located in low-to-moderate risk areas. Remember, all the following all represent flood events:
- Storm-related flooding from the river, coastal waters, and lakes
- The collapse of water-related structures — seawalls, dams, levees, etc.
- Heavy rain that results in water pooling in low elevation areas
- Mudflow in typically dry areas
If you think you could be at risk of any of these events, you may want to consider flood insurance, even if that risk is minimal.
Where is Neptune flood insurance available?
Neptune offers flood insurance in nearly all 50 states, excluding Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming.
