Flood Insurance Nightmare

A Houston family's flood insurance premium went from $475 to about $2,600 annually! Umesh and Kimberly Kant moved into the home on Sapphire Circle near FM 1488 in March 2016. Their home were flooded twice in less than two months. The first time was during the Tax Day Floods in April 2016 and again in May. They were spared from Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters.

Since the area where they live is a high-risk flood area they were required to get flood insurance by their mortgage lender. They were able to get a policy though their insurance agent as part of FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program.

They filed claims and fixed up their home. They felt very blessed to avoid flooding again during Harvey until they found out how much is their insurance premium. Their premium went from $475 nearly $2,600 a year.

The National Flood Insurance Program subsidizes flood insurance into what’s called the Preferred Risk Program. However, when you file two claims totaling more than $1,000 each in a 10-year period, you’re no longer eligible for the program. The Kants are now required to buy a standard-rated policy which costs a lot more.

Jim Blackburn is an expert in environmental law and flooding along the Gulf Coast. He’s also a professor at Rice University. No matter the current charges, he strongly urges homeowners to get insurance even if it’s not required.

"It’s a bargain compared to pure actuarial rates,” Blackburn said. “The pure actuarial rates could easily rise to $20,000 a year. No one is paying anything close to that right now.”

For the Kants, their skyrocketing policy feels unfair and way too expensive.

“We owed that money back to the insurance company,” Umesh Kant said. “We will pay that money back but it has to be in a systematic way. We’ve become house poor now to figure out whether to pay the insurance back or we pay for him to go to school or college.”

FEMA is supposed to send a letter if your premium is going up. The Kants say they never got it.

In the end, the Kants managed to get their premium down to $1,600 by adjusting their coverage to exclude contents. They also found a different insurance agent and are hoping for better communication when prices go up and down.


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Common Terms Health Insurance Terms You Need To Know

Claim: this is the detailed invoice or the bill that your health care provider (such as your doctor, clinic, or hospital) submits to your health insurance provider for any care you receive. If you paid for service out-of-pocket, you can also submit your own claim to your insurer directly to try and get reimbursed.

Premium: This is the amount you pay monthly to maintain your health insurance plan. Even if you never end up needing health care services, you still have to pay your monthly premium to your health insurance company to stay covered.

Deductible: The amount you pay for covered health care services before your insurance plan starts to pay. Your insurance company usually doesn't start covering your health care bills right away. You'll probably have to pay a set amount first. That's called your deductible. Usually, the cheaper the plan, the higher the deductible.

High-deductible health plans: Under these plans, you're expected to pay more of your health care bills, but your monthly payments for coverage will be cheaper. It can be a good option for a young, healthy person who doesn't expect to go to the doctor much. These plans allow you to stash away money into a tax-advantaged account called a Health Savings Account (HSA) that can be used to cover deductibles and other medical expenses.

Copayment: A set fee you pay when visiting a doctor after you've met your deductible. You might have different copayments for doctor visits, hospital stays and other types of care.

Coinsurance: Some insurance plans expect you to pay a percentage of the bill even after you've met your deductible. For example, you could be on the hook for 20% or 30% of the bill while the insurer handles the rest.

In-network provider: A medical professional who is part of your health insurance coverage and has pre-determined agreements with your insurer on what to charge for certain services and visits. Staying in network means your insurance will cover more of the costs and your bills will be much cheaper.

Out-of-network provider: A medical provider who does not have a contract with your health insurer, and will likely be more expensive to receive care from. You can end up being responsible for most, if not all of the bill if you go to an out-of-network doctor.

Out-of-pocket maximum: While deductibles and coinsurance could mean you end up paying a lot of money for health care, the good news is there is a limit to what you'll be responsible for paying. If you end up with a lot of medical bills one year and reach your plan's cap, the insurance company will cover 100% of your medical services for the rest of the year.

Explanation of Benefits: While it may look like a bill, it isn't. An EOB is just an overview of what (and how much) your doctor billed to your insurance company and what the insurer has agreed to cover. It can also include an estimate of how much you might be expected to pay, but the medical provider will send a bill separately.

Source CNN MONEY

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Hamilton Healthcare Platinum Series Garcinia Cambogia Dietary Supplement $19.97
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