Check Insurance Before Hurricane Season Swoops In

Usually it's the leftovers of hurricanes that swamp us in the Washington area. The remnants of Hurricane Isabel, for instance, left my home without electricity for a week back in 2003.

Even as I grew fidgety from the lack of Internet access, I realized that living off the grid was a mere annoyance compared with the real hardship that homeowners closer to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay endured, thanks to floods, wind and fallen trees. Still, the lesson was learned.

A hurricane that lands far to the south of here can cause plenty of trouble around my house.

Hurricane season officially kicks in June 1, so if Mother Nature is in on that memo, we should have at least a few weeks to prepare. Go ahead and stock up on batteries and bottled water. (Gasoline-powered electricity generators are too dangerous and noisy for my taste.) And carve out a half-hour or so to do a quick checkup on your homeowner's insurance coverage.

Make sure you have the optional coverage for sewer and drain backup. Yes, the very thought is disgusting, and that's why you need it. Cleanup can be costly. Coverage usually adds about $25 to $50 to the annual premium, according to Bill Simons, president of Rust Insurance Agency in the District, which writes policies for a number of insurers.

What I didn't know is that this coverage also pays claims for one of the more common storm-related problems around this heavily wooded area: sump pump failure because of power outage. Of course, the storm that knocks out the electricity is usually the same storm that brings the need for a sump pump to bail you out, isn't it? If you're dependent on a pump to keep the basement dry, you need this coverage. It does not, however, cover you if the pump simply fails to keep up with rising water; the electricity has to go out for coverage to kick in.

If your water risk goes beyond what a sump pump can be expected to handle, look into a special flood insurance policy. Coverage is provided by the federal government, and policies are sold by agents who sell ordinary homeowners' policies. If you're going to buy a flood policy, do it now; there's a 30-day waiting period before coverage kicks in. (The wait doesn't apply if you buy insurance as part of a home sale.)

Mortgage insurers require policies if you live in a designated flood area. But if you don't have a mortgage, or if you live in an area not designated as a flood risk, the decision to buy coverage is all yours. You can get a premium estimate at http://www.floodsmart.gov. Policies are available for as much as $250,000 on your home and $100,000 on its contents.

"You do not need a presidential fly-over in a helicopter for it to be a flood," said Butch Kinerney, spokesman for the National Flood Insurance Program. But you do need company in your misery. For federal insurance to apply, flooding has to affect two or more acres or two or more adjacent properties.

The good news is that, at least if you don't live close to the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic Ocean, you may finally get a breather from skyrocketing increases in premiums. I spot-checked rates, using the sample rates published each year by the Maryland Insurance Administration. I focused on Maryland suburbs because so many residents are close to the water and some big insurers have talked about pulling back there.

The sample rates apply to a $300,000 policy (they adjusted insurance amounts to $375,000 in Montgomery County and $200,000 in Charles County) for a masonry house with a $1,000 deductible. I looked at how rates changed for major carriers including Allstate Insurance, Erie Insurance Exchange, Fireman's Fund Insurance, State Farm Fire and Casualty and USAA Casualty Insurance, which offers policies only to military families. I looked at rates for Montgomery, Prince George's, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties. The latter county took a particularly severe beating from Isabel.

Between 2005 and 2006, rates shot up by 30 percent (Erie in Montgomery County), 56 percent (Fireman's Fund in Charles), even 89 percent (USAA in St. Mary's). State Farm did lower its rate by 2 percent in Prince George's, but it was already charging a rate similar to what the others ratcheted up to.

Indeed, most homeowners in those counties are getting a breather -- sometimes even a break -- this year. Fireman's Fund and State Farm imposed no increase in any of counties mentioned. USAA cut prices across the board, ranging from a 1 percent cut in Charles to a 10 percent cut in Calvert. Allstate, however, levied another round of double-digit increases, from 11 percent in Calvert to 17 percent in St. Mary's. The sample premium in St. Mary's is $1,626 this year, a number as breathtaking as the views from the waterfront. For four out of the five counties in this snapshot, Allstate had the highest premium. (The exception was Calvert, where USAA charged top price.)

It doesn't look as if Allstate is worried about losing business in these counties, does it? In fact, the company announced in late 2006 that it intended to stop writing new policies in 11 Maryland counties near the water, including Calvert, St. Mary's and parts of Prince George's. The company awaits regulator approval.

You can look up this year's sample rates at http://www.mdinsurance.state.md.us and http://www.scc.virginia.gov. The District does not have comparisons available.

E-mail Elizabeth Razzi at razzie@washpost.com.