Hello, Noah?

Thanks for the heads-up.

And although it’s not possible to buy a retroactive flood insurance policy, there’s still time to insure against the next set of raging rivers, melting snowpacks and psalm-worthy rainstorms.

Just ask an agent.

“We do write quite a few flood policies. We’ve had several inquiries. They’re saying they don’t have it, but they’d like to buy it,” Becky Wingstrand, office manager at AE Long Insurance in Puyallup, said Friday.

Her office, like many in the region, offers flood insurance both for homeowners and businesses.

The policies are ultimately underwritten by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Policies are offered at prices that depend on the location of the risk, whether in a recognized flood-prone area or somewhere less susceptible to flooding. FEMA requires a 30-day waiting period before a policy goes into effect.

The average cost for a homeowner, Wingstrand said, is $350 per year.

For many, that would have been money well spent five weeks ago.

Wingstrand has lately heard from people who are uninsured.

“What we’re hearing is that they didn’t expect this to be so intense. They were surprised, and they realize that (the insurance) isn’t going to help them this time around,” she said.

Coverage is limited to $250,000 for a home and $100,000 for personal property, Stephanie Marquis, spokeswoman for the state insurance commissioner, said Friday. The limits for commercial enterprises are $500,000 each for building and property loss.

“If you fear that your property can be damaged by a flood, you want to make sure you have insurance,” Marquis said.

She recalled an instance months ago when she helped a friend of a friend recover from a flood that ravaged the Lewis County town of Pe Ell.

“They did not have flood insurance,” she said. “You just have to stand there one time, with floodwaters up to your knees, with your possessions on the lawn, to know that you need it. It was a brutal way to learn.”

It could be that homeowners believe they’re already covered on their extant policy. Not necessarily, said Marquis. In fact, the commissioner will ask the Legislature to consider a bill during its upcoming session that would mandate a disclosure to policyholders saying they’re not covered for floods, landslides, mudslides and the like.

“Most people know they don’t have earthquake insurance, but they don’t think about floods,” Marquis said.

A few interesting data about flood insurance:

 • According to the National Flood Insurance Program, Washington agents wrote 34,669 flood insurance policies in 2007. In the West, only California and Arizona had more.

 • Between Oct. 1, 2006, and Sept. 30, 2007, Washington policyholders claimed $28,894,000 in flood damage. Oregon policyholders claimed $4.7 million, California policyholders $223,000, Nevada policyholders $15,000 and Idaho policyholders nil. Only in Texas, New York and New Jersey did policyholders claim more than in Washington.

 • Washington led the West with an increase of 7 percent in the number of policies written during the same period.

 • For more information, visit www.floodsmart.gov, www.nfip.com or www.insurance.wa.gov.

C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535

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