The expenses involved with owning a home can be overwhelming at times -
routine maintenance, repairs, seasonal preparations, improvements. Not to
mention taxes, fees, and all those monthly bills. Some homeowners, in trying to
reduce their expenses, wonder if they really need disaster insurance.

Disaster insurance is typically defined as additional homeowner's insurance
to cover events like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods. Home
insurance policies typically cover hurricanes and tornadoes (review your policy
to be certain in covers damage from such events). But often damage from floods
and earthquakes isn't covered. This extra insurance, if desired, must be
purchased in addition to your standard homeowner policy, and it can be
expensive, depending on where you live.

Because disaster insurance can be expensive, it's a type of coverage some
homeowners opt not to buy. But in some cases they are required to buy. For
example, mortgaged homes in the US that are located in designated flood hazard
areas are required to buy flood insurance through the US National Flood
Insurance Program. Of course, once those mortgages are paid, there is no longer
a requirement to buy such insurance. But homeowners in those areas should
carefully consider whether they really want to take the risk that their home and
everything in it could be swept away, leaving them with nothing but an empty
lot. Homeowners that aren't in designated flood hazard areas should still know
that floods can cause plumbing problems, like sewer and septic backups. These
often aren't covered in a standard homeowner's policy, and they may want to
consider an endorsement for coverage.

In the US, many tend to think that only the area along the west coast is
subject to earthquakes. This isn't true however, and 39 US states have some
potential for earthquakes. Insurance
Coverage for seismic events can be very expensive in California and other
western states, but homeowners in other states should evaluate the cost vs. the
earthquake risk for the area where they live.