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The rising cost of home insurance has been a problem for millions of Americans nationwide over the past few years, but a lot of their consternation might come from the fact that they don't fully understand their policies. That means when a storm hits, they might not know what they are - and aren't - covered for, even as experts continually urge them to better familiarize themselves with their own plans. For these reasons, insurance agents might have to do a little more outreach to help people better understand what any type of incident could mean for them.

A major storm recently hit Northern California, bringing down trees and causing considerable damage across that part of the state, according to a report from the office of California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. As such, it might be wise for people to upgrade their insurance policies before flooding and other incidents impact their homes and give them significant cause for concern.

""The series of storms driven by sub-tropical moisture, has the potential to cause localized flooding,"" Jones said. ""These events are another reminder of the importance of updating your home inventory and learning more about the Federal Flood Insurance Program because traditional homeowner policies do not provide this coverage.""

Upgrading when necessary
Flooding is actually one of the biggest issues in this regard, because many people think it may be covered under their standard plans, when it in fact is not, the report said. Millions of Americans have found to their dismay that this kind of coverage is almost never included in a standard policy, and that they will have to buy separate flood insurance to cover their costs if they are impacted by flowing flood waters, or even sewer systems backing up into their homes. They might also be wise to prepare their homes for such an eventuality by keeping valuables away from areas most likely to be flooded, such as basements.

When disasters strike, consumers may be very concerned about what their home or auto insurance will and won't cover, but the fact is that if they did a little homework well in advance, this concern might be minimized considerably. Agents who work with their clients to help them comprehend the ways their current plans will end up impacting them, and what they might be able to do to beef up their coverage, could go a long way toward improving their relationships and potentially boosting retention rates significantly.

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