Why does my policy have more than one deductible?

A policy commonly carries a flat deductible for most claims and a separate percentage-based wind and hail deductible in storm-exposed states like Georgia.

Does my own insurance cover me when I stay in an Airbnb or VRBO?

The host's short-term rental policy protects the host, not you. As an Airbnb or VRBO guest, your own homeowners or renters insurance usually covers your belongings and personal liability away from home, within policy limits, while travel insurance covers trip-specific risks neither the host nor your home policy will.

Does homeowners insurance cover flood damage?

No. Standard homeowners policies exclude all flood damage regardless of cause.

What does uninsured motorist coverage do?

If you are hit by a driver with no insurance or not enough insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage pays your medical bills.

When do we use Selective for flood coverage versus NFIP?

Selective private flood wins for Zone X and moderate AE properties where it beats NFIP on price and offers higher limits with ALE coverage.

Does Mobile, Alabama offer a flood insurance discount?

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Quick answer: No. Mobile holds a CRS Class 10 rating -- the bottom of FEMA's scale -- which carries no flood-insurance premium discount, unlike Birmingham (Class 5, 25%) or Huntsville (Class 7, 15%).

Mobile participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, but it is a CRS Class 10 community, which means it does not currently provide a Community Rating System premium discount. The CRS rewards communities that exceed the NFIP's minimum floodplain-management standards with discounts of 5% to 45%; a Class 10 rating carries no discount. What lowers a Mobile flood premium instead is the property's own risk - elevation, flood zone, and mitigation.

What is the CRS, and why does Mobile sit at Class 10?

FEMA's Community Rating System is a voluntary program that credits communities for floodplain-management practices beyond the NFIP's baseline requirements - stricter building codes, public outreach, and stormwater management, among others. Classes run 1 through 10 on a 5%-per-class scale: Class 9 earns a 5% premium discount, each step up adds another 5%, and Class 1 earns the maximum 45%. Class 10 means the community has not earned any CRS credit, so no discount applies. Mobile's Class 10 status has been on record with FEMA since October 1993, per the OpenFEMA NfipCommunityStatusBook (dataset refresh 2026-06-30).

How does Mobile compare to other Alabama cities?

Mobile's Class 10 sits in contrast to two inland Alabama cities that have adopted CRS floodplain-management credits Mobile has not: Birmingham holds Class 5, a 25% discount, and Huntsville holds Class 7, a 15% discount. The comparison is a fact about each city's own floodplain-management program, not a statement about which city floods more - a coastal city and two inland cities can face very different flood exposure regardless of CRS class.

What actually lowers a Mobile flood premium?

Without a community-wide discount, what moves the number on a Mobile flood policy is the individual property: its flood zone designation, its elevation relative to the base flood elevation, and any mitigation the owner has done, such as raising utilities or adding flood vents. Two identical homes a few blocks apart can carry very different premiums for exactly these reasons, independent of the city's CRS standing.

Does the lack of a discount mean flood risk is lower?

No - CRS class measures a community's floodplain-management practices, not an individual property's flood risk. A Mobile property can sit in a high-risk flood zone and pay full NFIP rates regardless of the city's own CRS status. The City of Mobile's own resilience planning puts the odds of flood damage at 26% over the life of a 30-year mortgage, more than six times the likelihood of fire, and notes that 1 inch of water in a $150,000 home can cause more than $54,000 in damage.

Example: a Mobile homeowner assumes a lower CRS class means flood risk is lower too. It does not - a Mobile property can sit in a mapped high-risk flood zone and pay full NFIP rates, with or without a community discount, and a standard homeowners policy never covers flood in the first place, regardless of CRS class or flood-zone status.

Flood insurance is written separately from a homeowners policy either way. See how flood insurance works and Mobile flood coverage basics for what a policy actually covers, or how flood-zone designation affects pricing. A coverage review can price flood coverage for a specific Mobile address.