Associated Press
By BILL DRAPER

Insurance agents complain FEMA creating confusion


FILE - In this June 15, 2011 file photo, a farmhouse and buildings sit surrounded by flood waters from the nearby Missouri River n Hamburg, Iowa. Insurance agents in states along the swollen Missouri River basin say federal officials are causing widespread confusion among property owners by pushing the sale of flood insurance policies that might not cover damage from the river flooding. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

(AP:KANSAS CITY, Mo.) Insurance agents in states along the swollen Missouri River say federal officials are causing widespread confusion by pushing the sale of flood insurance policies that might not cover damage from the current flooding.

The insurance companies say policies specify that only those bought at least two months before the damage happened will cover it. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency is telling landowners to buy the insurance anyway, and that some damage might be covered under the insurance program's complicated rules.

The confusion is increasing the anxiety along the river as the flooding continues. The flood is expected to last another two months and affect six states, from North Dakota to Missouri. The insurance questions affect people whose property normally doesn't flood and who waited to buy coverage.

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