Flood Insurance

Did you know that your homeowners’ insurance does not cover flood damage? Insurance against flood damage must be obtained separately.

What is FLOOD insurance anyway?

 
Flood insurance protects your home from various types of “inundation,” such as a river that overflows its’ banks, a hurricane storm surge, or a heavy downpour that accumulates faster than it can drain.

Different from Sewer Backup/Sump-Pump overflow, Flood Insurance is a separate coverage not usually included in your Homeowners’, Rental Dwelling or Business Insurance policies.

Essentially, any water that enters your home from underneath your doors or windows, seeps through the walls and foundation and that turns your home into an “indoor waterpark” is considered flood damage.

A Flood Insurance Policy may also reimburse you for the work that you do to sandbag your home and remove debris.
 

What Flood Insurance Covers

 
Most flood insurance policies provide two types of coverage:

Building Coverage protects your Electrical/plumbing systems, water heaters, furnaces, foundation walls, built-in appliances and permanently installed cabinets and fixtures from damages due to a flood.

Contents Coverage protects personal items such as your clothing, furniture, artwork, curtains and portable appliances such as washers and dryers from damages caused by flooding.
 

Do I need Flood Insurance?

 
Flood insurance is not required unless you live in a flood zone and/or your mortgage company requires purchasing the coverage in order to secure your loan.

As a renter you can also purchase flood insurance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps are important too – if they show your home is within a 100-year flood plain then the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) may be needed to acquire your mortgage.

Click Here for The FEMA Flood Information.

Even a minimal amount of flooding can have disastrous financial consequences – just one inch of floodwater can cause up to $25,000 of dollars in damage according to the FEMA website.

There have been cases of external drains not being able to handle the accumulation of water and causing it to ingress into the home, resulting in damages to your basement walls and foundation, furniture, personal contents and the home electrical system.

These kinds of damages can cost $100K+ to replace and will probably not be covered under your standard homeowners’ or renters’ policy since most of them do exclude flood damages.