Q&A: What to know about home insurance and floods

Is flood damage covered under a typical home insurance policy? How can I know for sure?

The most important fact for homeowners to be aware of when it comes to flood coverage is that floods are not covered by their home insurance policy. Ever.

Floods are defined as the rising of a body of water that results in it overflowing onto dry land. Even if the cause of the flood is something that is covered by your home insurance policy – like a hurricane – you will not be able to makes claims for damages against your home insurance policy if the damages are the result of a flood.

Instead, you must be covered by a separate flood insurance policy to get coverage.

With that being said, there are some water-related damages that can be covered by your home insurance policy.

For instance, if your roof is blown off during a hurricane and rainwater enters your home through the hole in the roof, that may be considered an insurable event and may not be considered a flood, since the water is coming from your roof rather than a rising body of water. Keep in mind that this example assumes that your home insurance policy includes hurricane coverage.

Do you really want to leave the insurance coverage of your home up for debate?

When you compare home insurance quotes, be sure to know the specifics of any coverage for water damage. If protection included in your policy is not sufficient to cover potential losses, consider a flood insurance policy so you and your family can be completely protected.

See also:

• III warns homeowners to act before waters start to rise
• About the National Flood Insurance Plan (NFIP)

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Posted in: Home Insurance, Home Insurance Rates, Insurance

Home Insurance News: This article was published on 4-2-2011 at 9:55 am.

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