A flood insurance policy covers your home and belongings for flood-related damage. This is separate from your homeowner’s insurance policy, which typically doesn’t cover flood damage caused by hurricanes and heavy rains.
Most homeowners who buy flood insurance buy it from the National Flood Insurance Program, but you can buy a policy on the private market.
Flood insurance can cover issues like:
Storm surges.
Inland flooding, such as river and stream overflows during storms. Flash currents. Flood insurance through the NFIP has a 30-day waiting period before coverage takes effect, meaning you can’t file a flood insurance claim for damage that occurred during the waiting period. Some private flood insurance companies have short or no waiting periods. For example, Zurich’s residential flood insurance has no waiting period.
If your home and belongings are damaged or destroyed by a flood, you can file a claim with your flood insurance company and be covered for the limits of your policy. For example, if you have an NFIP policy with $250,000 in building coverage, you’ll be covered up to that amount. Some homeowners purchase private flood insurance as a “supplemental” policy to provide additional coverage on top of their original NFIP policies.
What does flood insurance cover?
Flood insurance can generally be broken down into two main parts: Dwelling (your home) and Contents (your belongings). Depending on where you buy your flood insurance, you may be able to purchase a building-only policy, a contents-only policy, or both.
Residential Range
Dwelling coverage, also known as building coverage, pays to repair or rebuild your home after flood-related damage. For example, if flooding damages your electrical and plumbing systems, homeowners coverage in a flood insurance policy will pay for repair or replacement.
The NFIP limits residential flood insurance coverage to $250,000. You’ll be able to purchase a lot of homeowners coverage in the private market. For example, Flood Guard sells policies with residential coverage up to $5 million, and Neptune Flood Insurance offers residential coverage up to $4 million.
Contents Coverage
Contents coverage, also known as personal property coverage, covers your personal belongings like furniture, clothing, and appliances. For example, if flood waters destroy your living room furniture, contents coverage within the flood insurance policy will pay to repair or replace the items.