Why isn’t Flooding covered by my Home Insurance?

Flood Definition

A flood is “A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from: ● Overflow of inland or tidal waters; ● Unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; ● Mudflow*; or ● Collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined above.” *Mudflow is defined as “A river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land areas, as when earth is carried by a current of water…”

Simply because of the catastrophic nature of a flood. No one insurance company, or group of them, could cover the potential losses.

Remember, standard homeowner, condo owner and renters insurance policies DO NOT cover flood damage!

To deal with the issue of flood protection, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created in 1968 due to the rising cost of taxpayer-funded disaster relief and amount of property damage caused by floods. Homeowners, Condo-owners and renters can only obtain Flood Insurance in this federal government program through select agents and companies.

You don’t need to be in a flood zone to suffer flood damage. People outside of high-risk areas file over 20% of NFIP claims and receive one-third of disaster assistance for flooding.

Thinking about waiting to buy coverage until you know a storm is coming? Think again. It takes 30 days after purchase for a policy to take effect, so it’s important to buy insurance before the flood waters start to rise.

What’s the cost? The annual premium for a residential NFIP policy starts at $112 per year, according to FEMA, and increases according to the level of flood risk and amount of coverage needed. The maximum coverage amount is $250,000 for the structure of the home and $100,000 for the contents of the home.

Want more information or a flood insurance quote, give us a call at (603) 625-5400

You can also click here for an informative brochure from NFIP.