What Does Flood Insurance Cover?

Are you wondering if you need a flood insurance policy? There’s a good chance that if you live in Florida or on the coast, you should have a flood insurance policy. They cover damage from flooding due to severe storms and overflowing groundwater sources. If you’re not sure if you need flood insurance, you should check the FEMA flood maps in order to help you determine your flooding risk.

Understanding Flood Insurance and What It Covers

Flooding is not covered on a typical homeowners insurance policy. In order to be covered in the event of a flood due to a weather phenomenon, you must have a flood insurance policy, which covers the buildings on your property and your personal belongings.

House and Garage Coverage

Flood insurance covers damage to your home and items that are attached to it, including the plumbing and HVAC systems. It also covers items that are physically attached or built into the home, like bookcases, cabinets and wall paneling. This coverage will also cover an attached or detached garage. They are typically designed to pay the repair or replacement value of the home up to the policy limit minus any applicable depreciation.

Personal Belongings Coverage

Your personal belongings are the items you’ve purchased and store in your home. These items could include electronics, clothing, furniture, jewelry and knickknacks. The policy usually pays for the replacement of belongings that were ruined in a flood up to the policy limits minus any depreciation.

Other Structures on the Property

If you have other structures on your property in addition to your home and garage, like sheds and barns, you may need a separate flood insurance policy for those outbuildings.

Vacation Homes

You can get flood insurance for vacation homes that covers the home, garage and any personal belongings in the home. However, the maximum payout on the property may be different when compared to your primary residence.

Do You Need Flood Insurance?

If you live in a floodplain, it’s a good idea to get flood insurance to help pay for flood damage to your home in the event of severe weather, like a tropical storm or hurricane. If you own your home because you paid cash for it or have paid off your mortgage, you may not be required to get flood insurance. However, if you are still making payments to a lender, your financial institution may require flood insurance. If you’re not sure if you live in a floodplain, we provide flood maps.

Flood Zone Designations

Flood zones are grouped into categories for low and moderate risk and high risk.

Low and Moderate Risk Designations for Flood Zones

If you live in a low-risk area, your home has a 1 in 500 chance of flooding in the next 30 years.

  • Shaded B and X – Home is between the 100 and 500-year floodplain and has a .02 percent chance of flooding
  • Unshaded C and X – Homes and buildings that reside within these areas are in a 500-year floodplain.

High-Risk Designations for Flood Zones

  • A – If your home resides in an A zone, it has a 1 percent chance of flooding each year. No depths or flood elevations are typically listed for A zones.
  • AE – Zone AE used to be designated as A1-30. Homes that reside in these areas are at a high risk for flooding. Flood elevations are usually provided for these areas.
  • AH – Homes and buildings in Zone AH have a 1 percent chance of shallow flooding each year from ponds. Shallow flooding is considered flooding that is between one and three feet deep.
  • AO – Homes and buildings in the AO zone have an average yearly flood risk of 1 percent. These homes are usually subject to shallow flooding from sheet flow. Flood depths are usually between one and three feet.

Flood Insurance from Fearnow in Florida

If you need flood insurance or are thinking about purchasing flood insurance, contact one of our agents at Fearnow. Our agents can tell you if you are in a flood zone, what your flood risk is and help you find an affordable flood insurance policy.

To learn more about flood insurance or any of our other insurance products, like homeowners, renters and car insurance, give us a call today at 813-689-8878. We’d be happy to answer all of your insurance questions.