Flood Insurance and Water in Your Home

Buying the right homeowners insurance policy is never a one-size-fits-all proposition, particularly when it comes to getting flood insurance protection. And to some homeowners it may be a surprise when they learn that it is quite common for insurance companies to exclude flood damage from standard home insurance coverage.

According to a Niche Report article, “one of the most common exclusions for a homeowners policy is flood damage. In order to have your flood damages covered, you will need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy.”

No one will argue that in the past few years, there seems to have been an overabundance of natural disasters brought on by fire, wind and water. To many, when they consider the possibilities of water entering their home, they know that the house should be covered by flood insurance. But in many instances, insurance companies view flooding as a matter of water coming into the home from ground level.

As one might imagine, it’s a bit more complicated than that definition. The water can actually be put into a number of categories, and will usually meet the company’s flood insurance criteria for covering the homeowner, which may include:

• Rising rivers, lake beds or other bodies due to heavy rains
• Flash flooding seeping into the house
• Water damage from hurricanes or tsunamis
• Sewer backup from excess rains
• Broken water mains

Generally, a regular homeowners policy will provide coverage for water that isn’t coming in at ground level, such as pipes that leak in a wall, overflowing appliances or damage to the roof that causes interior water damage.

Not sure what your home insurance covers in terms of water damage? Contact your independent insurance agent to go over your policy’s details and to determine if you should purchase additional flood coverage to protect your house.

Get a quote today. Call RV Johnson Insurance at (772) 287-3366 for more information on Tequesta flood insurance.