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Does your homeowner’s insurance cover flooding?

On Behalf of | Oct 29, 2022 | Insurance Law |

If you live in Florida, you know that the climate is mostly great. However, you still have to take the good with the bad, and that means dealing with occasional storms, hurricanes and floods.

That’s what homeowner’s insurance is for, right? Well, not exactly. If you own property in Florida, you need to look carefully at your homeowner’s insurance, because it probably doesn’t cover as much as you think.

Flooding causes billions of dollars’ worth of damage every year

Residents of the United States can expect to lose a combined total of about $8 billion a year to flooding. The costs are only going up due to scarcity of resources, supply chain issues with building materials and high demand due to climate change issues.

An inch or two of water may not sound like much, but it can destroy your carpets, flooring, baseboards and electrical system. It can even damage your foundation – and that’s not including the damage it will do to your personal possessions.

Receding waters have also been known to leave homes covered in silt, contaminated with sewage and covered in hazardous debris. All of that has to be carefully removed before your home is habitable again.

Typically, flood insurance is not covered in homeowner’s insurance policies – largely because it’s not something that has been seen as necessary for everyone. However, you’d be mistaken to think that you’re okay without an additional flood insurance policy just because you don’t live in a high-risk zone. Roughly 20% of people who file for federal disaster assistance after a hurricane and flooding are outside of those areas.

It’s always wise to get the protection you need, so look closer into your insurance policies and consider adding flood insurance coverage if you need it. You could save yourself a lot of grief if you’re the victim of a hurricane or flood – and it could be a lot easier to get your insurance to cover the damage.