Your homeowners insurance may not be enough to cover floods, as many policies won’t cover “acts of God” – a definition that flooding falls under. It’s a good idea to attach a flood insurance policy for this reason because floods can damage your possessions and make your home uninhabitable. Despite its vast coverage, flood insurance has limitations that you need to be aware of. Here, what flood insurance lacks will be spoken in terms of what’s covered under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This is a federal government program and is the most common.
What’s Not Covered Can Boil Down to Not Enrolling In A Certain Type Of Flood Insurance
You have the option of enrolling in building property coverage and personal contents coverage. You can choose one, or you may enroll in both. It’s encouraged to get both types to maximize your coverage.
Building property coverage offers coverage up to $250,000. It covers:
- The home’s structure and foundation
- Built-in appliances such as washers and dryers and refrigerators
- Window fixtures and flooring (as long as they’re permanently installed)
- Paneling, bookcases, and cabinets (also if they’re permanently installed)
Detached garages are also covered, but only 10% of the overall coverage can be allocated to this.
If you choose not to get this, this is what you won’t have covered if there’s a flood.
Personal contents cover up to $100,000 and offer coverage for items like:
- Portable microwaves, refrigerators, and air conditioning units
- Clothing
- Electronics
- Food spoiled from flooding
- Jewelry and art (limited to $2,500 per item)
Essentially, if you don’t get personal contents coverage, you won’t be compensated for the detachable or portable items you purchased that stay in the home.
What Will Neither Form Of Flood Insurance Cover?
Even if you get both building property and personal contents coverage, certain items can’t be covered. What flood insurance lacks can be summarized as outdoor items on your property, avoidable damage, and important documents.
Here are a few examples:
- Stock certificates
- Pools, decks, and hot tubs
- Fences
- Trees and other plants
- Temporary housing
Basements, bomb shelters, crawlspaces, and other areas on the lowest elevated floor have minimal coverage. Your flood insurance won’t cover built-in structural features like paneling, drywall, and window fixtures. And it also won’t cover most forms of personal property (exception being appliances).
However, if you get private flood insurance, you can get increased coverage amounts and coverage for temporary housing.
Need Coverage? We Can Help
Remco Insurance Services can find you coverage so that in the case of any event (such as flooding), you’ll be prepared, and your losses will be at a minimum. Having a damaged home and ruined personal items is traumatic enough – the last thing you want is financial hardship tacked onto it, but we’re here to help! You can call us today at (215) 357-7878 or text us at (267) 692-8296.
