Protect your home with flood insurance

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What is a Flood

Flood insurance covers direct physical loss caused by “flood.” In simple terms, a flood is an excess of water on land that is normally dry.

Here’s the official definition used by the National Flood Insurance Program.

A flood is (1) “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 a. overflow of inland or tidal waters; b. unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or c. mudflow*. (2) 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 in A.1.a. above.
*Mudflow is defined (in part) 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.”

Three Important Facts About Your Flood Policy

  1. Contents coverage must be purchased separately.
  2. It is not a valued policy. A valued policy pays the limit of liability in the event of a total loss. For example: Your home is totally destroyed by a fire and it costs $150,000 to rebuild it. If your homeowners insurance policy is a valued policy with a $200,000 limit of liability on the building, you would receive $200,000. Flood insurance pays the replacement cost or ACV of actual damages, up to the policy limit.
  3. It is not a guaranteed replacement cost policy. A guaranteed replacement cost policy pays the cost to rebuild your home regardless of the limit of For example: Your home is totally destroyed by a fire and it costs $200,000 to rebuild it. If your homeowners insurance policy is a guaranteed replacement cost policy with a $150,000 limit of liability on the building, you would receive $200,000. Flood insurance does not pay more than the policy limit.

What's Covered by Flood Insurance?

Physical damage to your building or personal property “directly” caused by a flood is covered by your flood insurance policy. For example, damages caused by a sewer backup are covered if the backup is a direct result of flooding. If the backup is caused by some other problem, the damages are not covered.

What is insured under the BUILDING PROPERTY coverage:

  • The insured building and its foundation.
  • The electrical and plumbing systems.
  • Central air-conditioning equipment, furnaces, and water heaters.
  • Refrigerators, cooking stoves, and built-in appliances such as dishwashers.
  • Permanently installed carpeting over an unfinished floor.
  • Permanently installed paneling, wallboard, bookcases, and cabinets.
  • Window blinds.
  • A detached garage (up to 10 percent of Building Property coverage); detached buildings (other than detached garages) require a separate Building Property policy.
  • Debris Removal

What is insured under the PERSONAL PROPERTY coverage:

  • Personal belongings such as clothing, furniture, and electronic equipment.
  • Curtains.
  • Portable and window air conditioners.
  • Portable microwave ovens and portable dishwashers.
  • Carpets not included in building coverage (see above).
  • Clothes washers and dryers.
  • Food freezers and the food in them.
  • Certain valuable items such as original artwork and furs (up to $2,500).

What is NOT insured under either Building Property or Personal Property coverage:

  • Damage caused by moisture, mildew, or mold that could have been avoided by the property owner.
  • Currency, precious metals, and valuable papers such as stock certificates.
  • Property and belongings outside of a building such as trees, plants, wells, septic systems, walks, decks, patios, fences, seawalls, hot tubs, and swimming pools.
  • Living expenses such as temporary housing.
  • Financial losses caused by business interruption or loss of use of insured property.
  • Most self-propelled vehicles such as cars, including their parts (see Section IV.5 in your policy).

How Flood Damages Are Valued

The value of flood damage covered under the Dwelling Form is based on either Replacement Cost Value or Actual Cash Value.

Replacement Cost Value (RCV)

RCV is the cost, without depreciation, to replace that part of a building that is damaged. To be eligible, three conditions must be met:

  1. The building must be a single-family dwelling; and
  2. The building must be your principal residence at the time of loss, meaning you live there at least 80 percent of the year; and
  3. Your building coverage is at least 80 percent of the full replacement cost of the building, or is the maximum available for the property under the NFIP.

Actual Cash Value (ACV)

ACV is Replacement Cost Value at the time of loss, less the value of its physical depreciation.

Some building items such as appliances and carpeting are always adjusted on an ACV basis. For example, wall-to-wall carpeting could lose from 10 to 14 percent of its value each year, depending on the quality of the carpeting. This depreciation would be factored into the adjustment.

Personal property is always valued at ACV.

Personal Insurance

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