How Flood Insurance Works

Floods are the most common result to extreme weather conditions in the United States, and they often result in severe damage to an individual’s personal property. In 1968, the federal government created flood insurance to assist those property owners in recovering from the devastation to their home after a major storm. 

Now, flood insurance is available to those homeowners who live in a flood-prone areas. If you’re considering taking a mortgage on property located in a high-risk zone like Oro Valley, AZ, the lender may require you to purchase some form of flood insurance.

What’s Flood Damage

To better understand how flood insurance works, you need to speak with Old Pueblo Insurance on what qualifies as flood damage. A standard homeowner insurance policy doesn’t cover flood damage at all, but it will cover for water damage caused by a bursting pipe or broken faucet that was inside the home. However, the policy may cover the damages sustained from a rainstorm, but if you’re home is filled with water from a rising lake, river or the ocean, then there is no coverage provided for your loss. Thus, your home insurance policy will not pay for the repairs needed from that flood. 

What Is and Isn’t Covered in a Flood Insurance Policy

It’s important to know what is and isn’t covered by a flood insurance policy. Often, it will consist of two separate policies: one that covers the home and another for your personal property. To better simplify this, the contents inside the home or building aren’t covered in a standard flood insurance policy. You will need to add a separate property flood insurance policy to your existing agreement. 

Usually, there is a waiting period between the purchase date and when the flood insurance policy goes into effect. In most cases, the waiting period can last 30 days following the purchase of the coverage. This time might be shortened if your property sits on burned land as post-wildfire conditions could put your home in danger if flooding occurs due to torrential rainstorms that may follow.