If it rains, it can flood. And your home insurance policy doesn’t cover flood damage. To insure you are covered, get a separate flood policy.
The risk If your home is in a designated flood zone, your lender requires you to have flood insurance. A flood zone is an area that has a 1% chance of being flooded in any given year. But floods can happen anywhere. On average, 40% of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) flood insurance claims occur outside the high-risk flood areas. Texas is particularly prone to floods, especially in two large parts of the state: the coast and a wide band called Flash Flood Alley that extends through Central and North Texas. Almost every major city in Texas is in an area at high risk of flooding.
Flood insurance. Talk to your home insurance agent about getting a flood damage policy from NFIP. If your agent doesn’t sell flood insurance, call 800-427-4661 for help.
What’s covered.
A flood insurance policy will cover your home up to $250,000. You’ll need a separate flood policy for your personal belongings, which provides coverage up to $100,000.
There’s a waitMost flood policies have a 30-day waiting period before kicking in so don’t wait for an approaching storm before deciding to buy coverage.
Resources
- Visit the FloodSmart.gov or call 800-427-4661 to find an agent in your area and get more information.
- Use FEMA’s Historical Flood Risk and Cost data to help evaluate the flood risk in your area.
- Search for flood maps at FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center.