National Flood Insurance

What coverage is included?

The coverage available under a National Flood Insurance policy includes Building Coverage, Contents Coverage, Excess Flood Coverage and Loss Avoidance Measures.

Building Coverage

What's included? Building Coverage protects the structure of your home or business. It includes above-ground appliances and other items of property that are considered to be part of the building:

Central air conditioners, refrigerators and walk-in freezers

Built-in dishwashers, built-in microwaves, ranges, cooking stoves and ovens

Hot water heaters, furnaces, radiators and garbage disposal units

Awnings, blinds and canopies

Carpet permanently installed over unfinished flooring

Permanently installed cupboards, bookcases, cabinets, paneling and wallpaper

Elevator equipment, fire sprinkler systems, light fixtures and plumbing fixtures

Outdoor antennas and aerials fastened to buildings

In a basement,** which is defined as any room where the floor is below ground on all sides, coverage is limited to the following:

Furnaces, hot water heaters, water softeners, central air conditioners and heat pumps

Utility connections, fuel and water tanks, and sump pumps

Unfinished structure, dry wall or sheet rock walls and fiberglass insulation

Electrical wiring and circuit breaker boxes

Cleanup after a flood

Clothes washers, dryers and food freezers located below ground in a basement** are not covered under Building Coverage. However, Contents Coverage can be purchased separately for these items.

What Options Are Available?

Residential homes can be insured up to a maximum of $250,000 under Building Coverage.

Non-residential buildings can be insured up to a maximum of $500,000 under Building Coverage.

Replacement Cost Coverage applies to single-family dwellings and residential condominium building associations. To qualify, the building must be your principal residence, it must be owner occupied, and it must be insured at the time of the loss for at least 80% of the building’s replacement cost or the maximum coverage available, whichever is less. Condominium unit owners need to purchase Contents Coverage to cover personal property.

Contact me for a complete list of what’s included under Building Coverage.

Contents Coverage

Why do I need it? Flood claims data confirms that a foot of water can destroy 60% of a building’s personal property contents. Flash flooding usually causes more damage to a building’s contents than damage to the building itself.

You’ll want to think about coverage for your personal property items, as well as the structure of your building. Your personal belongings help make your house, apartment, condominium, mobilehome or co-op unit a home. You don’t want to risk losing them in the event of a flood.

What’s Included?

Contents Coverage can be purchased for your personal property items located in the building above ground. Personal property items include:

Clothing and furniture

Portable or window-type air-conditioning units

Portable microwaves and portable dishwashers

Carpets over finished flooring located above ground

Carpets not permanently installed over unfinished flooring

“Cook-out” grills

Food freezers (other than walk-ins, which are covered under Building Coverage)

Clothes washers and dryers

Clothes washers, dryers and food freezers are only covered by Contents Coverage, whether they are located above ground or below ground in a basement.**

How Much Is Available?

The maximum personal property Contents Coverage limit available is:

Up to $100,000 for contents with a standard National Flood Insurance Policy

Up to $60,000 for contents with a Preferred Risk Policy

Personal property contents are covered on an actual cash value basis. Replacement Cost Coverage is not available for contents. Please contact me for details.

Excess Flood Coverage

Excess Flood Coverage In some states, if you purchase standard a National Flood Insurance policy or Preferred Risk Flood Insurance through our insurance provider and find you need more coverage than the maximum limit provided by the NFIP program, you may be eligible to purchase additional coverage through an Excess Flood Insurance policy.***

Loss Avoidance Measures

The base insurance plan also includes up to $1,000 for reasonable expenses, such as sandbagging, incurred to protect your property from the imminent danger of a flood.

Preferred Risk Flood Insurance

How Do I Qualify?

A Preferred Risk Flood Insurance policy is designed for homeowners in low- to moderate-risk flood hazard areas who want to help protect their home and contents in the event of a flood. In order to qualify for a Preferred Risk Flood Insurance policy, you need to own a one- to four-family dwelling in a low- to moderate-risk flood hazard area that meets certain requirements.

If your dwelling’s flood loss history falls into any of the categories below, a Preferred Risk Flood Insurance Policy cannot be written. These requirements apply since the date of construction and regardless of your dwelling’s prior ownership:

Two loss payments, each more than $1,000

Three or more loss payments, regardless of the amount

Two Federal Disaster Relief payments, each more than $1,000

Three Federal Disaster Relief payments, regardless of the amount

One flood insurance claim payment and one flood disaster relief payment (including loans and grants), each more than $1,000¹

What's Covered?

What’s Covered? For homes located in low- to moderate-risk flood hazard areas, a Preferred Risk Flood Insurance Policy provides the same coverage as a standard National Flood Insurance policy:

Your building’s structural elements can be insured up to $250,000.

The contents of your home can be insured up to $60,000. Replacement Cost Coverage is also available for a single-family, primary residence. To qualify, your dwelling must be your principal residence, it must be owner occupied and it must be insured at the time of the loss for at least 80% of the building’s replacement cost or the maximum coverage available, whichever is less.¹

In some states, if you purchase Preferred Risk Flood Insurance through our insurance provider and find you need more coverage than the maximum limit provided by your Preferred Risk Flood Insurance Policy, you may be eligible to purchase additional coverage through an Excess Flood Insurance policy.***