What Is and Is Not Covered Under Household Flood Insurance | SERVPRO® of Piscataway

If you are considering purchasing flood insurance for your home, you may be on the fence about whether it is really worth it. The good news is that because flood insurance is highly regulated, it is very easy to determine what is and is not covered.

Check out our handy guide below.

The 2 Types of Flood Insurance Policies and What They Cover

Building Property Flood Insurance
Building property flood insurance covers the building in question, including your home and some types of detached garages. This policy will not allow you to recuperate the costs of any personal property lost due to the flood, but it will cover the cost of restoring or rebuilding your home (whichever is deemed to be cheaper). This type of policy covers most of the structural elements of the home, including foundation damage, kitchen appliances, walls and flooring, electrical and HVAC systems, window treatments, and debris removal.

Personal Property Flood Insurance
This type of policy covers some (but not all) of your personal property losses due to a flood. It is based on the actual cash value of the item and not what you paid for it, but it can still help you with losses of items such as clothing, washers and dryers, microwaves and dishwashers, any food in the fridge or freezer, and up to $2,500 in valuables. There are some specifics that are not covered at all with this type of flood insurance that will require an extra policy to be protected.

What Is Not Covered Under Flood Insurance

Despite all the protections you can purchase to make sure you are covered from a flood, there are things that are not covered under any circumstances. As a general rule of thumb, if it is something that belongs in a safe or safety deposit box (precious metals, stock certificates, bonds etc.), it will not be covered.

There are some more surprising things that are not covered by any type of flood insurance, as well. Outdoor features such as landscaping, walkways, decks, fences and patios will not be included in the policy. Additionally, flood insurance does not cover loss of use, which would allow you to be repaid for the cost of having to stay somewhere else due to mandatory evacuation—however, this might be in your general policy, so it is worth checking there.

If your home has been damaged in a flood, contact us at any hour to begin the restoration process.