What flood insurance covers

Building coverage pays to repair the structure and what is permanently attached: foundation, walls, floors, electrical and plumbing, the furnace, water heater and air conditioner, built-in appliances, cabinets, and carpet installed over an unfinished floor. The federal program pays replacement cost on a primary residence insured to most of its value and actual cash value otherwise; private forms vary, and some pay replacement cost on any occupied home. The federal program caps building coverage at a fixed federal limit that can fall short of a larger home's rebuild cost, and an excess flood policy or a private policy can sit above it.

Contents is bought and priced separately, and a building policy alone pays nothing for furniture, clothing, electronics or a washer and dryer. The federal contents policy pays actual cash value, so a ten-year-old sofa is paid as a ten-year-old sofa. Contents in a basement are limited to a short list of items, mostly the washer, dryer and freezer, which surprises owners in Utah and Idaho where finished basements are common. Private carriers often offer replacement cost on contents and fewer basement restrictions.

The federal policy is the same form from every agent, backed by the federal government, accepted by every lender for a home in a Special Flood Hazard Area, and rated on the property's own characteristics rather than the zone alone. It does not pay additional living expenses, its contents terms are narrow, and its limits are fixed.

A private flood policy can add loss of use, replacement cost on contents, higher building limits, coverage for detached structures and pools, and a shorter waiting period. Lenders accept a private policy that meets federal standards, though some ask for a compliance statement. The trade-off is that a private carrier can decline to renew after a loss or leave a market, while the federal program renews as long as the community participates. The analysis prices both wherever the address qualifies.

When a flood damages a home in the high-risk zone badly enough that local ordinance requires it to be elevated, floodproofed, relocated or demolished on rebuild, the federal policy includes an allowance toward that work on top of the building payment. It triggers only on a substantial-damage determination by the local floodplain administrator, and the allowance is modest against the cost of raising a slab home, but a homeowner in a mapped floodway should know it exists and that most private forms leave it out.

Building and contents each carry their own deductible, and the flood deductible is separate from the home policy's. Raising the deductible lowers the premium; so does an elevation certificate showing the lowest floor above the base flood elevation, and in some cases so does documenting flood vents in a crawlspace or moving the furnace and water heater above the expected water line. Someone quoted a high premium on an old map designation often finds the price changes with a surveyor's certificate in hand.