The gap most houses have
Water that rose from outside is a different policy you probably do not have.
Every homeowners policy in the United States excludes flood — water rising from outside and entering at ground level. Cover is bought separately, usually through NFIP, and it generally begins 30 days after purchase rather than at once.
- 00Work out where the water enteredThrough a roof the storm opened is usually covered. Under the door is not.
- 01Check your Declarations for floodIf there is no separate flood policy named, you do not have one.
- 02Treat it as contaminatedWater that crossed ground or a drain carries what it passed over, whatever it looked like coming in.
- 03Photograph the outside as wellThe damaged opening is the evidence for the half that is covered.
Goes to an independent contractor. Nothing is booked until you say so. Calls may be recorded.
Two halves of the same storm
Rain that entered because wind first removed roof covering or broke a window is usually a homeowners claim. Water that rose off the ground and flowed in is flood. One house can produce both in one night, and they are claimed separately on different policies.
This is why an adjuster asks where the water came in before asking how deep it got.
The 30-day wait, and what it means today
FEMA publishes the waiting period on its own flood insurance pages. A policy bought while a storm is on the forecast answers for nothing in that storm, which is precisely what the rule exists to prevent.
If you hold no flood cover and water rose into the building, the practical position is that this loss is yours. Federal assistance may follow a declaration, but assistance is not insurance and the amounts are not comparable.
Outside the zone is not outside the risk
A large share of flood claims come from properties outside the mapped high-risk areas. A map describes modelled risk at a point in time; it does not describe where water goes in an unusual storm, and it may have been redrawn since you bought the house.
The county page for your area shows what share of local homes sit inside the mapped zone and what share of those actually hold cover. Outside the zone, take-up is usually close to nothing.
Where you stand tonight
Flood divides people by what they bought rather than by what happened.
- 01You hold flood coverReport to that insurer separately. It is a different policy and often a different company.
Ask them: what documentation do you produce for a flood claim specifically? - 02You do notDry it anyway, keep every receipt, and check whether a federal declaration covers your county.
- 03You own and let it outYour building cover does not touch tenant belongings, and most tenants hold no flood cover at all.
- 04You rentContents-only NFIP cover exists for tenants and is inexpensive. Without it, a flood leaves your belongings uninsured.
Goes to an independent contractor. Nothing is booked until you say so. Calls may be recorded.
Where these figures come from
Published by someone other than us. Each link goes to their own words rather than to our summary of them.