Floods are the most common of all natural disasters, except fire. Most communities in the United States have experienced some kind of flooding, after spring rains, heavy thunderstorms, or winter snow thaws.
Coverage for flood damage is excluded under homeowners polices and most commercial property policies. Flood insurance is designed to provide an alternative to disaster assistance to reduce the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods.
A flood is defined by the National Flood Insurance Program as a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from:
- Overflow of inland or tidal waters
- Unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source
- A mudflow
- Collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood
Floods can rise fast, but generally develop over a period of days and sometimes allowing time for preventive measures, or mitigation. Mitigation includes activities that prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or lessen the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies. Investing in mitigation steps now, such as floodplain management, constructing levees, and purchasing flood insurance will help reduce the amount of structural damage to your home and financial loss from building or crop damage.
Obtaining flood coverage
Whether your flood risk is great or small, you can get federally-backed flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through a licensed insurance agent.
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