If a flood happens in your home, you'll wonder how you'll pick up the pieces. A flood insurance policy can help you do so. Still, flood insurance is a tightly-regulated marketplace. You'll be able to get insurance for the property and possessions in your care. However, the coverage will impose certain limits.
Will you need assistance when it comes time to replace your belongings? If so, investigate the appropriate contents insurance for your flood policy.
Flood Insurance For Contents
Homeowners insurance will likely not cover flood damage if the flooding comes from an environmental source. If you want coverage for such damage, you'll need a flood insurance policy.
Still, flood insurance is a lot different from a private homeowners policy. Flood policies mainly come backed by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This is a government-managed system that provides coverage. Communities and the government mandate if property owners must carry this coverage.
Flood insurance will usually apply not only to your home itself, but also to your belongings. Policies backed by the NFIP will include up to $100,000 in contents insurance. You can thus receive up to $100,000 total to replace your possessions after a flood.
However, contents or possessions coverage will still apply in limited ways. It won't provide coverage for all items in the home with no holds barred. Keep a few specifications in mind when getting your possessions coverage.
Limitations On Contents Coverage
Like most insurance policies, flood insurance doesn't provide unlimited contents coverage. There will likely exist a few restrictions on the money you can claim for certain damaged items.
- First, you must ask your agent to add contents coverage to your flood insurance. Standard policies won't automatically include coverage.
- Coverage will only provide the actual cash value (ACV) of damaged items. Therefore, if an item depreciates over time, you might not be able to recover the full cost of the lost item.
- If you have more than $100,000 in property losses, you'll still only be able to get $100,000, at most, for coverage.
- Certain items — such as basement contents, vehicles and currency — will have little or no coverage.
If you have items of exceptional or unique value, talk to your Busha-Okeson Insurance agent. We can help you determine if your policy will insure these items, and at what cost. We can also talk to you about possible options to expand coverage. Don't hesitate to come to us with all your flood insurance questions.
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