What is Flood Insurance?
Homeowners insurance policies offer protection against many common perils, but very few homeowners policies include coverage for floods. Massachusetts residents who want to insure their homes against damage caused by flooding usually have to purchase flood insurance.
Flood coverage is a specialized form of property insurance that offers protection against a specific peril: uncommon water patterns. While flood coverage is often purchased by homeowners to protect houses from flooding, many insurers also offer flood policies for landlords, renters, and commercial property owners.
What Sorts of Incidents Do Flood Policies Cover?
Flood coverage is best known for providing protection against flooding. It’s called “flood coverage,” after all.
Floods are just one of several types of uncommon water patterns that flood policies might cover, though. Other uncommon water patterns that a policy may cover include:
- Erosion caused by strong waves, which waterfront properties in on the coast may be susceptible to
- Mudflows and mudslides, which some properties near higher-elevated terrain might be at risk of
- Any additional uncommon water patterns that a policy notes
(Exactly what incidents a policy covers depend on its terms and conditions, which is why it’s important to carefully review all of the details of a policy).
