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Texas Department of Insurance
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Flood insurance: Why you need a policy

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If it can rain, it can flood. And your home insurance policy doesn’t cover flood damage. To make sure your property is covered, you’ll need a separate flood policy.

  1. The risk

    If your home is in a designated flood zone, your lender requires you to have flood insurance. A flood zone is an area that has a 1% chance of being flooded in any given year. But floods can happen anywhere. On average, 40% of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) flood insurance claims occur outside the high-risk flood areas.

    Texas is particularly prone to floods, especially in two large parts of the state: the coast and a wide band called Flash Flood Alley that extends through Central and North Texas. Almost every major city in Texas is in an area at high risk of flooding.

  2. Flood insurance

    Talk to your home insurance agent about getting a flood policy from NFIP. If your agent doesn’t sell flood insurance, call 800-427-4661 for help.

  3. What’s covered

    A flood insurance policy will cover your home up to $250,000. You’ll need a separate flood policy for your personal belongings, which provides coverage up to $100,000.

  4. There’s a wait

    Most flood policies have a 30-day waiting period before kicking in so don’t wait for an approaching storm before deciding to buy coverage.

Resources

 

Questions? Call us at 800-252-3439.

Last updated: 1/26/2024