California Flood Insurance

30 Day Waiting Period

Tip #15 If your flood risk is high, medium or low, get flood insurance! Around 30% of all flood insurance claims are paid to people living outside of high-risk areas.

Tip #16 The best time to buy flood insurance is before the fall or spring rainy seasons. There's a 30 day wait so you don't want to be exposed without coverage.

California Flood Insurance

Flood damage is NOT covered under a standard homeowners policy
Flood policies can cover your contents
You'll pay much less in low risk flood areas
Flood coverage has a 30 day waiting period
Rates are set by the Government's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
NFIP coverage limits up to $250,000 on your home
NFIP coverage limits up to $100,000 on personal property / contents
You can buy additional coverage in excess of the NFIP limits

Floods are the most common cause of disaster and occur in part of the US. But many property owners consider themselves low risk and remain uninsured. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is a Federal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance for coverage from flood damage. The NFIP is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

If the community participates in the NFIP, residents are eligible to purchase flood insurance. Flood insurance is sold to property owners through:

1) Licensed insurance agents and brokers; and
2) Private insurance companies.

Property owners who purchase a flood insurance policy have a 30 waiting period unless you buy a house in a high-risk flood area and get a mortgage from a Federally regulated lender.

In general, coverage is provided for direct loss to the property from a flood which is described 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:

a. Overflow of inland or tidal waters
b. Unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source
c. Mudflow - defined as a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land areas such as when earth is carried by a current of water. Landslide, slope failures, or saturated soil moving down a slope are not mudflows.

In general, the policy excludes damage caused by:
Earth movement, even if the earth movement is caused by flood. Examples of excluded earth movement include:

Earthquake;
Land subsidence;
Sinkholes;
Landslides;
Movement of land from the accumulation of water; and
Gradual erosion.

The California Department of Insurance does not regulate the National Flood Insurance Program. However, consumers may obtain more information through the FEMA at 1-800-638-6620 or at the National Flood Insurance Program web site.