A drone view reveals flooded homes, following torrential rains that unleashed flash floods alongside the Guadalupe River in San Angelo, Texas, on June 4, 2025, on this display screen seize obtained from a social media video.
Patrick Keely | Patrick Keely Through Reuters
‘Each residence could be uncovered’
Texas is without doubt one of the most flood-prone areas within the U.S., Worters stated — flash floods, river overflows and tropical storms lead to billions of {dollars} in insured losses per yr.
“Flooding in Texas has develop into a rising risk,” she stated.
However it’s a nationwide threat. Over the previous 20 years, 99% of U.S. counties have skilled a flood occasion, according to the Nationwide Flood Insurance coverage Program by the Federal Emergency Administration Company. About 40% of NFIP claims are from exterior high-risk zones.
Whereas floods could be larger dangers in areas close to our bodies of water, they will occur wherever, “even on a mountaintop,” Worters stated.
“Each residence could be uncovered,” she stated.
For instance, in 2024, Hurricane Helene brought about huge flooding in mountainous areas equivalent to Asheville, North Carolina. Lower than 1% of households there have been coated by the NFIP, in accordance with a report by the Swiss Re Institute.
Elements of central North Carolina also experienced flash floods over the July Fourth weekend, as Tropical Storm Chantal made its means inland. “This historic climate occasion brought about flooding like we’ve not seen in a number of many years within the central a part of the state,” Joey Hopkins, North Carolina’s transportation secretary, stated in a press release Tuesday.
Why owners insurance coverage does not cowl floods
Insurers are likely to keep away from overlaying dangers that produce “extremely correlated losses” that may be “catastrophic in nature,” stated Daniel Schwarcz, a legislation professor on the College of Minnesota Regulation Faculty who focuses on insurance coverage legislation and regulation. Floods are one such catastrophe, as are earthquakes.
“When it impacts one particular person dramatically, it usually impacts many, many individuals dramatically,” he stated.
About 90% of all presidentially declared U.S. pure disasters contain flooding, per FEMA.
Residents may need water injury protection included of their owners coverage, which might cowl occasions equivalent to pipe bursts, stated Karl Susman, president and principal insurance coverage agent of Susman Insurance coverage Providers, Inc. in Los Angeles.
However such provisions don’t cowl injury from rising water ranges, specialists say.
“When you’ve got sudden, intense flooding that is brought on by heavy rain in a brief time frame, that is a flash flood,” Worters stated. “That is one thing that may not be coated in your common owners [policy].”
The place to get flood insurance coverage
As a result of normal insurance policies usually explicitly exclude flooding, if you’d like protection, you may want a standalone coverage.
You will get flood insurance coverage from FEMA’s NFIP, which is taken into account the primary source of flood protection within the U.S. The NFIP usually covers as much as $250,000 in damages to a residential property and as much as $100,000 on the contents.
As of 2024, the NFIP has greater than 4.7 million flood insurance coverage insurance policies in drive, offering protection in extra of $1.28 trillion, according to FEMA.
If in case you have an costly residence or count on extra extreme injury to your property, contemplate asking an insurance coverage agent about so-called “extra flood insurance coverage,” Worters stated. Such insurance policies are written by personal insurers that cowl losses over and above what’s coated by the NFIP, she stated.
If you happen to resolve to get protection via the NFIP, needless to say there’s often a 30-day waiting period earlier than the brand new coverage goes into impact.
NFIP will not be your solely choice. Some personal insurers now supply standalone flood insurance coverage insurance policies as threat modeling and actuarial projections — or monetary estimates for future occasions — have improved, stated Worters.
In accordance with a latest report by LendingTree utilizing 2023 nationwide information from S&P International, the typical value for personal flood insurance coverage is $98 a month. A separate report by NerdWallet utilizing 2025 NFIP charges discovered that the typical flood insurance coverage via FEMA prices $75 a month.
Take note, nevertheless, that the value you pay for protection will rely upon elements together with the place you reside. Evaluate all of the choices out there to you in your space, as they are often “drastically completely different” in value, stated Susman.
Schwarcz stated owners can generally get cheaper insurance policies via personal insurance coverage firms as they use completely different mechanisms from the NFIP.
“You wish to look in each locations,” he stated.