Heartland Flood Help is not connected in any way with any insurance company. Our only purpose is to help residents prepare for floods and recover from flooding. Flood insurance is very important for flood recovery.
Here is what you need to know about flood insurance for renters. You also should learn about flood insurance in general.
We hope this will help you make the best decision for yourself and your family.
As a renter, you will buy flood insurance only to help you pay for flood damage to the things you own inside your home. This is often called “contents coverage.” These contents include things like televisions, computers, clothes, toys, and furniture. The coverage also applies to washers, dryers, and portable (not built-in) microwave ovens that are owned by you (not your landlord). Ask your insurance agent for a full list of what is covered.
You will not buy building coverage, which would help pay for damage to things such as walls, floors, central air conditioning, furnaces, water heaters, refrigerators, and stoves. You do not need this coverage because you do not own your home. If anyone buys this coverage, it would be your landlord.
As a renter, you are almost never required to buy contents coverage. But there are two very important exceptions to this general rule. The following exceptions apply only if you live in an area that the federal government has classified as being at a high risk for flooding:
When you must buy flood insurance in order to receive federal disaster assistance, you will have two options:
As the owner of the property, your landlord may be required to buy flood insurance for damage to the home or building. A building is required to have flood insurance if it is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), often described as a high-risk area for flooding. If it is not located in an SFHA, your landlord can choose to buy flood insurance but does not have to.
Renters generally pay less for flood insurance than homeowners do. That is because you are not buying coverage for damage to the structure of the home. You are buying coverage only for damage to the things you own inside the home.
How much you will have to pay depends on many factors. These factors include:
The most contents coverage you can buy is usually $100,000. That means the insurance company will not pay you more than $100,000 to repair or replace your damaged items.
In an ideal situation, you would buy contents coverage that equals the value of the things in your home that are covered by the policy. If that is not possible, it would be best to buy enough contents coverage to pay for the value of the most important things you own inside your home.
For example, you find that the most important things you own in your home are valued at $12,000. So you buy a flood insurance policy with contents coverage of $12,000. That means the insurance company is agreeing to pay you as much as $12,000 to repair and replace things that are damaged by a flood.
You might decide that it costs too much for you to buy flood insurance that covers the full value of the most important things you own. In that case, you will need to make a personal decision about how much coverage you can afford and need.
Starting the process for buying flood insurance is easy. Here are some simple steps to follow.
NFIP flood insurance rates do not differ from company to company or agent to agent. That means the price you pay for the insurance itself should be the same no matter which agent you buy it from.
Ask your agent:
Your insurance agent will ask you some questions at the start to figure out your flood insurance coverage options. The answers also will help decide what price you will have to pay for the insurance.