Flood vs. Wind Damage: What Your Policy Covers

A friend of mine called me after a storm a few years back, frustrated and confused. Her kitchen had two feet of water in it, and her insurance company had just told her the damage wasn't covered. "But I have homeowners insurance," she kept saying. "I've paid it every year."

She did have homeowners insurance. What she didn't have was flood insurance. And in Florida, that distinction is one of the most important things a homeowner can understand.

The short answer

• Wind damage is generally covered by a standard homeowners policy (unless your policy specifically excludes windstorm, which some do).
• Flood damage is generally not covered by a standard homeowners policy. It needs a separate flood policy.

Hurricanes, of course, bring both. That's where things get complicated.

What counts as "flood"?

This is where people get tripped up. In insurance terms, flooding generally means water that rises up from the ground and enters the house from outside. That includes:

• Storm surge pushing seawater inland
• Heavy rain overwhelming the ground and drainage, so water pools and flows into the house
• Rivers, lakes or canals overflowing their banks

The National Flood Insurance Program puts it in a handy way: ask yourself whether the water came from the ground up or the top down. Ground up is flood. Top down, like rain pouring through a hole the wind tore in the roof, is a different story.

What wind damage usually looks like

Wind claims typically involve things like:

• Shingles or tiles torn off
• Broken windows and doors
• Fallen trees or flying debris punching into the house
• Damaged soffits, fascia, screens and pool enclosures
• Rain that gets in because wind created an opening first

That last one matters. If wind breaks a window and rain blows in, most homeowners policies treat that water damage as part of the wind loss. If rain simply seeps in through an old, worn spot with no storm damage, that may be treated as a maintenance issue instead. Your policy wording controls, so read it.

When it's both

After a big hurricane, many houses have both kinds of damage: the roof took a beating and the first floor flooded. In that case, you may be dealing with two policies, two deductibles, and two adjusters, and each one is only responsible for its own portion.

This is why documentation matters so much. Photos of where the water line sits on the walls, damage to the roof and windows, and debris patterns all help sort out what caused what. Report the damage to both your homeowners insurer and your flood insurer, and let them work out the split rather than guessing yourself. If you've never filed before, here's how to file a homeowners claim after a storm, step by step.

Your hurricane deductible

Here's another thing that surprises people. In Florida, most homeowners policies carry a separate hurricane deductible that's larger than the regular deductible for other kinds of damage. It's often a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount, so it can be bigger than you'd think.

A few things worth knowing:

• Under Florida's hurricane deductible law, the hurricane deductible for personal residential policies applies on an annual, calendar-year basis, not per storm. If you have losses from two hurricanes in the same year with the same insurer, you generally don't pay the full hurricane deductible twice.
• Because of that, your insurer may ask you to report hurricane losses even if they're below the deductible, or keep records of them, so they can count toward a later storm that year.
• Damage from a non-hurricane windstorm or a tornado may fall under your regular deductible instead. Check your declarations page.

Look up your hurricane deductible today, while nothing is broken. Knowing the number helps you plan how much to set aside.

What flood insurance covers (and doesn't)

Most Florida flood policies are written through the National Flood Insurance Program, though private flood policies are available too. According to FloodSmart, the NFIP's official site, a standard NFIP residential policy offers:

• Building coverage up to $250,000 for the structure itself, including electrical and plumbing systems, water heaters, built-in appliances, permanently installed flooring and cabinets.
• Contents coverage up to $100,000 for belongings like furniture, clothing and electronics. Contents coverage is purchased separately, and the two carry separate deductibles.

And here's what it typically doesn't cover:

• Property outside the house, like landscaping, fences, decks, patios and swimming pools
• Cars
• Cash, precious metals and valuable papers
• Temporary housing and additional living expenses while your home is repaired

That last point is a big one. Your homeowners policy may help with living expenses after a covered wind loss, but an NFIP flood policy won't pay for a hotel.

The 30-day waiting period

NFIP coverage generally doesn't take effect until 30 days after you buy it. There are a few exceptions, like buying it in connection with a new mortgage. But you can't wait until a storm shows up in the forecast and expect to be covered. Private flood policies have their own waiting periods, so ask.

Also worth knowing: insurers generally stop accepting new applications or coverage increases once a hurricane is approaching Florida. The time to sort this out is before June.

"But I'm not in a flood zone"

I hear this a lot. Flood zones are about risk levels, not guarantees. Plenty of flood claims come from homes outside high-risk zones, often from heavy rain overwhelming local drainage. In a state as flat and wet as ours, almost everyone has some flood risk.

If you have a federally backed mortgage on a home in a high-risk flood zone, your lender will likely require flood insurance. Some homeowners covered by the state's insurer of last resort may also be required to carry it. But even when it isn't required, it's worth getting a quote.

A quick self-check

Grab your policy and see if you can answer these:

1. Does my homeowners policy cover windstorm, or is it excluded?
2. What's my hurricane deductible, in actual dollars?
3. Do I have flood insurance? Does it include both building and contents?
4. Does my homeowners policy cover additional living expenses, and up to what limit?
5. Is my coverage replacement cost or actual cash value?

If you can't answer all five, call your agent before the next storm and go through them one by one. It's a twenty-minute conversation that can save you a world of frustration later. My friend would tell you the same thing.

This guide is general information only, not legal or insurance advice. Policies and rules change, so check your own policy documents and current official guidance for your situation.