Hurricane Helene, Milton, and Flood Insurance: Are You Covered?

Marlene Levengood
Oct 23, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Aug 14

The recent hurricanes in Florida have stirred conversations about the devastation, clean-up, and how the victims begin to restore their lives. As the winds die down and the damage is assessed, attention turns to how insurance carriers will process claims and whether insureds will be made whole.

There has been a lot of attention on hurricane victims who have been denied coverage or receive a fraction of what they expected in insurance payments. Perhaps their stories have made you wonder about your own insurance. Let’s dispel the rumors and look at the facts that may be relevant for you and your family.

Will homeowners with hurricane damage have coverage?

All policies differ in their terms and conditions, so victims may have varying degrees of coverage. Damage from flooding is also excluded in most homeowners insurance policies. Hurricane victims without flood insurance will likely have some uninsured losses.

What is a flood?

A “flood” is defined by insurance carriers as: an overflow of inland or tidal waters or the rapid accumulation or run off of surface water from any source that inundates two or more acres or two or more properties.

Let’s break that down into two critical elements. For a “flood” to have occurred, you must have:

Partial or complete inundation of two or more acres OR two or more properties.
An overflow of inland or tidal waters (think river, creek, or lake) OR rapid accumulation of surface water from any source. Hurricanes meet this definition.

Can your home experience a flood?

Absolutely! You are five times more likely to have a flood than a fire! If you think you don’t need flood insurance because you are not in a flood zone, your mortgage company does not require it, and you’ve never had a flood before, think again. FEMA reports that 25-30% of all paid claims are from low-risk areas.