How to file a flood insurance claim

Report the loss to your flood insurer or agent in writing as soon as you can, photograph everything before you throw anything away, and send a signed, sworn proof of loss within 60 days of the flood. Those three steps carry most of the weight in a National Flood Insurance Program claim, because the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) is a federal contract with fixed deadlines and little room for late paperwork. The rest of this guide covers the sequence, the deadlines and your options if the payment is wrong.

First, find out which policy you have

Your declarations page shows who issued the flood policy. Most NFIP policies are sold and serviced by private companies that act as Write Your Own insurers under FEMA's rules, and a smaller number are written directly by FEMA's NFIP Direct. Either way, the policy form is the SFIP, and the deadlines below come from its Dwelling Form (44 CFR Part 61, Appendix A(1)%20to%20Part%2061)) and FEMA's August 2024 Claims Handbook.

If your flood policy is from a private insurer, it is written on that company's own form. The same instincts apply, but the notice period, the proof-of-loss deadline, the appeal route and the time to sue are whatever the private policy says. Read it before you assume the NFIP timeline.

The first 48 hours

1. Stay out until it is safe. Leave circuit breakers and gas lines off until an electrician, plumber or local official has inspected them. FEMA's handbook also advises boiling water for five minutes until the supply is confirmed safe.
2. Give written notice. FEMA says to notify your agent or insurer promptly, even if you are unsure the loss is covered or exceeds the deductible, and to include the policy number. Phone first if you must, then follow up by email or through the insurer's claim portal so a written record exists. Your adjuster should generally contact you within one to two days, though a large flood can stretch that.
3. Photograph and video before you move anything. Capture the water line inside and outside, structural damage and each damaged item. For appliances and electronics, photograph the make, model and serial number.
4. Separate damaged from undamaged property. The policy requires it, and it helps the adjuster see what was lost. Do not discard anything before the adjuster sees it unless it is a health hazard or local law requires disposal. If you must discard it, photograph it first and keep samples, such as a piece of carpet or flooring.
5. Start drying and removal. FEMA warns that delay lets damage spread, and basic cleanup of covered items, such as pumping out water and removing non-salvageable materials, is a covered expense. Before you sign with a remediation company, call your adjuster or insurer. The handbook says FEMA requires a properly completed drying log, that buildings can typically be dried within 72 hours or less, and that the insurer may review the contractor's documentation to decide whether the work is covered, payable and reasonable.
6. Save receipts for protective steps. The SFIP pays up to $1,000 for sandbags and similar supplies and up to $1,000 to move property to safety, when a flood is imminent. Tell the adjuster if you did either.
7. Call your local floodplain administrator. The community decides whether the building is substantially damaged, meaning repairs would cost 50% or more of its market value, which can trigger rebuilding requirements and increased cost of compliance coverage (see below).

The home insurance claim checklist and documenting damage: photos, video and receipts cover the photo and receipt habits in more detail.

Working with the adjuster

Ask for identification; FEMA says adjusters should show a driver's license and company ID or a Flood Control Number card. The adjuster measures, photographs and writes up the loss, which FEMA calls scoping. Point out every area of damage you noticed. The adjuster scopes what is visible and caused by the flood, and anything left off the first estimate has to be added later.

Three points are easy to miss. The insurance company, not the adjuster, approves the claim. An adjuster should never ask you for money or collect your deductible. And you can ask for an advance payment to start work; it is deducted from your final settlement, and if you have a mortgage your lender must sign any building payment check, including an advance. A personal property advance is issued directly to you.

The proof of loss

The SFIP requires a proof of loss: your signed and sworn statement of the amount you are claiming, due within 60 days after the loss. It must include the date and time of the loss, a brief explanation, your interest in the property, other insurance, detailed repair estimates, the names of lienholders such as your mortgage company and an inventory of damaged personal property with bills and receipts attached. You are expected to use your own judgment about the amount and to justify it.

Two things soften that rule, neither of which you should count on. The policy lets the insurer accept the adjuster's signed report in place of your proof of loss. And FEMA sometimes extends or waives the deadline for particular flood events through bulletins to insurers. Because the terms differ by event, ask your insurer in writing which deadline applies to your claim, and if there is any doubt, send the sworn proof of loss on time and keep proof of delivery. Federal courts have often enforced the 60-day rule strictly against late filers.

If you find more damage after the first estimate, you can request an additional payment, but FEMA says you must do that within the 60-day limit or any extension, with a proof of loss and your contractor's detailed estimate. Your insurer can ask FEMA for more time, but approval is not guaranteed.

A hypothetical timeline

Say water enters your house on March 3 and your insurer pays on the adjuster's report. A contractor then quotes $14,000 more than the adjuster allowed for the floors and cabinets.

The dates are invented to show how the clocks run. Your own denial letter and policy control.

What the claim pays, and what it does not

The SFIP pays direct physical loss by or from flood, up to the limits and minus the building and contents deductibles, which apply separately. How much it pays for the building depends on your coverage amount: replacement cost applies to a principal residence insured to at least 80% of replacement cost or the program maximum, and actual cash value applies in most other cases, to contents and to carpets and appliances. replacement cost and actual cash value explain the difference, and the policy gives the full list.

Several things are not covered. The NFIP does not pay for additional living expenses, so a hotel stay is yours unless a presidential disaster declaration makes FEMA assistance available. Mold testing and most mold remediation are excluded, though the removal of non-salvageable material and an anti-microbial treatment to prevent growth are covered. The policy does not pay for loss of use, lost income or most economic loss.

Increased cost of compliance is the exception that matters after a bad flood. If your community notifies you in writing that the building is substantially damaged, Coverage D pays up to $30,000 toward elevation, floodproofing, relocation or demolition. You must sign a separate ICC proof of loss within 60 days of the community's letter, and the qualifying work has to be done within six years of the flood. The $30,000 is paid in addition to your building coverage, but your combined payments cannot exceed the statutory maximum, so a claim that already reaches $250,000 leaves nothing for ICC.

If you disagree with the result

FEMA tells policyholders to start with the adjuster, then the insurer. After that you have three formal routes.

• Appraisal. If the dispute is over the amount of loss, either side can demand appraisal under the policy. Each side names an appraiser within 20 days of a written request, and the two choose an umpire. See the appraisal clause: settling a claim value dispute for how it works in general.
• FEMA appeal. After a written denial of all or part of your claim, you can appeal to FEMA within 60 days of the date on the letter. Appeals cannot add coverage beyond the policy, and you must choose: filing an appeal means you cannot use appraisal, and the reverse.
• A lawsuit. You must sue within one year of the written denial, in the federal district court for the district where the property is. If NFIP Direct is the insurer you sue FEMA, and otherwise the insurer. An appeal does not stop that clock.

Because the SFIP is a federal contract, state claim-handling deadlines generally do not apply to it, which is why the dates in your policy matter more than the prompt-pay rules in how long insurers have to pay a home claim. A lawyer who handles NFIP claims can tell you how your court reads the proof-of-loss and suit rules.

If wind or storm damage came with the flood, you will have a second claim under your homeowners policy. Keep the two separate and read wind vs water: the hurricane claim dispute and filing a homeowners claim after a hurricane.

Key takeaways

• Give written notice at once, even if you are unsure of coverage, and do not discard damaged property before it is photographed and inspected.
• The sworn proof of loss is due 60 days after the loss unless FEMA extends it for your event; ask your insurer in writing and send it on time regardless.
• The NFIP does not pay additional living expenses, but it can pay up to $30,000 of increased cost of compliance if your community declares the building substantially damaged.
• A FEMA appeal must be filed within 60 days of a written denial, a lawsuit within one year, and you cannot use both appeal and appraisal.
• A private flood policy has its own deadlines, so read it rather than assuming the NFIP schedule.