Install
Wildfire, Hurricane and Flood Coverage guides
What flood insurance covers in a basementNFIP flood insurance covers only a short list of basement items, like the furnace, sump pump and unfinished drywall. What is excluded and how to fill the gaps.The California Earthquake Authority explainedWhat the CEA is, how its policies are sold through your home insurer, what they cover and exclude, how it is funded, and what its limits mean for homeowners.The California FAIR Plan explainedWhat the California FAIR Plan covers and leaves out, how to pair it with a DIC policy, how it is funded, and how to move back to a regular insurer.Climate change and home insurance: what's changingHow wildfire, storms, flooding and heat, plus more homes in harm's way and costlier repairs, feed into premiums, deductibles and availability.Insuring a coastal home: wind, flood and where to find coverageCoastal owners often assemble coverage from several sources: a homeowners policy, a flood policy and sometimes a state wind pool. How the pieces fit and cost.Beach and windstorm pools along the coast: how they workWind pools in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and the Carolinas cover coastal wind and hail when private insurers will not. Eligibility, limits and tradeoffs.Colorado home insurance: hail and wildfireWhy Colorado home insurance is costly, how hail and wildfire shape premiums, and what state rules on wildfire losses, the FAIR Plan and roof grants mean.Defensible space and wildfire insuranceWhat defensible space and California's new Zone 0 rules require, how insurers inspect and score your vegetation, and what to do if renewal depends on clearing.Does homeowners insurance cover flooding?No. A standard homeowners policy excludes flood, surface water and storm surge. Flood coverage takes a separate NFIP or private flood policy.Does homeowners insurance cover wildfire?Wildfire is covered as fire under a homeowners policy. Gaps to check: dwelling limits, code upgrades, wildfire deductibles, FAIR Plan forms and mudflow.The earth movement exclusion explainedWhat the HO-3 earth movement exclusion removes, what it leaves covered, how it differs from settling and flood exclusions, and how to challenge a denial.Earthquake deductibles: why they're so highEarthquake deductibles are a percentage of your dwelling limit, 5% to 25% at the CEA. Why they run that high, how they are applied, and how to choose one.Earthquake insurance explainedHomeowners policies exclude earthquake damage. How earthquake coverage is sold, what it pays and leaves out, why deductibles run 2% to 25%, and who needs it.Elevation certificates and your flood premiumWhat a FEMA elevation certificate records, who must have one, whether it lowers an NFIP premium under Risk Rating 2.0, and how to find or order one.Excess flood insurance above NFIP limitsExcess flood insurance is a private layer above the NFIP's $250,000 building limit. How it attaches, who needs it, what to ask and where gaps can remain.Extreme heat, drought and your home: what insurance coversHeat and drought are not covered perils, but they feed wildfire, outages and foundation movement. What a standard policy pays, excludes and how to prepare.FEMA disaster assistance vs insurance: what each paysFEMA grants and SBA loans are limited aid, not a substitute for insurance. What they pay, how they interact with your claim and the order to act.Filing a homeowners claim after a hurricaneHow to file after a hurricane: who to call first, what to document, the separate wind and flood claims, state claim deadlines and what to do if payment stalls.Fire and smoke damage: how homeowners insurance respondsFire is a covered peril on every standard homeowners form. What gets paid, from which coverage, and where smoke, soot and underinsurance trip up claims.Do you need flood insurance outside a high-risk zone?Federal law requires flood insurance only in high-risk zones, yet FEMA says nearly a third of NFIP claims come from outside them. How to decide and when to buy.The 30-day flood insurance waiting periodA new NFIP flood policy starts 30 days after you apply and pay, with exceptions for loan closings, new map zones and post-wildfire floods. How it is counted.Elevating a home and other flood mitigationHow elevation, flood openings, raised equipment, floodproofing and buyouts work, what each does to flood insurance premiums, and where the money comes from.Flood zones and FEMA flood maps explainedWhat the A, V, X and D flood zones mean, how to look up your address on a FEMA map, what a zone changes for your lender, and how to contest one with a LOMA.The FORTIFIED Home standard and insurance discountsWhat IBHS FORTIFIED Roof, Silver and Gold require, which states mandate discounts, what it costs, how long it lasts, and the 2027 shingle limit.Gulf Coast home insurance: Alabama and MississippiHow Alabama and Mississippi differ on wind pools, hurricane deductibles, FORTIFIED discounts and claim rules, using 2025 NAIC data and state sources.Hail damage claims: roofs, siding and windowsHow hail claims are inspected and paid, why the roof settlement, the wind/hail deductible and cosmetic exclusions decide the check, and what to do first.Hawaii's home insurance market after LahainaHow the 2023 Maui wildfire, separate hurricane policies, lava-zone limits and the HPIA shape Hawaii home insurance, per the Insurance Division and NAIC.Home hardening for wildfire and insurance discountsWhich wildfire retrofits matter most, what the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home standard requires, and which measures California insurers must credit.Owning a home in a wildfire area: keeping your coverageFire is covered. Staying insured is the hard part. What to do before renewal, what a nonrenewal leaves you with, and how FAIR Plans and surplus lines fit.How to file a flood insurance claimNotify your flood insurer in writing, photograph before you discard, and send a sworn proof of loss within 60 days. The steps, deadlines and appeal options.Hurricane and named-storm deductibles explainedHow hurricane and named-storm deductibles work: what triggers them, how each state sets the window, why they apply once a year and how to lower yours.What Hurricanes Helene and Milton taught homeownersTwo 2024 hurricanes two weeks apart exposed gaps in flood cover, deductible timing and inland wind claims. Loss, NFIP and Florida OIR figures, plus a checklist.Hurricane coverage: wind, flood and storm surgeA standard homeowners policy pays for hurricane wind damage but not for flood or storm surge. What each policy covers, where the gaps are and what to check.Hurricane season insurance checklistA dated checklist for homeowners: what to review before the season, what has a lead time, what to do at a watch and what to gather before evacuating.Hurricane shutters and impact windows: protection and savingsHow shutters, impact windows and wind-rated garage doors compare, which ratings count, how states turn them into insurance credits, and the paperwork.Ice dams and roof damageIce dam leaks are usually covered for the house; contents, dam removal and blame for poor insulation stall claims. What the HO-3 says and how to prevent one.Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofs and hail discountsWhat a Class 4 rating tests, which roofs qualify, how insurers and states handle the discount, and the cosmetic-damage catch to check before you upgrade.Landslides and mudflow: what's coveredHomeowners policies exclude landslide and mudflow, and flood insurance covers only true mudflow. How post-wildfire slides differ, and what to do.What the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires taught homeownersInsured losses, claims paid, moratorium and living-expense rules, and practical coverage checks after the Palisades and Eaton fires, with CDI and Aon figures.The Midwest's rising storm losses and ratesHow hail, tornadoes and derechos pushed up Midwest home insurance rates and deductibles, with NAIC 2025 market data and what to check at renewal.NFIP flood insurance explainedHow the National Flood Insurance Program works: who sells it, what it covers (up to $250,000 building, $100,000 contents), what it excludes, and how it pays.NFIP reauthorization and what a lapse means for youWhen the NFIP lapses, existing policies and claims continue but new policies and added coverage stop. What happened in 2025–2026 and how to protect yourself.Parametric insurance for homeowners: how it works and its limitsParametric policies pay a fixed sum when a measured trigger, like earthquake shaking at your address, is hit, whatever your damage. What exists and its limits.Percentage deductibles: how a 2% deductible really worksA 2% deductible is 2% of your dwelling limit, not of the claim. How the base is set, what happens to a claim, and how to size a percentage deductible.Private flood insurance vs the NFIPHow private flood policies differ from the federal NFIP on limits, living expenses, waiting periods, price and lender rules, and when each one tends to fit.Rebuilding after a wildfire: the insurance claimHow a total-loss wildfire claim runs: living expenses, contents, dwelling payments, code upgrades and rebuild deadlines, with California and Colorado rules.Risk Rating 2.0: how NFIP prices flood insurance nowSince 2021 FEMA prices NFIP flood policies by each property's own flood risk and rebuild cost, not by zone. What drives your rate, the 18% cap, how to lower it.Secondary water resistance and roof-deck attachmentWhat a sealed roof deck and stronger deck nailing do in a hurricane, how Florida re-roof rules and FORTIFIED treat them, and how to document them for a credit.Severe convective storms and rising premiumsHail, tornado and straight-line wind losses now rival hurricanes. How they push premiums, deductibles and roof terms up, and what to compare at renewal.Sinkhole and catastrophic ground cover collapse coverage explainedStandard policies exclude sinkholes. Florida requires collapse coverage and an offer of sinkhole cover; here is how those claims work.Wildfire smoke damage claimsSmoke, ash and soot from a wildfire can be a covered loss even if your home did not burn. How to claim, what testing involves, and California's new smoke law.TWIA and the Texas FAIR Plan: what each covers and when you need themTWIA sells wind and hail coverage on the Texas coast and the Texas FAIR Plan covers other perils statewide. Learn eligibility, limits, deductibles and funding.Tornado damage and homeowners insuranceA tornado is covered as windstorm. What a policy pays, which deductible applies, how total losses are settled, and what to do before you clear the lot.Underinsured after a disaster: your optionsYour dwelling limit is below the cost to rebuild. How the shortfall is calculated, where extra money can still come from, and what to do about the gap.Volcanic eruption coverage: ash, lava and what your policy paysStandard homeowners policies cover volcanic eruption damage, ash and lava included, but exclude the earthquakes and mudflows that come with it.When your house is a total lossWhat happens in the first weeks after a fire, storm or wildfire destroys your home: what the policy pays, in what order, who is on the check and what to do.Wildfire risk scores and how insurers use themHow wildfire risk scores are built, how insurers use them to accept, price or drop a home, and what California and Colorado law lets you see and appeal.Wind and hail deductibles explainedA wind/hail deductible applies to every wind or hail loss, not just hurricanes. How it differs from a hurricane deductible, state rules and roof claims.Wind mitigation inspections and discountsWhat a wind mitigation inspection checks, who may sign Florida's OIR-B1-1802 form, how long it lasts, and how to turn the report into a lower wind premium.Wind vs water: the hurricane claim disputeYour homeowners policy pays for wind and your flood policy for water. When one storm does both, how the damage is split decides who pays, and how to contest it.Windstorm exclusions and wind-only policiesSome coastal homeowners policies exclude wind, so wind and hail cover comes from a state pool. How the two-policy setup works and where it leaks.Winter storms, freezes and power outagesWhat a homeowners policy pays after ice, snow and hard freezes, why burst pipes turn on reasonable care, and why a power outage by itself is not a covered loss.