Consumer advisor Clark Howard recommends homeowners outside federally designated flood zones consider federal flood insurance, which can be bought cheaply at FloodSmart.gov and protects up to $250,000 in coverage. Inland flooding has hit areas far from coasts and rivers, widening the pool of homes exposed to water damage that standard homeowners policies typically exclude.
Homeowners outside federally designated flood zones can buy federal flood insurance at low cost, protecting up to $250,000 in coverage, consumer advisor Clark Howard said.
"Get the protection ultra-cheap," Howard, the consumer advisor featured on Action News, said. "All you do is go to FloodSmart.gov, put in your address, and you'll see what it'll cost you."
Howard's advice follows repeated reports of flooding in areas far from coastlines and river shorelines, where homeowners historically assumed they faced little flood risk. Shifting weather patterns have pushed water damage into places not typically associated with flooding, he said, widening the pool of properties that could benefit from coverage.
The federal program, run through the National Flood Insurance Program, lets homeowners outside designated flood zones check their cost and coverage by entering an address at FloodSmart.gov. For those not in a mapped flood zone, premiums tend to run far below the rates charged to high-risk properties, making the policy a relatively small recurring expense against a low-probability, high-impact loss.
For a homeowner whose largest asset sits outside an official flood map, the calculation is straightforward: a modest annual premium buys protection against a single event that could otherwise wipe out much of the home's value. Standard homeowners policies typically exclude flood damage, so the federal policy is often the only route to that coverage.
Rates, coverage limits and flood-zone designations change over time, and homeowners should verify current terms and pricing against the latest official announcements from FloodSmart.gov and the Federal Emergency Management Agency before purchasing a policy.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.
