Flood Insurance

Get Affordable Flood Insurance for Your Home

“Anywhere it can rain, it can flood.” – FEMA

For too long, flood insurance has been expensive, complicated, and limited in its protection. That’s why Kin is proud to offer Florida homeowners a private market alternative to NFIP flood policies.

Instead of buying a separate flood policy, Kin policyholders can add flood coverage as an endorsement to their homeowners insurance for as little as $175 a year. That means:

• You pay one premium for both your home and flood insurance.
• Your AOP deductible applies for both home and flood insurance claims.
• You interact with one company for all home and flood insurance questions, claims, and service.

Because flood insurance is the only type of coverage that can pay for damage to a home caused by storm surges, it’s important this protection is affordable and readily available to homeowners who need it most. 

Kin Flood Coverage vs. NFIP Flood Coverage

What Does Flood Insurance Cost?

The cost of flood insurance varies depending on where your home is located, its elevation, and the deductible and coverage limits you choose. But where you buy your coverage also impacts your costs.

For example, a recent study found that 77 percent of homes in Florida could get lower rates through private flood insurance rather than the NFIP.

That said, Kin's average flood insurance cost for flood zone X is $175 a year. That's about $14 a month – less than the price of two lattes – to keep your home ready whatever the weather throws at you.

Check out our guide to learn more about Florida flood insurance costs.

What Is Flood Insurance?

While a standard home insurance policy can cover water damage from a burst pipe, it does not cover damage caused by floods. Only flood insurance can do that. This coverage is designed to pay for flood damage to your home, other structures, and personal belongings.

Technically speaking, a flood is defined as a condition where two or more acres of normally dry land are inundated by water or mudflow. And they happen more often than homeowners may think.

For starters, 90 percent of US natural disasters involve flooding. Florida in particular is more at risk for floods than any other state, thanks to its 11,000 miles of rivers, streams, and waterways coupled with flat terrain. It experiences an average of 59.21 inches of rainfall per year.

Plus, 98 percent of the total Florida population lives in one of the coastal counties, which are more prone to flooding.

Even one inch of standing water costs $23,635 in repairs to a one-story home. This figure doesn’t take into account the additional costs of replacing flood-damaged personal property.

Yet only 42 percent of homeowners in Florida’s coastal counties have flood insurance. 

But it’s not just coastal homeowners who need this protection. About 20 to 25 percent of flood claims are paid in areas considered low risk for floods.

That’s why flood insurance is so important, especially if you own a home in Florida.

What Does Flood Insurance Cover?

Flood insurance can cover water damage to your home and your belongings. Specifically, it allows you to make a claim if the following items are subjected to storm surges:

• Electrical, heating, cooling, and plumbing systems.
• Appliances, including refrigerators, stoves, washers, and dryers.
• Carpeting and window treatments.
• Built-in bookcases, cabinets, and paneling.
• Foundation, walls, anchorage systems, and staircases attached to the structure.
• A detached garage.
• Personal property, including clothing, furniture, and electronic equipment that isn’t stored in the basement.
• Valuables, like artwork and furs, up to $2,500 in value.

Flood policies also offer coverage for groundwater seepage, mudslides, and floods caused by broken water mains.

When you buy flood coverage from Kin, your home, other structures, and personal property are insured for their replacement cost up to the limits of your homeowners policy.

You can learn more about how flood insurance claims are paid out here.

What Flood Insurance Doesn’t Cover

Flood insurance can’t cover everything, though, and typically excludes coverage for the following:

• Moisture or mold/mildew damage that the homeowner could’ve prevented.
• Currency, precious metals, and paper valuables.
• Outdoor property, including landscaping, patios, fences, decks, septic systems, and pools.
• Additional living expenses when a flood makes the home uninhabitable.
• Cars and other vehicles.
• Earthquakes and earth movements caused by floods.

Flood insurance also usually won’t cover water damage to personal belongings in basements and crawl spaces.

Is Flood Insurance Required?

That depends on where you live and what your mortgage situation is like. For example, if your home is in a high-risk flood zone or Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) – locations with 25 percent chance of being flooded within 30 years – and you have a mortgage through a federally regulated lender, that lender is legally obligated to require you to have flood insurance. Many mortgage lenders require flood insurance if your home is near a body of water, regardless of their legal mandate to do so.

If you don’t have a mortgage, you may not be required to buy flood insurance, but it is incredibly risky not to, especially if your home is in an area prone to flooding, such as the Florida panhandle, along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast, along the Mississippi River, or even near the Rockies.

It’s also worth remembering that up to 25 percent of all flood claims come from low to moderate-risk flood areas. That’s why even if you aren’t required to have flood insurance in these areas, it’s still a wise investment.

Some home insurance providers may require you to have flood insurance as a condition of issuing a standard home insurance policy, too.

25% of all flood claims come from low to moderate-risk flood areas.

How Much Flood Insurance Do I Need?

If you have a mortgage, you’ll usually be required to have flood insurance equal to the cost of developing your property or up to the maximum coverage limit available – whichever is lower.

Another useful benchmark is to have coverage equal the value of your home, other structures, and belongings. Your insurance provider can help you determine what makes sense for your needs.

When Should Homeowners Buy Flood Insurance?

Get flood insurance before you need it. No insurance policy will retroactively cover flood damage you already have, so it’s important to have flood coverage in place before a disaster strikes. Consider purchasing flood insurance well before flood and hurricane seasons begin.

If you’re looking at flood policies during hurricane season, be aware that a tropical storm warning may delay your ability to purchase coverage if there’s a moratorium. 

Kin’s flood coverage is effective as soon as you buy it, but National Flood Insurance Program policies don’t take effect until 30 days after purchase. Keep those timetables in mind when shopping.

How to Get Flood Insurance 

While you can’t purchase flood insurance directly from the National Flood Insurance Program, you can purchase flood insurance directly from Kin. Just apply for a flood insurance quote online – we’ll handle the rest.

Flood Insurance Resources