What Renters Don’t Know About Flood Insurance

If your clients don't know what their policy covers, they may overpay for coverage they don't need or not have the right coverage when they need it. Help your clients understand more than just their flood risk, help them see what options they have for protection, because flooding can happen even when people least expect it.

Building Coverage

If your clients own their house or condo, there's a chance they don't have insurance coverage that'll help them if their home floods. Most homeowners insurance doesn't cover flooding, and many people are completely oblivious to that fact. As an insurance agent, you can help with the following.

1. Talk About What's Covered for Homeowners — Flood insurance for homeowners protect both the inside and outside of the home. This means their home and some of its most expensive elements have coverage, including all of the following.
   1. Framing, walls and electric systems.
   2. Window frames and panels, as well as central A/C equipment.
   3. Furnaces, cabinets and water heaters.
   4. Floors, drywall and permanently-installed carpets or bookshelves.
2. Talk About Flood Risk
   1. Clients may not believe they're at risk–and thus not want to buy another separate insurance. Understanding or visualizing floods that have historically been in their area can be an eye-opening way of getting your clients to buy a policy. Flooding is not a far-off or abstract risk, it's real, and can happen anywhere across America. Use the NFIP's Historical Claims Map to show them how close to home flooding may have come.

Contents-Only Coverage

If your clients rent their home or apartment, they may not know that their landlord's insurance won't protect their belongings; and, in a flood, renters insurance typically doesn't include flood protection. By talking your clients through these incredibly common misconceptions, you can ensure they've got the power to make informed choices about their coverage options.

1. Talk About What's Covered for Renters — With a contents-only coverage, your clients can protect up to $100,000 of their belongings, which can include a variety of items such as the following.
   1. Your clients' mattress and bedroom furniture.
   2. Their kitchen furniture, such as their fridge or dining room table.
   3. Their living room's contents, such as their TV and other electronics, couches, and even books.
2. Share Resources
   1. The best way of ensuring your clients have protection against flooding, is informing them. The NFIP has its Flood Insurance for Renters brochure available to download for free, which your clients can read and review on their own time

The NFIP offers many of its documents in multiple languages. Our Flood Insurance for Renters brochure thankfully, is currently available for your clients in English, Spanish, Korean and both traditional and simplified Chinese. You can help your clients understand their options. To find other multilingual resources, tools, talking points and marketing materials, visit the NFIP's Resource Library. Stay up to date by signing up for email updates about the latest in flood protection news.