THE CALIFORNIA DELUGE : Flood Insurance: What It Covers, What It Doesn’t

The Great Storm of 1995 may have many Southern California residents thinking about buying flood insurance--and wondering about the adequacy of their existing homeowners policies.

What does flood insurance cover? How much rain damage is covered under normal homeowners policies? Here are some answers.

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Q: What does flood insurance cover?

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A: Flood insurance protects you from the effects of a “rising tide of water.” If you buy both structure and content coverage, any damage to walls, carpets, furniture and belongings--from water or mud rushing into your home or welling up in your basement--would be insured.

Flood insurance also covers the erosive effects of streams of water hitting the foundation of your home, says Jack Eldridge, chief of the flood control program at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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Q: How is flood insurance different from the storm coverage under my homeowners policy?

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A: Storm coverage, standard in a homeowners policy, indemnifies you from water coming in through a window or roof that was damaged in a violent storm. It doesn’t cover water that’s seeped into your home from the ground.

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Q: Does my homeowners policy cover the effect of a leaky roof?

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A: If your roof is leaking because it is in poor repair, your insurer is probably not liable. That’s because most policies exclude losses caused by shoddy workmanship or poor maintenance. But if the roof was damaged in the storm--the wind blew off shingles or a branch poked through the structure, allowing water in--you are covered.

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Q: How can I buy flood insurance?

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A: Flood insurance can be purchased at the same time you buy homeowners coverage, but it is separate from your homeowners policy, which almost always excludes losses from water that wells up from the ground.

You can generally buy flood coverage from the same agent who sold you your homeowners policy. If your agent doesn’t write flood insurance, look for another property-casualty agent who does. It does not matter which agent writes the policy, because all policies are provided and backed by the federal government and cost the same no matter who writes them.

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Q: Can everyone buy it?

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A: If your community is at risk of flood, you should be able to get flood insurance. But it is not available in areas where local governments have refused to abide by the federal government’s flood-abatement rules. In Southern California, these areas include El Monte, Huntington Park, Grand Terrace in San Bernardino County and Lemon Grove in San Diego County.

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Q: After the earthquake, I wasn’t able to buy earthquake coverage because insurers imposed temporary moratoriums on selling quake coverage. Is there something similar with flood insurance, or could I buy it today if I want to?

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A: Agents can sell flood insurance while Noah is out building an ark. There are no storm-related moratoriums. The one caveat: It takes roughly five calendar days for flood insurance applications to be processed and go into effect. So if you gave your agent a check for flood insurance today, your coverage would start next Monday, Eldridge says.

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Q: What does it cost?

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A: That depends on whether you are in a special hazard area and whether your house was built to flood standards. However, the range for $100,000 in structure coverage and $60,000 in contents coverage goes from a low of about $381 annually for both to a high of $622.

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Q: What about renters? If I don’t have special flood insurance, will my tenant’s policy pick up the tab for damage to my belongings?

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A: That depends on your policy and how your belongings were damaged, says Larry Arnold, partner at the Newport Beach law firm Cummins & White, which specializes in insurance issues. Most tenant policies designate specific “perils” that are covered, such as fire and theft. Few include flood or earthquake coverage. However, if your belongings were damaged because of water coming in through the roof--regardless of whether the roof was in good repair--you should be covered, he says. That’s because, unlike a homeowner, you are not responsible for the roof repair.

If the water seeps through the floor, however, you’re unlikely to be covered.

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Q: Can renters buy flood insurance?

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A: Yes. You can buy a contents policy, which would cost between $131 and $162 annually for $60,000 worth of coverage, Eldridge says.

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Q: Is my homeowners policy useless in a flood? Is anything covered?

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A: If you have purchased “floaters” for particularly expensive items--such as paintings, furs, cameras, jewelry, stamp collections and office equipment--those items are insured no matter how they were damaged, according to the National Assn. of Independent Insurers.

In addition, if you have storm coverage and can prove that the main cause of your loss was the storm rather than a flood, you are covered, Arnold notes.

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Q: What’s the difference between a storm and a flood?

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A: Say high winds sent your patio furniture into sliding glass doors, breaking them. Until then, water puddling outside had not come into the house; afterward it did. The resulting damage is likely to be covered because the main cause of the damage was arguably the storm winds, not the flood.

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Q: Are there any limitations on coverage for storm damage?

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A: Aside from your policy caps, there is one important limitation: Most policies require you to take appropriate steps to stem the damage, Arnold says. If a window breaks and you make no effort to temporarily cover it--or move your belongings out of harm’s way--your insurer could deny your claim, for example. No heroic steps are necessary--just reasonable care.

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Are You Covered?

Will homeowners or flood insurance cover your losses? Here’s a quick rundown of what’s covered--and what’s not--under each type of policy.

* Structure: Maybe. If damage is from rising water, you’re covered only if you’ve purchased flood insurance. But if the damage was caused by the storm breaking windows or pushing holes through the roof, your homeowners policy should cover it.

* Furniture and clothing: Maybe. If you’ve got flood insurance, you’re covered whether the water came through the ceiling, window or floor. If you don’t, you’re covered only if the storm broke a window or the roof, resulting in damage to your belongings.

* Art, furs, cameras: Yes. If you bought “floaters” to obtain coverage for high-priced goods such as paintings, cameras, stamp and coin collections or furs, they’re covered no matter how they were damaged.

* Leaks: Maybe. If the leak was caused by poor maintenance, no. If the result of storm-ravaged roofing, yes.

* Landscaping: No. Neither homeowners nor flood insurance covers water-related damage to your flora and fauna.

* Fences, sheds and independent structures: If damaged by high winds or fallen trees, they are covered under homeowners insurance; if damaged by flood waters, only flood insurance applies.

* Cars: Yes. If you have “comprehensive” auto insurance coverage, which is standard, your car is insured whether it’s damaged in an accident or washed away in a flood.

* Landslides: Not covered by either flood or homeowners insurance.

* Mudslides: Yes, if you have flood insurance. No, if you have just homeowners insurance.