Although I have known about flood insurance for awhile now, I must admit that I was quite surprised originally when I found out that most home owner's insurance policies DON'T cover damage caused by floods. Flood insurance is actually a separate policy. Although your insurance agency will usually help you purchase a policy, they are not the ones who are covering you. You are actually going through your insurance agent to purchase flood insurance from the federal government (FEMA). Prices may vary, but your insurance agent can help get the numbers for you and help you make it happen.
Flood insurance, like all insurance, is something that you might not appreciate until you actually need it. But if your area were to experience a flood, you would be very glad that you had taken care of this aspect of emergency preparedness. FEMA actually has an on-line map that can help you see where you fall within a flood-plain. Once I typed in my address and it brought up the map, I set the scale to 25% and used the "pan" feature to maneuver around the map. It worked well enough that even I could understand it!
Another thing that many people don't really think about is renter's insurance. For all those many years that we did not own a home I didn't think about it, either. Then, when my husband was in college, I actually knew two different families who suffered through losing everything in a fire. It got me thinking: even though we did not have a whole lot during this time, it was hard enough to come by the first time around. We would have been in a world of hurt if something had happened and we had to replace all of those towels, dishes, clothes, etc. So we actually purchased some renter's insurance which would cover the cost of replacing our household goods, or protect us in the case of theft. Our current insurance agent informed me that rates, etc., for renter's insurance are usually based on the county in which you live. Where we live, my insurance agency requires purchasing insurance at a minimum level of $15,000, and the rates vary from about $90 - $130 per year, depending on whether you are in a single-family dwelling or a multi-family dwelling. Most renter's policies will also protect you against liability, just in case someone gets hurt while visiting you.
Insurance: Hope you never need it, but be so glad to have it!
When our house flooded in 2004, I was SO upset to find out our insurance policy excluded flooding! We had to get a SBA loan for over $7,000 to cover damages. Yes, flood insurance is well worth it!
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