Guide
Flood insurance and your home policy
Water that comes from outside and rises is a flood. Water that comes from a failed pipe is not. Policies treat them as different things.
Connects you with an independent restoration contractor.
What the state says
The Texas Department of Insurance says most home policies do not cover damage caused by floods. Mold that results from a flood is not covered by a home policy for the same reason. Flood coverage is a separate policy.
TDI also says flood policies usually have a 30-day waiting period. Buy before the storm approaches, because a policy purchased after the water arrives will not respond.
Where to buy
Flood coverage is sold through the National Flood Insurance Program and some private insurers. FEMA's FloodSmart site has a tool for finding a provider.
Why Kyle homeowners should look
The City of Kyle describes the October 2015 event as 17 inches of rain in about a day. The city created a storm drainage and flood risk utility after the 2013 and 2015 floods. See the flash flooding page for details.
This page is general. A lender, insurance agent or your policy documents are the places to confirm your own coverage.
Flood zones, as Hays County explains them
These points come from the Hays County floodplain page and FEMA's FloodSmart site.
- High risk
Zones labeled A, AE, AH, AO, AR and A99 have a one percent chance of flooding in any year, which Hays County says is a 26 percent chance over a 30-year mortgage. Flood insurance is mandatory for most mortgage holders in these areas.
- Moderate and low risk
Shaded X and X zones are outside the high-risk areas. The county says the risk is reduced, not removed, and that lower-cost preferred policies are often an option.
- Undetermined
A D zone means flood hazards are possible but no analysis has been done. Flood insurance there is optional and available.
- Outside the map
FloodSmart says almost one-third of NFIP claims come from outside high-risk areas. TDI says more than half of the homes flooded by Hurricane Harvey were outside designated flood zones.
- Old maps
Hays County says its flood hazard data dates from the late 1970s to the late 1990s and that drainage patterns have changed since. FEMA's Map Service Center holds the current effective maps.
What a flood policy covers
FloodSmart says flood insurance covers losses directly caused by flooding, in two parts: building coverage and contents coverage. It defines a flood as an excess of water on land that is normally dry, affecting two or more acres or two or more properties. Damage from a sewer backup is covered if the backup is a direct result of flooding.
For questions about maps and lender rules, FEMA's Map Information eXchange takes calls at 1-877-FEMA-MAP. To find a flood insurance provider, the NFIP line is 877-336-2627, which FloodSmart and TDI both list.
Hays County Development Services, at 2171 Yarrington Rd, Suite 100 in Kyle, is where the county Floodplain Administrator answers questions about county maps, at 512-393-2150.
Water is still moving. Call now.
One call connects you with an independent restoration contractor who serves the Kyle area. Then you decide what happens next.