Does homeowners insurance cover flood damage?

No. A standard homeowners insurance policy does not cover flood damage. This catches many Georgia homeowners by surprise, so it is worth knowing the line clearly. Homeowners insurance covers water that comes from inside your home, like a burst pipe or an overflowing washing machine. It does not cover rising water that comes from outside, such as a swollen creek, a storm surge, or heavy rain that pools and enters your house.

Think of it this way. If a tree falls and rain pours through the broken roof, that is usually a covered storm loss. But if the Chattahoochee River jumps its banks after days of rain and floods your basement, that is a flood, and your homeowners policy will not pay for it.

To protect against flooding, you need a separate flood insurance policy. Many Georgia properties sit in flood-prone areas near rivers, lakes, and low-lying neighborhoods, and even homes outside mapped high-risk zones can flood. Flood policies usually have a 30-day waiting period before coverage starts, so buying ahead of storm season matters.

It is also smart to check your exclusion list so you understand exactly what your current policy leaves out. A flood gap is one of the most common and costly surprises we see. Flood is excluded from standard homeowners policies, which is where the exposure comes from. Get a free coverage review and we will spot the gaps before a storm finds them.