Flood insurance: How it works and what happens if you don’t have it

The flood aftermath from Hurricane Harvey continues to increase in Texas and more property is being damaged from the floodwaters.

If homeowners, renters and businesses have flood insurance, the majority of the flood damage may be covered. If they don’t have flood insurance, then they will eventually have to pay out of pocket for those damages.

Flood damage is most often not covered in someone’s homeowners or renters insurance policy, only through a separate flood insurance policy.

The National Flood Insurance Program was established under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968.

The program was created because Congress found out that flood insurance was barely ever available through private insurance companies, according to the legislation.

According to the NFIP website, a person can get flood insurance by going to their homeowners or renters insurance agent.

Flood claims are not paid by the insurance company. The NFIP pays the flood claim.

The NFIP was last updated in 2014 and is set to expire Sept. 30. If Congress does not pass similar legislation to continue program, it may be nearly impossible for any type of flood damage to be covered under insurance.