If My House Floods, What Will Be Covered By My Building Insurance?

There are two factors that will influence what is covered by your building insurance and your contents insurance in the case of a flood. The first is the exact detail of your policies and the second is the extent of the damage.

Most policies will cover repairing the damage to walls and foundations then redecorating after the repairs have been made. If your house is literally swept away and very little of it remains, then it would pay to rebuild the house. What they probably will not cover, unless your policy is combined with a contents policy, is the furniture, curtains, fittings, food and other personal items that may have been damaged in the flood. These will be covered by a home contents insurance policy, assuming you have one.

Some building policies will have exclusions such as damage caused by war or terrorism, so in that case if a deliberately exploded dam, for example, caused the flood then they may not pay out. It is important to read and understand insurance policy documents so that you are clear about exactly what is covered and what is not.