and are located in a FEMA-designated high-risk flood zone, you will most likely be required by your mortgage lender to purchase a separate flood insurance policy.

Standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood damage to homes. Flooding is one of the most common causes of insurance claims—around 90% of U.S. natural disasters involve flooding. Floods affect multiple homes at the same time, which makes them too big of a threat for basic homeowners insurance policies to cover.

While flooding is a big threat to homeowners, only 27% of homeowners have flood insurance, according to a 2020 study conducted by the

Insurance Information Institute (III)

. Unfortunately, the majority don’t realize their existing policy doesn’t cover flood damage until it is too late.

It’s extremely important to understand your state’s rules on flood insurance as weather patterns become less predictable and more damaging. This is why home and

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compiled this guide to flood insurance in Alaska.

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What is flood insurance?

Flood insurance is a specialized kind of insurance designed to protect against financial losses resulting from water damage caused by flooding.

It’s important to buy a separate flood insurance policy, particularly if you live in a high-risk flooding zone because your homeowners insurance policy won’t cover flooding damage to your home or belongings. Your home insurance covers water damage from other perils, like plumbing failures, but flooding is not covered.

What does flood insurance cover?

Flood insurance is made up of two different coverages: contents coverage, which covers your personal belongings on your property, and building coverage, which covers the structure of your home.

These two together provide financial coverage and protection for appliances, carpets, electrical and heating systems, electronics, furniture, jewelry, and more.

While flood insurance is good to have, you’ll need to remember that it won’t cover every single object inside your home or every kind of flooding. Additional living expenses, cars, money, personal property in a basement, or sewer backups that aren’t a direct result of large-scale flooding (i.e., multiple properties or two or more acres of land) will not be covered.

Check out this chart for a more detailed look at what is and isn’t covered by the different kinds of insurance:

Type of coverage	What it covers	What it doesn’t cover
Building	Electrical and plumbing systems Water heaters and furnaces Large appliances like dishwashers or refrigerators Permanently installed bookcases, cabinets, and paneling Permanently installed carpets Window blinds Foundational walls, staircases, and anchorages Detached garages Fuel tanks, solar panels, and well water tanks/pumps	Decks and patios Swimming pools Fences and landscaping
Contents	Clothing Furniture Electronic equipment Curtains Washing machine and dryer Portable air conditioners, including window units Carpets not included in building coverage Valuables such as artwork up to $2,500	Valuable papers Currency Anything stored in a basement

MORE: What are the different types of flood insurance coverage?

Do you need flood insurance in Alaska?

There is a short answer to this question: perhaps.

There isn’t a federal or statewide law that requires homeowners to have a separate flood insurance policy. However, you will be required to get flood insurance for a federally-backed mortgage for a home located in a high-risk flooding zone.

Your mortgage lender will most likely require you to buy flood insurance if you live in a moderate-to-high risk flooding zone.

The

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

, which is overseen by FEMA, offers flood insurance to homeowners based on risk level. The NFIP is responsible for overseeing and managing flood insurance, but the flood insurance policy itself will come from private insurance companies like

Allstate

You can buy flood insurance without your mortgage lender making it a requirement. Anyone can buy flood insurance, even if you’re not in a high-risk flooding zone. It’s a great idea to buy flood insurance since a flood can happen anywhere it rains, even more so if you live on the coast in Alaska.

Homeowners outside of FEMA’s high-risk flooding zones account for over 40% of NFIP flood claims.

If you want to buy NFIP-backed flood insurance, you’ll need to be located in one of the participating communities in Alaska (use this

list

from FEMA). You can still buy a policy if your town or city isn’t on the list, but you’ll need to use a private company instead.

What flood zones require flood insurance in Alaska?

Alaska generally follows the word of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1994, which requires homeowners to buy a flood insurance policy if their home is in a flood hazard zone. It’s especially important for homeowners living on the coastline to have flood insurance, so they’re covered if the worst happens.

To determine your home’s risk level, you can use FEMA’s handy tools:

Flood Map Service Center

Flood Factor®

Key Takeaway If you have a government mortgage and live in an area at high risk for flooding, you are required to have flood insurance.

How much does flood insurance cost in Alaska?

The national average price of flood insurance in the U.S. is $739 per year, but Alaska’s average price is considerably higher at $913 per year. That comes out to around $76 per month.

In October 2021, the NFIP instituted a new methodology for determining premiums called Risk Rating 2.0. Around 23% of flood insurance premiums across the country will decrease, including over 8 in 10 existing flood insurance policies in Alaska.

The exact price of your flood insurance will depend on a few factors: age of the property, location, type and size of the property, and more. Residential customers have coverage limits of $100,000 for contents coverage and $250,000 for building coverage. Your insurance company might also have a deductible limit on your flood insurance policy.

MORE: Signs of a flood damaged car

How to save money on flood and auto insurance in Alaska

You can lower your cost of flood insurance in Alaska by:

Choosing coverage for contents only

Following

from FEMA

Picking a higher deductible

Providing an

elevation certificate

to your insurance agent

Remember: your flood insurance policy will not cover flood damage to your car. Download

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