By
eHow Personal Finance Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Itemized list of your belongings and their approximate total value
Evaluate Your Risk Level
Step1
Examine your community, and determine whether you live close to a lake, river, creek, levee, dam or path where melting snow may flow and damage your property.
Step2
Determine whether your rental property is in the 100-year flood plain, the 100-year sheet flow flooding area or the 100-year stream flood area, as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Step3
Contact your city government, and obtain a map of the 100-year flood plain in your area. Ask for the FEMA flood-risk level for the area in which you rent property.
Step4
Estimate the cost of any items that are regularly stored in a basement. You need to deduct these costs from the total value of your belongings, as these items will not be covered by flood insurance.
Get Renters Flood Insurance
Step1
Determine the dollar amount you want for renters flood insurance. The National Flood Insurance Program will only cover contents up to $100,000.
Step2
Contact a reputable insurance company through FloodSmart.gov, or ask your regular insurance agent for a flood insurance quote (see Resources below). Flood insurance rates are set by the government and are not negotiable. However, you may get a discount on your other insurance if you have multiple policies with one company.
Step3
Arrange the terms of your policy and payment. Realize that unless you live in a high-risk flood area, you will have a 30-day period before your coverage begins. This means you will not be able to file a claim until 30 days after you get a policy.
Make a Flood-Safe File
Step1
Take your itemized list of belongings, and document each major item with a photograph or video and a receipt of purchase (if available).
Step2
Place your documented list in a flood-safe file or store it electronically.
Step3
Update your flood-safe file at least once a year in order to ensure that your list stays current.