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// Guide · Flood

Flood insurance takes 30 days. Buy before the storm is in the forecast.

Home and renters policies don’t cover flooding. Here’s how to tell whether you need a flood policy, when it would start, and what it pays for.

About this tool

Coverage start calculator

What it is
A date calculator for when a flood policy bought on a given day would start paying, with the federal program’s deadline on the same timeline.
Why it’s here
Most people shop for flood insurance when rain is already forecast. By then a new policy can’t start in time.
What it helps with
Seeing whether a policy bought today would be in force before Sacramento’s wettest months, and which exceptions shorten the wait.
How to use it
Pick the day you’d buy and how you’re buying. The result updates as you change them. Copy the link to share the same answer.
Tool

When would my coverage start?

Loading the calculator…

Step 1

Do you need it?

Start with your address’s flood zone on FEMA’s map. Brace For It can look it up for you on your 95821 page (the “Check your address’s flood zone” step). We use the address for that one lookup and keep only the result.

  • High risk: zones starting with A or V. About a 1 in 4 chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. Lenders require flood insurance for government-backed mortgages here. Strongly recommended for everyone.
  • Moderate risk: shaded X or B. Includes many homes behind levees, where FEMA’s map shows reduced risk, not no risk. Worth a quote.
  • Minimal risk: unshaded X or C. Optional. Still, from 2014 to 2024 almost a third of NFIP flood claims (29%) came from outside high-risk areas.

For scale: from 2020 to 2024 the average NFIP claim payment was $82,614.

Step 2

Know when it starts

  • Usually 30 days after you buy a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy.
  • No wait when you buy it with a new, increased, extended or renewed mortgage, or add coverage at renewal.
  • 1 day if your home was mapped into a high-risk zone and you buy within 13 months of the map change.
  • A flood already underway when you buy isn’t covered (the “flood in progress” rule).
  • Private flood policies set their own waiting periods. Ask for the start date in writing.
The Dec 11, 2026 deadline. Congress has authorized the NFIP only through December 11, 2026. If it lapses, the NFIP can’t sell new policies or renew old ones until Congress acts again. Existing policies stay in force until they expire (plus a 30-day grace period), claims are paid while FEMA has funds, and private flood insurance isn’t affected.
Step 3

Know what it pays for

Covered

  • The building, up to $250,000: walls, foundation, electrical and plumbing, furnace, water heater, built-in appliances, installed carpet and cabinets, a detached garage.
  • Your belongings, up to $100,000 (a separate “contents” policy): furniture, clothing, electronics, washer and dryer. Renters can buy contents coverage alone.

Not covered

  • Temporary housing and extra living costs while your home is repaired.
  • Belongings kept in a basement, and limited coverage for the basement itself.
  • Outside property: landscaping, trees, decks, patios, fences, pools, septic systems.
  • Cash, precious metals and valuable papers. Cars: flood damage to a car is covered only if you carry comprehensive auto coverage.
Step 4

How to buy

  • Call the agent or company that sells your home or renters policy and ask for an NFIP flood quote. More than 48 insurance companies and thousands of agents sell NFIP policies at the same price, so the rate doesn’t change by seller.
  • Or start online with FloodSmart’s quote form to get an estimate and find a provider.
  • Ask for both building and contents (owners), or contents (renters), and the exact start date.
  • Put it on your calendar to renew. Policies last a year, with a 30-day grace period.

Brace For It doesn’t sell insurance or get paid for referrals.

The numbers
Wait
30 days for most new NFIP policies
Deadline
NFIP authorized through Dec 11, 2026
Building
Up to $250,000
Contents
Up to $100,000
Outside high risk
29% of claims, 2014–2024
Average claim
$82,614, 2020–2024
In Sacramento

FEMA’s maps don’t model a levee breaking. Check your street on California’s Best Available Maps (100-, 200- and 500-year floodplains) and Cal OES MyHazards.

The center of 95821 is Zone X (minimal) on FEMA’s map. Your street may differ, so check your address.

Sources
  1. FloodSmart: What’s your flood risk? (zones, 29%, average claim)
  2. FloodSmart: What flood insurance covers (limits, exclusions, how to buy)
  3. FloodSmart: Get a quote
  4. Colorado DHSEM: Flood insurance waiting period and exceptions
  5. FEMA: Flood-in-progress exclusion
  6. NAHB: NFIP extended through Dec 11 (Sept 2026)
  7. NAR: What happens if the NFIP expires Dec 11, 2026
  8. California Department of Insurance: Coverage for car damage (comprehensive covers flood)

Checked October 19, 2026.