Your Homeowners Policy Excludes Flood. Every One of Them Does.
Flood damage is excluded from standard homeowners, condo, and renters policies — coverage requires a separate flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private flood carrier. Per FEMA, just one inch of floodwater can cause roughly $25,000 in damage, and most new flood policies carry a 30-day waiting period, so the time to buy is before the river forecast makes the news.
Boyd Insurance Brokerage has written flood coverage for Spokane property owners since 1996. As independent agents, we quote both NFIP policies and the growing private flood market — which frequently offers higher limits and better pricing than the federal program, depending on the property.
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Flood Risk in Spokane Isn’t Hypothetical
The City of Spokane participates in the NFIP specifically because mapped 100-year floodplains run along both the Spokane River and Latah Creek. Local risk here is driven by spring snowmelt and rain-on-snow events, and it behaves differently by drainage:
- The Spokane River floods with warning — days of forecastable high flows, as in March 2017, when a flooding emergency was declared as the river hit near-record levels and the city distributed sandbags in Peaceful Valley and along Upriver Drive.
- Hangman (Latah) Creek is the opposite. FEMA’s own Flood Insurance Study for Spokane County notes that extremely high peak flows can be generated on Hangman Creek with little advance warning — its greatest flood peaks come from winter storms and rapid melt. Latah Creek reached flood stage as recently as February 2025. If you’re in Vinegar Flats, the Latah Valley, or near Hangman Valley Golf Course, this is your drainage.
- The Little Spokane River and its tributary creeks drain the entire northern county, putting properties from Colbert to Nine Mile in mapped and unmapped flood paths.
And risk doesn’t end at the zone boundary: FEMA reports that nearly one-third of NFIP flood claims come from outside high-risk flood areas. Where it rains — or where snow melts fast — it can flood.
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What Flood Insurance Covers
Building Coverage — The structure, foundation, electrical and plumbing systems, HVAC, water heater, built-in appliances, and attached fixtures. NFIP residential limits top out at $250,000 for the building; private flood policies can go higher, which matters for many Spokane-area homes.
Contents Coverage — Furniture, clothing, electronics, and portable appliances, up to $100,000 under the NFIP. Contents coverage is purchased separately and is available on its own — which makes it the flood solution for renters and ground-floor condo owners, whose buildings are insured by someone else.
What flood policies don’t cover: most basement contents and finishes (a significant limitation for Spokane’s many finished basements — ask us how private flood policies treat basements differently), temporary living expenses under the NFIP, and damage from water that backs up through sewers or drains without general flooding — that’s a sewer backup endorsement on your home policy, a separate coverage we recommend for most older Spokane homes.
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We are a medium-sized insurance brokerage that was established in 1996. As Independent Agents, we represent you, the CLIENT. Although we write all types of insurance, we specialize in auto and home insurance in the Northwest.
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Why Buy It Before You “Need” It
Two numbers from FEMA’s own fact sheet make the case. Between 2016 and 2022, the average FEMA disaster assistance grant was about $3,000 — and disaster assistance only exists if the President declares a disaster, which most Spokane-area flood events never trigger. Over the same period, the average NFIP claim paid more than $66,000, and it pays whether or not a disaster is declared. Federal aid is not a flood insurance substitute; it’s a fraction of one, available only sometimes.
Add the standard 30-day waiting period, and the math is simple: a policy bought when Hangman Creek is already rising covers nothing.
NFIP or Private Flood? We Quote Both.
The NFIP is the default, but it isn’t the only option anymore. Private flood carriers — several available through our 150+ carrier markets — often offer higher building limits, replacement-cost contents, additional living expenses (which the NFIP lacks), shorter waiting periods, and in many moderate-risk Spokane ZIP codes, lower premiums. For some properties the NFIP still wins, particularly with subsidized or grandfathered rates. This is exactly the comparison an independent brokerage exists to run — we’ll price both against your actual flood zone and elevation rather than guessing.
Who Needs Flood Insurance in Spokane
- Anyone with a federally backed mortgage on a home in a Special Flood Hazard Area — coverage is mandatory, and your lender will force-place expensive coverage if you let it lapse
- Homeowners near the Spokane River, Latah/Hangman Creek, and the Little Spokane drainage — mapped or not
- Owners of homes with finished basements in low-lying neighborhoods
- Renters and condo owners on ground floors — contents-only policies are inexpensive
- Landlords with rental property near any waterway — pair with your landlord policy
- Anyone whose “it’s never flooded here” is doing the work a policy should be doing
Local & Family Owned
We are a medium-sized insurance brokerage established in 1996. As Independent Agents, we represent you, the CLIENT. We’ll pull your property’s flood zone, compare NFIP and private options, and give you a real answer on whether you need this coverage — including when the honest answer is that you don’t. Call (509) 340-2693 or contact us. Our office is at 103 E Sprague Ave Ste 102 in downtown Spokane.
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FAQ
Does homeowners insurance cover flood damage in Washington? No. Flood — surface water inundating normally dry land — is excluded from every standard homeowners, condo, and renters policy. Sewer or drain backup without general flooding is also excluded but can be added to your home policy by endorsement; true flood requires a separate flood policy.
I’m not in a flood zone. Do I need flood insurance? Being outside a high-risk zone means lower risk, not no risk — nearly a third of NFIP claims are filed from outside high-risk areas. In Spokane, rapid snowmelt and rain-on-snow events routinely flood properties the maps rate as moderate risk. For those properties, premiums are also at their cheapest.
How long before flood coverage takes effect? NFIP policies typically have a 30-day waiting period. Key exceptions: coverage bought in connection with a mortgage closing, and certain flood-map changes. Some private flood policies have shorter waits — another reason we quote both.
How much does flood insurance cost in Spokane? It depends on your flood zone, elevation, foundation type, and coverage amount — under FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0, pricing is property-specific rather than zone-wide. Moderate- and low-risk Spokane properties often qualify for the least expensive rates. We’ll quote your exact address rather than an average.
What’s the difference between NFIP and private flood insurance? The NFIP is federally backed with fixed limits ($250,000 building / $100,000 contents residential) and no coverage for additional living expenses. Private policies can offer higher limits, replacement-cost contents, ALE, and different basement treatment — sometimes at lower cost. Which is better depends on the property; we compare both.
My lender says I have to buy flood insurance. What now? That means FEMA maps place the building in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Send us the lender’s notice — we’ll quote NFIP and private options, and if you believe the mapping is wrong, we can point you to FEMA’s Letter of Map Amendment process, which removes incorrectly mapped properties from the requirement.