What's been called the "disaster insurance gap" has become an increasingly dire concern in recent years. For those in certain high-risk flood zones who have mortgages, flood insurance is required.For people whose homes are in thousands of federally designated flood zones across the country, the U.S. government offers policies via the National Flood Insurance Program. "Most insurance policies, typically, unless you have flood insurance, don't cover groundwater," said Mark Eaton of MSB Disaster Recovery in Agoura Hills. For Southern Californians who can manage to find and afford coverage, that calculation may be tipping in favor of having flood insurance after last week's storms. "We had been so focused on wildfire and drought that it was hard to imagine flooding, so a lot of Californians didn't have flood policies," Ruiz said.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 14, 2024 21:04 UTC