Most people who buy a home near the water treat flood insurance as a formality. You get it because the lender requires it, you pay the premium, and you move on.

Carly Ringer, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Spring Lake and a former hurricane relief coordinator, has seen firsthand what happens when homeowners discover too late how wide the gap is between what they assumed their policy covered and what it actually pays out. That gap is worth closing before a storm hits, not after.

The Coverage Limit That Surprises Most Homeowners

Standard flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) carries a maximum payout for residential properties. For many homeowners, especially those who purchased when values were lower, that limit may have seemed adequate at the time. But for anyone who has watched shore property values rise over the past decade, or who owns a home that has been significantly renovated, the NFIP cap may represent only a fraction of what it would cost to repair or replace the structure today.

For higher-value properties, the gap between NFIP coverage and actual property value can be substantial. Private flood insurance fills that gap by allowing homeowners to layer additional coverage on top of the federal program. This is not a product reserved for expensive homes. Any homeowner whose property has appreciated meaningfully should revisit whether their current coverage is still adequate.

Homeowner’s Insurance Is Not Flood Insurance

This distinction matters enormously and gets confused constantly. Standard homeowner’s insurance does not cover flood damage. It covers different risks – including, in many cases, wind damage, which is a significant concern during hurricane season. But water from rising tides, storm surge, or heavy rainfall requires a separate policy, separately purchased.

Flood insurance does not automatically cover wind damage either. Homeowners in coastal areas are managing two distinct risks and need two policies that together address both. Understanding exactly what each covers and what each excludes is not a one-time exercise. Policy terms change, coverage limits should be reviewed as property values rise, and insurers’ willingness to write coverage in certain areas is narrowing.

Roofs, Age, and a Shifting Insurance Landscape

Getting flood insurance is one challenge. Getting standard homeowner’s insurance is becoming another, particularly along the Jersey Shore.

A growing number of insurers are declining to write new policies on homes with older roofs, and some are refusing to renew existing policies on the same basis. For buyers, this has practical consequences. A home that meets every other requirement may present unexpected insurance obstacles if the roof hasn’t been replaced recently.

There is a practical workaround worth knowing. If a buyer plans to replace the roof after purchase, obtaining a contractor estimate before closing and sharing it with the insurance company can sometimes unlock coverage. The insurer may write the policy with a specified timeline for the roof replacement, allowing the transaction to close while the repair is committed to in writing. This requires proactive communication and a clear understanding of what the underwriter needs.

Older homes close to the coast face similar scrutiny. Some insurers are charging significantly higher premiums – or declining to write coverage altogether – on homes that are several decades old and within a certain distance of the water. The thresholds vary by insurer and are not consistent across the market, but the pattern is clear enough that anyone buying an older coastal home should obtain insurance quotes early in the process, before the inspection period closes.

What You Don’t Document, You Can’t Claim

Here is a piece of advice from Ringer that costs nothing and could be worth a great deal: “photograph and video everything in your home now”.

When a storm or flood damages a property, insurance claims require proof – not just that the structure was damaged, but that specific contents were inside it. The television, the furniture, the appliances. Without documentation, claims adjusters have no basis on which to compensate for those losses. The burden is on the homeowner to show what was there.

This is simple to do and rarely done. Walk through your home with your phone, open every closet, and capture appliances, electronics, furniture, and any items of significant value. Store those photos and that video somewhere outside the home – a cloud backup or an email to yourself will survive an event that damages the property. Doing this once, and updating it when significant changes are made, takes less than an hour and can make the difference between a claim that gets paid fairly and one that doesn’t.

Don’t Assume Location Equals Safety

Flood risk is not limited to properties inside official FEMA flood zones. Flooding can come from heavy rainfall, overwhelmed drainage systems, and water entering structures from the side or below grade. A basement that floods during a major storm is not treated the same as a ground-floor inundation, and policies reflect that difference.

Rain events that would have been described as once-in-a-generation a decade ago are now occurring with greater frequency. Even property owners in officially low-risk areas should review their policies, understand what is and isn’t covered, and confirm that their coverage limits reflect what their property is worth today.

Read your policies. Know what they cover. Document what you own before you need to prove it.

Carly Ringer is a licensed New Jersey real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty Spring Lake, specializing in residential sales across the Central Jersey Shore. She holds the Circle of Excellence Gold designation from the New Jersey Association of Realtors, and carries the CNE (Certified Negotiation Expert) and SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) designations. Reach Carly at (201) 410-3930.

Disclaimer: This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.