Meaning & use
flood insurance
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
an insurance policy that pays for damage caused by flooding, usually sold separately from normal home insurance.
Grammar: No plural; it is a type of insurance, so you say 'buy flood insurance', not 'buy a flood insurance'.
Patterns
- buy flood insurance
- have flood insurance
- flood insurance covers something
- be covered by flood insurance
The bank would not lend us money for the house until we bought flood insurance.
After the river burst its banks, families without flood insurance lost everything on the ground floor.
Flood insurance usually costs more in areas near the coast.
Common combinations
- buy flood insurance
- You should buy flood insurance before the rainy season starts.
- flood insurance policy
- She keeps her flood insurance policy with her other important documents.
- flood insurance premium
- The flood insurance premium went up after the storm.
- be covered by flood insurance
- Our basement is not covered by flood insurance.
- require flood insurance
- Some mortgage lenders require flood insurance if you live near water.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flood cover
- A British and general term for the protection itself, often used in everyday speech rather than as a formal policy name.
- home insurance
- A broader policy for a house; it often does not include flood damage, so it is not a true synonym.
Commonly confused: flood insurance or flood damage?
flood insurance vs flood damage
Flood damage is the harm caused by water; flood insurance is the policy that pays for it.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'flood insurance' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Flood insurance is uncountable, so 'a flood insurance' and 'are' are wrong, and insurance cannot cover a river — it covers people against loss. Only option C uses it as an uncountable noun meaning a policy.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flood insurance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.