Living in Florida, we all check our policies for “Hurricane Coverage.”

But there is a massive, dangerous misconception about what that actually covers. Hurricane coverage applies specifically to wind-driven rain. This means if the wind rips your roof off or breaks a window and rain pours in, damaging your home, you are covered. That is classic hurricane coverage.

However, if water builds up on the street outside due to heavy rain and then rises into your home, even in the middle of a named hurricane, that is considered a flood. Standard hurricane coverage does not cover flood damage. I have seen underwriters inspect claims and deny them because they determined the water entered from the ground up, not through wind damage.

I have seen this happen even in areas that aren’t traditional flood zones. I had a case where the house was on an incline, but the volume of water coming down the road was so enormous that it flowed right into the yard and under the door. Without flood insurance, that damage wasn’t covered.

This is why Citizens Insurance (the state insurer of last resort) now requires all policyholders to carry flood insurance. They saw too many homeowners left with no money to repair their homes because their hurricane policy didn’t apply to the rising water.

My strong recommendation is to get a separate Flood Insurance policy. It is a federal FEMA program and it is relatively inexpensive, usually between $600 and $800 a year. It typically covers up to $250,000 for the home, which is usually enough to repair flooring and kitchen cabinets damaged by water intrusion.

Don’t wait for the storm to hit to find out you aren’t covered.