RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Pictures coming out the west coast of Florida show a hurricane’s rath. Ian was particularly vicious, with winds 150 miles an hour. It was followed by a storm surge where ocean water pushed onto land.

There is wind and water damage. What will insurance pay for?

“Wind is a covered peril on your basic co-owner’s policy,” says John Barsanti, a Farmers Insurance Agent. If you have fire. If there is lightning. If there is wind. There are other things just as a base part of your homeowner’s insurance policy. They are automatically covered. Flood is not one of those,” he says.

Barsanti says he’s received no calls from clients wondering about their flood insurance. That’s to be expected he says. Here in Northern Nevada those living next to a water source or those who have a home loan have flood insurance.

But when disaster hits somewhere else, Barsanti says it’s not a bad idea to examine what kind of coverage you have and what it means.

One issue that has not been widely discussed he says, is car insurance. Vehicles were tossed around in Florida by the wind or swept away by flood waters.

“So, all of the cars are going to be covered,” says Barsanti. “So long as you had comprehensive coverage on your car. There is comprehensive and collision those are the two things that protect the physical value of the vehicle,” he says.

Barsanti says insurance companies and their agents have set up temporary booths or store fronts in Florida where homeowners can find out what is covered and what is not. They may find the exterior of the home was protected but the contents were not part of their insurance policy.

He says FEMA will arrive on scene to help homeowners with low interest loans so the rebuilding process can begin. It’s overwhelming he says but might be less so if as a homeowner or renter you know what is covered before disaster strikes.

“It just makes so much sense to me to protect that asset properly to make sure all the different things that you can protect it against. You do,” says Barsanti.

While flood insurance is not recommended for many living in northern Nevada, there is coverage you might want to consider.

That is earthquake insurance.

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