With the devastating damage coming from Hurricane Helene, I thought I would provide some of the insurance challenges these folks will be dealing with. Most will probably not have proper insurance to deal with the flooding and those that do may not actually get enough to replace their home and contents. Here's why.

Most home insurance policies don't cover flood damage, which can cost you tens of thousands of dollars even if there's just an inch or two of water. To protect yourself financially, consider buying separate flood insurance coverage. Here's how it works.

Homeowners, condo, renters and mobile home insurance policies generally don't cover flood damage. So if your home is at risk of flooding, you'll usually need to buy this coverage separately.

Types of flood insurance coverage

The NFIP offers two types of flood insurance -- building and contents -- each with a separate deductible. A deductible is the amount of a claim you're responsible for paying.

The insurance limit for building coverage is $250,000.

The NFIP covers your contents on an "actual cash value" basis. This means that if you file a flood insurance claim, your payout will reflect what your belongings were worth at the time of the flood. The limit for contents insurance is $100,000.

Here's an example: If floodwaters damage your 15-year-old recliner beyond repair, your policy will pay enough to buy a used recliner of similar age and quality -- not enough for a new one. Multiply this type of gap by every item in your home, and you may find that your insurance payout isn't nearly enough to replace what you lost.

What doesn't flood insurance cover?

The NFIP won't pay for flood damage to any of the following:

As you can see with this storm and others that will happen, your homeowners insurance will probably not provide coverage for flooding. The biggest "flood" exposure I see to homeowners in Northern New Mexico is rain and mud slides from a heavy rain and wind driven rain into cracks in foundations, door and window seals and siding, causing damage to the interior of homes.