Short answer
Water damage comes from inside the home, such as a burst pipe or appliance, and is usually covered by homeowners insurance. Flood damage is rising water from outside, and is covered only by flood insurance. Cleanup differs too: floodwater is contaminated, so porous materials it touched are removed.
How insurers define flood
Flood generally means surface water from rain, overflowing rivers or bayous, or storm surge that affects normally dry land. If water entered from outside at ground level, it's likely flood.
Clean water vs. contaminated water
The IICRC S500 standard sorts water into three categories, and the category decides how it's cleaned up.
- Category 1: clean water from a supply line
- Category 2: gray water from appliances, with some contamination
- Category 3: sewage and outside floodwater, grossly contaminated
What changes in the cleanup
Clean-water losses can often be dried in place. Floodwater requires flood cuts in drywall above the waterline, removal of insulation and carpet, and sanitizing before drying.
Questions
Is wind-driven rain flood or water damage?
Rain entering through a storm-damaged roof or window is usually covered as wind or water damage under your homeowners or windstorm policy, not as flood.
Editorial note: this guide is general information for Texas homeowners, not legal or insurance advice. Your policy and local codes decide what applies to you.