It’s hard to forget last year’s hurricane season and the lessons we all should have learned.

One of the chief lessons for homeowners and renters: Consider getting flood insurance.

Floods occur in all 50 states, and most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1. And flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period to take effect.

Only about half of homeowners living in the most flood-prone areas of the United States buy federal flood insurance, leaving millions of families at risk for severe financial losses when floods strike, according to a study by the Rand Corp., a nonprofit research organization.

The Rand study is part of a wide-ranging evaluation of the nation’s flood-insurance system. The study was requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Forecasters say this hurricane season could be as destructive as 2005, the worst on record," said Jesse Munoz, acting director of the Transitional Recovery Office for the Mississippi Hurricane Katrina efforts.

For most homes, apartments and businesses, the only insurance protection against damage from rising water is flood insurance underwritten by the National Flood Insurance Program. This program is greatly underutilized even though flooding is a major source of loss to individuals and businesses throughout the United States, according to the Rand study.

Most homeowners who buy flood insurance do so because they are required to by their lenders. That’s because they live in areas considered most vulnerable to flooding, the study found. Just 20 percent of homeowners living in the most floodprone areas buy federal flood insurance when they are not required to do so, the study says.

Many people don’t buy flood insurance because they don’t think they need it, said Lloyd Dixon, senior economist at Rand and lead author of the study.

But roughly 25 percent of all claims paid by NFIP are for policies in low- to moderaterisk communities, according to FEMA.

Price isn’t a factor, Dixon said.

If you don’t live in an area with a high risk of flooding, your premium could be as low as $112 a year, which would cover about $20,000 in building damage and $8,000 in contents.

Flood insurance does not cover improvements to a basement, such as finished walls, floors, carpeting or personal belongings.

It does cover your home’s foundation. Functional items in your basement are covered under your policy’s building coverage, such as plumbing, furnace, hot-water heater and circuit breakers.

Even with its limitations, flood insurance is worth getting.

For information on flood insurance, go to www.floodsmart.gov.

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MICHELLE SINGLETARY

Michelle Singletary writes for the Washington Post Writers Group.

©2006, The Columbus Dispatch, Reproduction prohibited