A flood claim goes to your NFIP or private flood carrier, not to your homeowners insurer — they are separate policies and a homeowners claim will be denied for flood water. Report it the day you find it. NFIP requires a signed Proof of Loss, normally within 60 days of the loss, and the documentation you gather in the first hours is what it is built from: video of every affected room before anything is moved, photographs of the high-water line, a list of damaged contents with what you paid, and receipts for emergency mitigation.
St. Charles homeowners within a mile of the Missouri River are strongly advised to purchase NFIP flood insurance regardless of FEMA zone designation, as the 1993 and 2019 floods exceeded modeled floodplain boundaries by significant margins. Mitigation is not optional — every policy requires you to stop further damage, so drying starts before the adjuster arrives, and you keep the invoices.
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