Flood insurance in Laguna Beach

Why Laguna Beach property floods

Canyon town. The hills behind the city funnel rain into narrow canyons, and the canyons point at the village and the coast highway. Water that would spread out over a plain instead picks up speed and carries what it collects along the way.

After a hillside burns, the bare slope sheds far more water than it did before, and it does that for years afterwards.

• Canyon shape concentrates the water rather than spreading it
• Burn scars upslope raise runoff for years, not months
• Mud and debris in the water change what a claim looks like, so read the form

Your property policy excludes it

Homeowners, condo, renters, landlord, commercial property and most business owner’s policies all carve out water that rises from outside the building. That is true in Laguna Beach the same as everywhere else, which is why flood is bought as its own policy. A waiting period normally applies, so buying once a storm is forecast is usually too late.

Nearby: Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, San Diego. Or see flood insurance generally.