While a flood insurance policy can cost $1,000 or more, this protection may help you avoid damage that sets you back tens of thousands of dollars.

“Flooding can happen just about anywhere it rains or snows,” says the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In fact, 99 percent of U.S. counties have been hit by flooding in the past 20 years.

It's the middle of hurricane season, and meteorologists say we've been lucky so far. Of the nine named storms and three hurricanes that have formed this season, only one short-lived tropical storm has ...