How Do You Insure a Lake Home on Watts Bar Lake?

A lake home on Watts Bar Lake is usually insured in layers. Start with a homeowners policy for the house. Add a flood policy if the lot calls for one. Then ask about the boat, the golf cart and any dock, which a house policy often leaves out.

A lake home is a different thing to insure than a house in a subdivision. There is water nearby. There may be a dock, a boat and a golf cart. Get the coverage right and there is less to worry about. Get it wrong and one storm can become an expensive lesson.

This page covers how insurance for a lake home works and who to ask, with Tennessee National as the example. It is general information. An insurance agent has to look at your home and your policy.

Does a lake home need flood insurance?

It depends on the exact homesite, not on the lake. Flood zones come from federal flood maps, and each property is checked on its own. Two homesites in the same community can sit in different zones because one is higher than the other.

Four things to know:

• A standard homeowners policy generally does not cover flood. Flood insurance is a separate policy, from the federal flood program or a private insurer.
• A lender may require it. If the home is in a mapped high-risk zone and you have a mortgage, expect the lender to ask for a flood policy.
• You can buy it anyway. Owners outside the high-risk zones can usually still buy flood coverage if they want it.
• Elevation matters. A surveyor can prepare an elevation certificate, which insurers can use to price a flood policy.

Watts Bar Lake is a freshwater TVA reservoir. There are no tides. TVA manages the level through the year: summer pool runs about 740 to 741 feet, and the winter minimum is 735 feet, a change of about 5 to 6 feet. TVA posts current levels on its lake level page, and Watts Bar Lake levels explains the pattern. That managed range is useful background. It does not replace a flood map check for your own lot.

Ask an insurance agent to look up the address before you buy. For a homesite you plan to build on, ask where on the land the house can sit and how high.

What does a homeowners policy cover on a lake home?

A homeowners policy typically covers the house, your belongings, your liability if someone is hurt, and living costs if a covered loss forces you out. On a custom lake home, three parts deserve extra attention.

• Rebuild cost. Ask the agent to base the coverage on what it would cost to build the home again, not on what it would sell for. Homes at Tennessee National are custom built, and custom work can cost more to replace than an insurer's standard estimate assumes. Give the agent your real plans and finishes.
• Liability. A lake home draws guests, and guests bring risk. Ask about your liability limit and whether an umbrella policy makes sense.
• Water that is not flood. A burst pipe, a failed water heater and a backed-up drain are handled differently from one policy to the next. Ask what is covered and what needs an add-on.

Are a boat, a dock and a golf cart covered?

Usually not by the house policy alone. This is a common place for a lake owner to find a gap.

Tennessee National has a full-service marina with 140+ boat slips. If you keep a boat there, ask the marina what its slip agreement says about insurance and about who is responsible for what. See marina and lake life and boat slips.

Whether a homesite at Tennessee National can have a private dock at all is a separate question for TVA and the land consultant. Do not assume it.

Tennessee National is also a golf cart community. Do not assume the cart is covered once it leaves your driveway. Ask.

What changes if the home is not occupied all year?

The policy can change, so tell your agent the truth about how often you will be there. Insurers often treat a home that sits empty for long stretches differently from one that is lived in every day.

Ask about any limits that apply when the house is vacant. Ask what the insurer expects you to do while you are gone: shut off the water, keep the heat on, have someone check the house. Leak sensors and a monitored alarm are worth asking about too. Some insurers give credit for them.

What insurance do you need while you build?

The coverage usually changes at each stage, and the handoffs are where people slip.

1. Vacant homesite. There is no building to insure. Ask your agent about liability coverage on the land.
2. During construction. A builder's risk policy is the usual coverage for the house while it is going up. Your building contract should say whether you or the builder buys it. Ask the builder for proof of liability and workers' compensation coverage too.
3. When you move in. The homeowners policy starts. Make sure there is no gap between the two.

How building a home works covers the rest of the build.

What drives the cost of insuring a lake home?

The cost to rebuild, the flood zone and your own choices drive most of it.

• The house. Size, materials, roof and age.
• The site. Flood zone, elevation and distance to fire protection.
• Your record. Past claims and credit can both matter.
• Your choices. Deductibles, coverage limits and whether you put your policies with one insurer.

We do not quote premiums. They vary by home and they change. Get quotes from more than one insurer, and compare them at the same coverage level. The cheapest policy is not a bargain if it leaves out the thing that goes wrong.

The honest part

Insurance is the least exciting part of a lake home, and it is tempting to sort it out the week of closing. Do it sooner. A flood map check before you choose a homesite costs you a phone call. Finding out after you buy can cost a lot more.

Review the policy every year after that. Building costs move, and a limit that covered a rebuild five years ago may fall short today. Add a boat, a lift or a cart, and call your agent the same week. If you are still at the buying stage, how closing on a lot works covers the rest of the paperwork.

Facts about Tennessee National come from the community. Lake facts come from TVA. Rules, taxes, loans and insurance change, so confirm anything that affects a purchase with the right office or professional before you buy.