Hello all, I too can comment on insurance and floods with personal
experience.

Late this last summer, with all of the heavy rains we had here in
Tennessee, my gutters had clogged and caused water to pour over the
front of the house.  There is a vent at ground level which served as a
"drain" from the front.  This allowed water to flood the downstairs in
my tri-level.  We live on top of a hill so flooding is not an issue
here; hence, no flood insurance.   However, the insurance adjuster sent
a water specialist here to determine the cause.

After determining that the water did not come from an inside source, we
were NOT covered.  If the water had come from a toilet, pipe bursting
or from a leak in the roof (any source from inside), we would have been
fully insured.

Don't keep or leave books or paper stuffs on the floor next to your
reading area, I hated to lose all of David Junchen's books on Theatre
Organs and many others!

I can't speak about all of the insurance companies or their policies
but here, you don't necessarily have to buy "Fine Arts Insurance".
Most companies will let you up your "Contents" for a few dollars on
your existing policies (very affordable and easily done with a phone
call to your broker).  Many will write back asking you why you need to
and you can say that your insurance broker told you to which was my
case.  Most policies will cover 100% of "Replacement Value" and this
will also cover artwork and antiques too.

Jewelry, money and coins are another matter.  Raising your contents
coverage costs a fraction of "Fine Arts Coverage".  Back in '93 we had
a burglary, and with the exception of the $3500 limit on gold and
jewelry, we _were_ fully insured for all of the paintings and antiques
at 100%.  Hope this helps.  I hope everyone has a nice and wonderful
Christmas and New Years'.

Julian Burke