Even if you haven’t seen the latest disaster movie, last year’s hurricanes and this year’s tornadoes and floods have to make you wonder whether your homeowners insurance could withstand a major (or minor) disaster. What follows are some common threats that could cost you thousands, and how you can get them covered.

Spiking liability claims for mold damage have prompted many insurers to reduce or even eliminate such coverage. “You should have it covered if you live in high-humidity areas or anywhere else where mold tends to be a problem,” says Madelyn Flannagan, vice president of education andresearch at the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, a trade association. To make sure you have coverage, read your policy or call your insurer or agent. If you don’t, you may be able to pay an additional $200 to $300 a year for $25,000 of mold remediation coverage, generally the minimum amount you’ll need.

As many Louisianans learned last year, standard homeowners policies will not pay for water damage from floods. For that, you need a separate flood policy, available in most communities but only through the National Flood Insurance Program, although you have to purchase through a local insurance agent. You can check your neighborhood’s flood risk at the NFIP’s Web site, at www.floodsmart.gov.

If you live in a low-risk area but are concerned about floods from melting snow, an overflowing creek, or water running down a hill, a $300 policy for $35,000 in coverage for your house and $10,000 for your belongings should do. In a high-risk area, you’ll need the maximum coverage, $250,000, on your home and $100,000 on your stuff, which will set you back $2,000 annually.

Many insurers also exclude from coverage damage caused by dogs that the company considers risky, such as Rippy the Rottweiler, Pit Bull Bernie, or Chewy Chow-Chow. Your insurer may agree to cover such risks, however, if you buy an umbrella policy, which covers liability for your house and car. A $2 million umbrella will cover liability amounts over your policy’s limit (usually $300,000) and cost you an additional $200 to $400 annually.

Homeowners policies generally provide a maximum of $2,500 in coverage for theft of jewelry, artwork, antiques, furs, and other valuables, often not enough. Some won’t cover a loss resulting from your own momentary witlessness, for example, dropping your engagement ring down the drain.

Floater policies will cover such items. To prove the value of your possessions, you’ll have to present receipts or recent appraisals to the insurer, and for your own records, you should photograph or videotape the items. Coverage isn’t cheap; about 75 cents to $1.50 per $100 of value.

Don’t make the mistake of taking out insurance to cover the amount you paid for your home or what you could get if you sold it. Your policy must cover the cost to rebuild based on current local construction costs. Otherwise, you could be woefully underinsured.

For a quick estimate, multiply the total square footage of your home by local construction costs per square foot, which you can get from a local real estate agent, insurance agent, or your town’s buildings department. Increasing your coverage by, say, 25 percent could result in a 10 percent jump in your annual premium.

Fixing your policy will most likely raise your costs. But you’ll probably pay more even if your current policy passes muster. Insurers are raising rates (or reducing coverage) after paying out a record $57 billion in catastrophic homeowner claims in 2005--though they managed to eke out $45 billion in profits.