Flood Insurance Claims

• Your home has a 26% chance of being damaged by a flood during the course of a 30-year mortgage, compared to a 9% chance of fire.
• Roughly 25% of all claims paid by the NFIP are for policies in low- to moderate-risk communities.
• The average annual U.S. flood losses in the past 10 years ('96-'05) was more than $2.4 billion.
• When your community participates in the Community Rating System (CRS), you can qualify for an insurance premium discount of up to 45%.
• The NFIP awarded nearly $16 billion in flood claims in 2005.
• Since 1978, the NFIP has paid $31.4 billion for flood insurance claims and related costs (as of March 31st 2006).
• About 4.9 million people currently hold flood insurance policies in more than 21,000 communities across the U.S.

Did you also know?

• Floods and flash floods happen in all 50 states.
• Everyone lives in a flood zone.
• Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.
• If you live in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) or high risk area, your mortgage lender requires you to have flood insurance.
• Just an inch of water can cause costly damage to your property.
• Flash floods often bring walls of water 10 to 20 feet high.
• A car can easily be carried away by just two feet of floodwater.
• Hurricanes, winter storms and snow melt are common (but often overlooked) causes of flooding.
• New land development can increase flood risk, especially if the construction changes natural runoff paths.
• Federal disaster assistance is usually a loan that must be paid back with interest. For a $50,000 loan at 4% interest, your monthly payment would be around $240 a month ($2,880 a year) for 30 years. Compare that to a $100,000 flood insurance premium, which is about $500 a year ($33 a month).
• If you live in a low to moderate risk area and are eligible for the Preferred Risk Policy, your flood insurance premium may be as low as $112 a year, including coverage for your property's contents.
• You are eligible to purchase flood insurance as long as your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program.
• It takes 30 days after purchase for a policy to take effect, so it's important to buy insurance before the floodwaters start to rise.
• All claims and expenses of the NFIP program are funded by insurance premiums, not tax dollars.

Homeowners' and renters' insurance policies are designed to protect policy holders from damage caused by wind and/or rain (water entering through a wind-damaged area). These policies also typically cover policy holders for damage caused by theft or vandalism as well as fire; but not flood. According to the National Flood Insurance Program, flood insurance covers buildings and/or contents for residential and non-residential properties. It's important to know what your policy covers. To claim personal property loss you must have contents coverage.

• The insured building
• Built-in appliances and central air
• Permanently installed paneling, wallpaper, cabinets and carpets
• Garage (up to 10 percent of total building coverage)
• Limited coverage for basements
• Debris removal
• Contents, if contents coverage has been purchased

What's Not Covered?

• Vehicles
• Decks
• Land and fences
• Plants
• Animals
• Currency
• Boats
• Swimming pools

In the event of a loss, the actual amount of money you receive for your damaged property will depend upon the type of insurance policy you purchased from your insurance company (actual cash value or replacement value). As previously stated, flood damage is not covered by your homeowners or renters insurance policy. Flood insurance is most often times sold separately, and covers the insured for damage caused by water; specifically: waves, tidal action, overflowing creeks, rivers or lakes and also ground water runoff.