1. “Can you get flood insurance?”
The answer for 99% of you is yes. We can shop for your flood insurance on your area’s NFIP and the private flood insurance market. Or you can use a Flood Nerd’s knowledge to do the shopping for you here.
There are some acceptions specifically in COBRA or Coastal Barrier Resources flood zones. These are areas where the federal government would have liked to deter construction; however, many homes are still being built. The NFIP and some private flood insurance options won’t offer coverage in a COBRA zone either. Us Flood Nerds have some private flood policies that offer coverage but are usually costly.
If your home is in an X, B, or a C flood zone, you can still get coverage through your mortgage company will most likly not require it. These maps developed by the federal government are considered lower-risk. However, it is good to note that the government gets it wrong 20% of the time and that the same number of flood losses yearly is in these “lower-risk flood zones.”
Also, something to consider if you are in these human-drawn maps is in some areas, the maps don’t reflect the real risk. They are mapped into the lower risk because until October 2021, Taxpayers heavily subsidized the premiums in these “lower risk” flood zones by giving access to a policy that is no longer available with the 2.0 risk rating.
A very few of you might be in a non-participating community. And unfortunately, the NFIP refuses to offer coverage in these areas. What non-participating means is that the community has not done the required mitigation that FEMA expects, like creating floodways that will divert water, working on drainage issues, constructing flood walls, paying for maps studies, etc.
Most of these NP flood zones are in areas where the population and tax base (that pays for the mitigation) isn’t large enough to afford these mitigation projects that can cost millions of dollars. A few communities refuse to do the mitigation, so they stay NP.
The good news for many is that the private flood insurance markets have different underwriting guidelines and studies. And honestly, better maps for your risk, so if you get an offer from the private flood market, then you should be able to get that policy.
Those with a property in a high-risk flood zone usually identified with an A or V and who have a mortgage will be familiar with the requirement to purchase flood coverage. FEMA has identified these high-risk flood zones as the most likely to flood and created maps to enforce the purchase of flood insurance if your structure is in one of these high-risk flood maps (even if just a small corner). If you have a federally backed loan (and who doesn’t), you will be required to purchase flood insurance. Most of these areas are called flood zone AE.
In some cases, some areas are potentially moderate to high-risk flooding, but the probability has not been determined. Fema gives these flood areas a label of Zone D. Most of the D Zones we see are areas that have had a fire. Please see this link to understand the risk of flooding after a fire.
VE flood zones or flood zones that have the V destination are typically coastal floodplains and frequently found in the beach or oceanfront communities; however, FEMA just recently mapped some areas in Chicago or around the great lakes.
Here is a great resource for a more in-depth study of the flood zones.
AS a flood nerd, we recommend that you get flood insurance regardless of the human-drawn map indicating if you are required t to purchase flood insurance or if it is an option. For us, the worst flooding stories are when someone has water in their home and doesn’t have coverage. FEMA says that every year 20% of flood losses are in areas where maps are considered lower risk. Anywhere it rains (even internally, it can flood. Please don’t put yourself, your family, or your future at finical risk. Protect your financial future, get the coverage, or get a quote to see what it will cost. Most of our client’s premiums are between $350 – $1500 annually, which is a great price for catastrophic coverage.
