It is important to understand the risk of flooding to your property because many homeowners’ insurance policies do NOT cover flooding.
A Brief Overview of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
Following the Great Flood of 1927 on the Lower Mississippi River, Congress mandated the construction of flood protection infrastructure (e.g., levees, dams, diversions, pump stations) along the nation’s rivers and streams. However, every year, significant flood damage impacted small towns and communities situated in low-lying areas. The United States National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created in 1968 to address this issue. Since that time, the NFIP has been involved in developing over 19,000 flood insurance studies (FIS) throughout the country.
The NFIP is a federal program that enables property owners to purchase flood insurance to protect against losses from flooding. Participation in the NFIP is based on an agreement between the United States Federal Government and local communities. If a local community adopts policies that reduce the risk of flooding to new construction situated within Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA), the Federal Government will make flood insurance available to the community. This means that your community must be a participant in the NFIP to purchase federal flood insurance.
How do you know if your city or town is a participant in the NFIP? Simply check the Community Status Book posted on the FEMA website. The link to this document is shown below:
How to Determine If Your Home Is In a Flood Zone
Since 1970, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been creating, storing, and updating flood hazard maps for the communities participating in the NFIP. These flood hazard maps are referred to as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). FIRMs are official maps that depict areas of special flood hazard within a particular community. FIRMs are the primary tool used by local governments to mitigate the effects of flooding.
FIRMs are posted on the FEMA website. This means that private citizens can use these maps too. The following sections will help you find, read, and interpret FIRMs.
Where to Find The FIRM for Your Property
To find the FIRM Panel for your property, go to the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. There, you will be asked to enter your property’s address as shown below.
Type the property address where indicated and click “search.” Sometimes, you may need to click “search” twice. A window similar to the one below will pop up.
Click the green arrow where it says “Map Image” in large letters and “DOWNLOAD FIRM PANEL” in small letters.
Navigate to the zip file downloaded to your computer. Right-click the zipped file and select “Extract All.” Finally, open the extracted folder and open the associated PNG file. The FIRM panel will look similar to the image below.
Elements Found on a FIRM Panel
Floodplain boundaries – The FIRM panel will show the boundary of the 100-year and (sometimes) the 500-year floodplains. There is sometimes confusion surrounding the terms “100-year” and “500-year” floodplain. The 100-year floodplain refers to the area where there is a 1% chance of flooding in a given year. It does NOT mean that there will be flooding every 100 years. Similarly, the 500-year floodplain refers to the area where there is a 0.2% chance of flooding in a given year.
Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) – SFHAs are areas subject to a 100-year (1% annual chance) flood. These areas are classified based on a number of specific circumstances. For example, Zone AE is a 100-year floodplain area where base flood elevations (BFEs) were determined.
Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) – These are water surface elevations at a particular cross-section (noted by a squiggly line). BFEs are determined using hydraulic modeling software such as HEC-RAS.
Floodway boundaries – The floodway consists of the channel plus a portion of the overbank area that must be kept free of encroachment (no fill or obstruction) to prevent a significant increase to the 100-year water surface elevation (BFE).
Do I need flood insurance?
You must purchase flood insurance if your home is situated within a mapped regulatory floodplain and your mortgage is from a federally regulated or insured lender. Mortgage lenders can require flood insurance at any time – even if they are not legally required to do so.
You can still purchase flood insurance even if your home is not in a high-risk area. Anyone who lives in a community that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) can purchase flood insurance unless your property is within an area covered by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982. Some people choose to purchase flood insurance because flooding is not covered in most home insurance policies.
It is worth noting that you can still buy flood insurance if your property has been flooded in the past. It does not matter how many times your home or business has been flooded, you are still eligible to purchase flood insurance if you are in a community that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
How much does flood insurance cost?
The pricing structure for flood insurance is somewhat complicated. Your flood insurance premium will depend on a number of factors including the flood risk/flood zone designation, the type of coverage (e.g., building and contents coverage), the elevation of your structure’s lowest floor, and the design of your structure. Appendix J of this document specifies flood insurance rates for a number of situations.
APRIL 2021 NFIP FLOOD INSURANCE MANUAL – APPENDIX J – RATE TABLES
In summary, if you live in a home located within a mapped 100-year floodplain, flood insurance can be fairly expensive. If the lowest floor of your home is at or above the base flood elevation (BFE) indicated on the FEMA FIRM Panel or located outside of a mapped floodplain, flood insurance will be much less expensive. It is worth noting that there are existing statutory limits on rate increases, and rates cannot increase more than 18% per year.
Where can I buy flood insurance?
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) partners with private agencies to sell flood insurance. You can find a provider in your area by visiting this website: