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 and have a Federally backed mortgage, 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 snowmelt 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 $400 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 $119 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.
- 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.
- Last year, one-third of all claims paid by the NFIP were for policies in low-risk communities.
- The average annual U.S. flood losses in the past 10 years (1994-2004) were more than $2.4 billion.
- The NFIP awarded over $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 31, 2006).
- Over 5 million people currently hold flood insurance policies in more than 20,200 communities across the U.S.
For more policy and claim statistics, visit the National Flood Insurance Program.