Flood Preparedness Week - Flood Risk and Flood Insurance

NWS Partner Services: Flood Risk and Flood Insurance

[ House with Flood Waters ] Everyone lives in a flood zone, regardless of whether your risk is low, moderate or high. Over a typical 30-year home mortgage, floods are nearly three times more likely to impact your home than a fire. In other words, your home has the same chance of being flooded as your car being stolen, yet few people have flood insurance. Even low hazard flood areas are at risk. Approximately 1 in 3 insurance claims each year are paid to homeowners living outside of high risk areas.

You may think homeowners insurance covers floods, but in reality most policies do not, and just a few inches of water can cause thousands of dollars in damage. Homeowners, renters, and business owners are eligible to purchase flood insurance as long as their community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP is a federal program enabling property owners to purchase flood insurance at reasonable rates. It takes 30 days after purchase for a policy to take effect, so it is important to buy insurance before floods threaten. Now is a great time to buy flood insurance ahead of summer severe storm and hurricane seasons! For more information about flood insurance programs, see the NFIP website at www.floodsmart.gov. To buy flood insurance, contact an insurance agent in your area.

Additional information about NWS flood watches, warnings, and flood safety is available at www.floodsafety.noaa.gov.