INDIVIDUALSMEDIAMEMBERS
 FACTS AND STATISTICS 
Flood Insurance
NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM

In 1968 Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in response to the rising cost of taxpayer-funded disaster relief for flood victims and the increasing amount of damage caused by floods. The NFIP makes federally backed flood insurance available in communities that agree to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances to reduce future flood damage. The NFIP is self-supporting for the average historical loss year. This means that unless there is a widespread disaster, operating expenses and flood insurance claims are financed through premiums collected.

A growing number of private insurers have begun offering “excess flood” policies, intended to provide more extensive water damage protection to homeowners than the coverage provided by NFIP policies alone. In addition, some insurers have introduced special policies for high value properties. These high-end policies may cover homes in noncoastal areas and/or provide enhancements to traditional flood coverage.

According to a Rand Corporation study conducted for the NFIP, nationwide about 49 percent of single family homes in special flood hazard areas (SFHAs) were covered by flood insurance in 2004. In the South and West the percentage was about 60 percent. Only about 1 percent of homeowners in non-SFHAs purchase the coverage.
  • The 2004 Flood Insurance Reform Act addressed the issue of repetitive loss properties, which represented 1 percent of all properties insured but 25 to 30 percent of claims losses. The 2004 reforms provide for a pilot program to mitigate repetitive losses.


  • Loss payments totaled $553 million in 2006. In 2005 loss payments totaled $17.4 billion, the highest amount on record, including losses from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM, 1980-2006


 
 
  Losses paid

Year
Policies in force
at end of year
Number
Amount
($000)
19802,103,85141,918$230,414.3
19852,016,78538,676368,238.8
19902,477,86114,766167,919.6
19953,476,82962,4411,295,581.5
19963,693,07652,679828,040.3
19974,102,41630,338519,511.9
19984,235,13857,344886,247.7
19994,329,98547,246754,874.3
20004,369,08716,360251,559.3
20014,458,47043,5501,276,965.8
20024,519,79925,274433,329.7
20034,565,49136,619776,537.5
20044,667,44655,3752,189,617.7
20054,962,011209,80117,403,355.7
20065,517,08921,547553,208.9
Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
  • In 2006 the average amount of flood coverage was $190,849 and the average premium was $474.

  • 101 insurance companies participate in the "Write-Your-Own" Program, a program started in 1983 in which insurers issue policies and adjust flood claims on behalf of the federal government under their own names.

  • The average flood claim in 2006 was $25,675, down from $82,952 in 2005.

FLOOD INSURANCE IN THE TOP 75 COUNTIES, RANKED BY MARKET PENETRATION RATE, 2005



Rank
County
State
Residential policies in force  at end of year
Total single family homes in 2004 (1)
Market penetration rate (Percent)
1Jefferson ParishLouisiana105,615131,88384.0%
2Walton CountyFlorida13,91917,45481.5
3Broward CountyFlorida402,964516,58480.0
4Collier CountyFlorida76,199100,25978.7
5Lee CountyFlorida135,324181,33177.1
6Galveston CountyTexas56,49579,50574.1
7Glynn CountyGeorgia15,23222,97669.6
8St. Bernard ParishLouisiana13,87421,01068.4
9Miami-Dade CountyFlorida378,708574,61668.1
10Orleans ParishLouisiana76,966121,73066.7
11Carteret CountyNorth Carolina14,20522,61665.9
12St. Charles ParishLouisiana9,62515,15365.5
13St. Johns CountyFlorida31,23651,82062.4
14Charlotte CountyFlorida37,36365,48859.0
15St. Tammany ParishLouisiana37,28468,72956.2
16Horry CountySouth Carolina36,90473,51451.6
17Indian River CountyFlorida22,37147,13449.6
18Bay CountyFlorida23,63951,02248.0
19Brunswick  CountyNorth Carolina13,90431,44946.3
20Nassau CountyFlorida8,88720,83644.4
21Berkeley CountySouth Carolina17,52544,33942.8
22Pinellas CountyFlorida128,583323,78142.8
23Brazoria CountyTexas29,95376,33842.0
24Chatham CountyGeorgia27,73468,70841.9
25Terrebonne ParishLouisiana12,13331,85840.1
26Baldwin CountyAlabama21,25354,41439.8
27Sarasota CountyFlorida55,194142,90639.7
28Palm Beach CountyFlorida154,081404,96039.2
29Charleston CountySouth Carolina37,77899,95039.1
30Manatee CountyFlorida41,335109,67438.7
31Martin CountyFlorida18,91052,30137.2
32Atlantic CountyNew Jersey27,86978,44436.5
33Lafourche ParishLouisiana10,04329,17136.2
34Okaloosa CountyFlorida18,93557,57634.2
35Georgetown CountySouth Carolina6,56420,94633.0
36Flagler CountyFlorida8,75927,72232.1
37Maui CountyHawaii11,56338,61830.6
38Livingston ParishLouisiana9,14333,83528.3
39Brevard CountyFlorida49,466184,49527.6
40Sussex CountyDelaware16,16061,55627.0
41Volusia CountyFlorida42,761168,61626.8
42St. Lucie CountyFlorida20,89080,90726.4
43Jefferson CountyTexas18,52874,20826.1
44Hampton,Independent City OfVirginia10,08240,51525.4
45Ocean CountyNew Jersey48,336195,55525.3
46Harris CountyTexas209,146862,47225.2
47Pasco CountyFlorida32,575144,09823.4
48Bossier ParishLouisiana6,98931,69123.3
49New Hanover CountyNorth Carolina12,04356,53322.1
50Bronx CountyNew York19,76194,50121.7
51Cameron CountyTexas13,33771,06421.6
52Fort Bend CountyTexas22,407112,80520.9
53Santa Rosa CountyFlorida9,05945,91420.1
54Harrison CountyMississippi9,90055,76119.1
55Jackson CountyMississippi7,42342,08118.3
56Norfolk, Independent City OfVirginia9,13653,14317.8
57Hillsborough CountyFlorida55,600327,37617.7
58Lafayette ParishLouisiana9,57957,67817.5
59East Baton Rouge ParishLouisiana18,461116,03516.7
60Virginia Beach, Independent CityVirginia20,907131,02316.3
61Escambia CountyFlorida14,88398,09315.8
62Honolulu CountyHawaii32,420212,76015.6
63Sacramento CountyCalifornia56,323378,52415.4
64Calcasieu ParishLouisiana8,00458,22514.5
65Montgomery CountyTexas12,68094,71714.0
66Citrus CountyFlorida6,54853,43613.3
67Merced CountyCalifornia6,82755,75212.9
68Chesapeake, Independent City OVirginia7,66462,49012.6
69Osceola CountyFlorida6,90361,00711.7
70Hudson CountyNew Jersey9,32083,46311.6
71Duval CountyFlorida25,924238,65811.3
72Barnstable CountyMassachusetts8,42787,50610.2
73Marin CountyCalifornia6,37274,5149.3
74Tulare CountyCalifornia8,44798,0429.1
75Monmouth CountyNew Jersey15,331188,3778.5

(1) Based on 2004 census data of all single family homes, both owner-occupied and renter-occupied. If county or parish was not surveyed in 2004, the number of single-family homes was estimated based on 2000 census data and on overall growth in the county or parish.

Note: List includes 75 counties or parishes that sold the highest number of flood insurance policies. A few counties were not included in the ranking because reliable estimate of single-family homes could not be obtained.

Sources: National Flood Insurance Program, U.S. Census Bureau, Staff Research By New Orleans Times-Picayune.

TOP TEN FLOOD EVENTS, RANKED BY NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM PAYOUTS (1)


Rank
Event
Location
Date
Number of paid losses
Amount paid
Average paid loss
1Hurricane KatrinaAL, FL, GA, LA, MS, TNAug. 2005164,917$15,679,829,572 $95,077
2Hurricane IvanAL, DE, FL, GA, LA, MD, MS, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, TN, VA, WVSep. 200427,3041,515,868,00555,518
3Tropical Storm AllisonFL, LA, MS, NJ, PA, TXJun. 200130,6271,100,859,47635,944
4Louisiana FloodLAMay-9531,343585,072,00818,667
5Hurricane IsabelDE, MD, NJ, NY, NC, PA, VA, WVSep. 200319,685473,943,96924,076
6Hurricane FloydCT, DE, FL, GA, MA, ME, MD,  NH, NJ, NY, NC,PA, RI, SC, VA, VTSep. 199920,438462,178,15322,614
7Hurricane RitaAL, AR, FL, LA, MS, TN, TXSep. 20059,328442,405,13447,428
8Hurricane OpalAL, NC, PR, SC, TNOct. 199510,343405,528,54339,208
9Hurricane HugoGA, NC, PR, SC, VA, U.S. Virgin IslandsSep. 198912,843376,494,56629,315
10Hurricane WilmaFLOct. 20059,530355,854,86337,340
(1) Includes events from 1978 to February 2007. Defined by the National Flood Insurance Program as an event that produces at least 1,500 paid losses.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Flood insurance in force in counties in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama


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