Flood Facts

The following flood facts are provided by FEMA:

• Everyone lives in a flood zone - low, moderate or high.
• 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 will require you to carry flood insurance.
• 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 moderate-to-low risk area and are eligible for the Preferred Risk Policy, your flood insurance premium may be as low as $129 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. Fargo is an NFIP partner.
• It takes 30 days after purchase for a policy to take effect, so it's important to buy insurance before the flood waters start to rise.
• In a high-risk area, your home is more than twice as likely to be damaged by flood than by fire.
• Anyone can be financially vulnerable to floods. People outside of high-risk areas file over 20% of NFIP claims and receive one-third of disaster assistance for flooding.
• When your community participates in the Community Rating System (CRS), you can qualify for an insurance premium discount of up to 45%.
• More than 5.5 million people currently hold flood insurance policies in more than 21,000 communities across the U.S.
• For more policy and claim statistics, visit the National Flood Insurance Program (External Link).