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Here’s the 411 on California Flood Insurance from the people who know it best – the Flood Nerds

Flood Insurance Quote  |  Flood Insurance California

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I’m Robert Murphy, the Head Flood Nerd at Better Flood. We Flood Nerds love to shop for flood insurance and save people money. If you’re tired of rising premiums or just need cheap flood insurance fast, let the Flood Nerds find you great coverage and a great price.

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Standard Homeowner’s Insurance Does NOT Cover Flooding

A typical California homeowner’s policy is written through Farmers, State Farm, Allstate, or Progressive. These policies protect your home from things like fires and theft. But what they don’t cover is damage from flooding. 

Go ahead, ask your homeowner’s agent to add a flood endorsement to your policy, and watch them laugh.

But it’s not funny.

In most cases, the only way to get flood coverage is by purchasing a separate flood insurance policy. And unfortunately, most local insurance agents will just stick you in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) – easy for them – expensive for you.

Flood Nerds are Flood Insurance Specialists. We look for and often find you great coverage and rate and the search is free.

Do You Really Need Flood Insurance in California?

So, if flood insurance was necessary for California wouldn’t homeowner’s policies cover it? 

Heck No!

The NFIP had a stranglehold on the flood insurance market for years. Too many people think if they aren’t in a high-risk flood zone they don’t need coverage. And they find out they’re wrong the hard way.

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“It never rains in California….it pours man it pours”

Albert Hammond 1972

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That popular song from the 70’s is still true today. California sees more than its fair share of flooding. Especially in the southern areas.

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Even if you are in a low risk area you are still at risk. That’s because 20% of all flooding events in the US every year happen in those “low risk” areas. 

Maybe you thought about buying flood insurance when you bought your house but said “Naw – the lender doesn’t require it so I must not need it”. The real estate agent may have even told you it wasn’t necessary. 

Or maybe you saw a big storm coming and thought about the risk of flooding. But then it was too late to buy a policy. You dodged the bullet that time. But what about the next?

Just because you are in a “low risk” area doesn’t mean you aren’t at risk.  

The government has been collecting flood data for the last 50 years. This data shows that recent major storms resulted in flooding in these low-risk areas. And 90% of people who had flood water in their homes after these flooding storms didn’t have flood insurance. 

Don’t buy the lie about low risk – buy flood insurance!

Cover My Ass-ets with Flood Insurance Now

What Happens If it Floods and You Don’t Have Insurance?

If your home is damaged by rising water and you don’t have flood insurance you are responsible for paying to repair the damage. 

Flooding is one of the most expensive causes of damage to repair. It can cost $40,000 to $90,000 and that’s not even considering the damage to the contents of your home. 

Right now you are saying “Yeah, but if you are such a Flood Nerd you know the government will step in and help”.

Ha!  

Don’t get caught buying this lie. 

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“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are:
I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”

Ronald Regan, former California Governor and President of the US

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In order for you to get that government “assistance” the planets and stars must align thusly:

√  The Governor of the state must request a federal declaration of disaster.
√  The President must declare the area a disaster area to make federal assistance available.
√  You must apply for that assistance.
√  Assistance will be in the form of a loan you MUST payback.
√  That glorious assistance will be about $5,000.

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Yup

You get a loan of about $5,000 to cover that average of $40,000 to $90,000 in damage. 

Now you understand why so many properties are abandoned or foreclosed after having flood damage?  

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Flooding is the number one natural disaster in the United States ~ If you don’t have flood insurance you face financial ruin.

So while federal assistance is still a vital part of disaster recovery, it is better to have flood insurance rather than relying on government bailout. 

Flood Maps in California

The original federal maps that cover California flood zones were created in the ’70s. Technology has advanced since then, but that doesn’t mean all the maps have been updated. And those maps are important. The NFIP and all federally backed lenders rely on these maps to assess risk, set premiums, and determine who is required to purchase flood insurance. 

Bad maps leave property owners under or uninsured.

And California has many bad maps. Out of date maps cause problems. If the area has been developed, then there is likely more concrete creating a barrier for land that previously could have absorbed a massive downpour. 

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And California has been growing. Since 1970 California’s population grew from 19.9 million to 39.5 million. Those people need places to live and work and that means development.  So if your home was built after the 1970’s and has an outdated flood map that doesn’t reflect recent development you are probably at risk for flooding and don’t even know it. 

Even FEMA admits that the flood maps only partially reflect the real risk. Recent storms are proof it can rain anywhere in California’s borders.

Flood coverage gives you peace of mind and flood insurance rates in California aren’t as bad as you think. The average cost for California flood insurance in low risk areas is $850 per year.

No matter what the map says, it’s better to have coverage and not need it than to not have coverage and wish you did.

Flood Insurance Options in California

Most homeowners, real estate agents, and lenders don’t realize you have options when it comes to California flood insurance. But the Flood Nerds know all about getting cheap flood insurance in California. We know more than 5 Ways to Save on Flood Insurance.  There are basically two markets for flood insurance in California.

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NFIP

The National Flood Insurance Program is run by the Federal Emergency Management Administration and they are the government option for flood insurance. They’ve basically had a 50-year monopoly on the market and the premiums reflect their dominance.  

Within the NFIP you find re-sellers. These are companies that sell you a policy under their company name, but basically it’s just an NFIP policy with an insurance company logo on it. If you have Nationwide flood insurance, State Farm flood insurance, Progressive flood insurance or a policy by any other re-seller you just have NFIP insurance under a private skin. That’s NOT the way to save money on flood insurance in California. Think you might have flood insurance through a re-seller? Check out this list of companies that resell the NFIP policy.

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Private flood insurance market

California isn’t stuck with the NFIP. There is a robust private flood insurance market and you can even tap into the Lloyd’s of London flood insurance syndicate for California flood insurance.  Sometimes you can get real good rates with Lloyds because they spread the risk all over the world and the risk of the entire planet flooding at once is very small. We Flood Nerds like to say “God said he wouldn’t flood the world again and Lloyds of London takes him at his word”. Now you know what makes a Flood Nerd laugh.

But getting the right flood insurance is no laughing matter. There’s so many options and it’s easy to confuse the private flood insurance market with those NFIP re-sellers. That’s why you need to hire a Flood Nerd to get cheap flood insurance in California. 

We shop many of the options for your property in your region of California and ensure you get the great premium. We’ll even check out the NFIP to make sure that all the bases are covered.

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The Cost of Flood Insurance in California

One major factor in the cost of flood insurance for California is the property location and the company you choose to write the coverage. Premiums for homes in low-to-moderate risk are lower and premiums in high risk areas are higher. 

Flood Zone X  – California Low-to Moderate Risk Zone

Lenders don’t require flood insurance in this zone. But remember, floods happen in low risk zones, and the map may be old.

For properties in the X Flood Zone we usually suggest the government Preferred Risk Policy (PRP). The government subsidizes a portion of the premium and limits the coverage, so this keeps the rates low. The average cost for PRP flood insurance in California with the maximum set limits in low risk flood zone areas is $700 – $900 per year. 

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Flood Zone AE in California

A higher risk flood zone is Flood Zone AE. If your property is in Zone AE, your lender will require you to have flood insurance. 

The cost of flood insurance in California in this zone really depends on factors that are unique to the structure.

As an example, let’s look at a house built on a slab on grade foundation. The Base Flood Elevation (BFE) is 136.6 and the home was built in 1974. The policy is for flood coverage at the NFIP maximum of $250,000 for the building only. It doesn’t include contents and the deductible is our recommended amount of $5,000. 

Our example is a house in Los Angeles but the premiums will be the same as in Alameda, Arvin, Novato, San Rafael, Merced, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Elk Grove, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Ocean Side, San Diego, Stockton, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Milpitas, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Vacaville, Yuba City, Visalia, Santa Paula, Simi Valley and most other California cities and counties in AE flood zones. 

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The NFIP option in California Flood Zone AE is $3,465.00

This would be the price if the property had a previous flood loss and either doesn’t have an Elevation Certificate or the Elevation Certificate shows the lowest floor is 4 feet under the BFE. This policy lets you use 10% of your coverage to cover other structures on your property

Now, let’s look at the California private flood insurance market and compare the options. The coverage and deductible are exactly the same.

The California Lloyds of London policy would be $1,047.09

This option is great but they won’t cover a property with a prior flood loss. But they will cover more than the NFIP in the basement and about $2,000 for loss of use. $2,000 for other structures doesn’t increase this coverage. They don’t require an Elevation Certificate.

California private flood insurance (Not Lloyds) is $1,196.54. 

This option will take properties with one prior flood loss if it was more than 5 years ago and the claim was under $100,000.  They will write practically all risks, and you don’t need an elevation certificate.

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Replacement Cost Value Coverage

Standard flood insurance provides coverage for a set amount. But with flood insurance from the private marketplace, you can insure for the actual cost to replace the home. These policies must be written for the actual replacement cost. With the $250,000 example we are using, that’s probably a little low. But to keep the comparison the same we’ll stick with $250,000. 

So for $250,000 RCV building coverage, 20% contents coverage, 10% other structures, and 10% loss of use with a $5,000 deductible the annual premium for RCV coverage is $5,184.00

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Flood Zone V and VE in California

NFIP insurance for homes in the V and VE flood zones is extremely expensive. Once I saw a premium of $30,000 a year for a single home family. This is ridiculous!!

To save you money, the Flood Nerds shop flood insurance for your V or VE flood zones properties on the private flood market underwritten by Lloyds of London. 

We see savings in the thousands with this approach AND we have been able to double and triple coverage for California’s oceanfront properties. 

The problem with the NFIP approach is they take a one-size-fits-all approach to coverage. The results are premiums far too high for waterfront houses. 

Coastal California homes are all custom built. The NFIP doesn’t take this into consideration but Lloyds of London’s other private flood insurers do. They offer variable coverage options as well as significant savings. 

For example, a home in Rio Del Mar California, in a VE flood zone map needs $250,000 of coverage, with no contents coverage and a $5,000 deductible.

The NFIP annual cost for flood insurance in a VE flood zone is $4,802. 

Ouch!

The same coverage for the same property on the private market is under $878.  

Save Me Money On Flood Insurance for My Coastal California Home

Average Flood Insurance Costs in California by Area

Flood Insurance in Southern California?

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Flood Insurance in Northern California?

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How much does Flood Insurance in California?

How much does flood insurance cost in California? If you look at the number of NFIP policies and the combined premium you can see people pay way too much in California for flood insurance.

Statewide, California has 229,239 NFIP policies in force at a total cost of $184,728,154. That’s an average of $805.00 

Alameda County and Alameda City combined have 1,304 flood policies and a total of $918,915 in premiums for NFIP insurance. That makes the average $704. If you pay more, let a Flood Nerd shop for a new policy. 

Fremont, Hayward and Oakland pay an average of $1,052 with 1,185 policies and paying premiums of $1,372,553

San Leandro and Union City have 928 NFIP policies and pay $1,131,94. Your average is $1,219.

Butte County and Flood Insurance Chico CA have 2,128 flood policies and pay collectively $1,781,012.

That’s an average of $836 for flood insurance. The Flood Nerds can help you with the private flood insurance market. 

Concord and Contra Costa County have 1,875 flood policies and pay  $2,017,760. That’s an average of $1,076. Why don’t you concentrate on the beautiful views and let us concentrate on saving you money. 

Martinez and Pleasant Hill have 904 NFIP flood policies and pay a grand total of $1,136,507. The average premium is $1,257. See if we can get you a better deal. 

San Pablo and Walnut Creek have 637 NFIP policies with a total premium of $760,228. That makes the average $1,193. Let a Flood Nerd do better.

Fresno has 1,023 flood policies and pays a total of $768,727 to FEMA making your average flood policy $751. If you pay more than this it’s time to shop. 

Humboldt County pays an average of 1,059 on 580 policies with a total premium of $614,484.

If you pay more or if your NFIP premium jumps way up (+25% is forecasted in the near future) look at your options and let a Flood Nerd shop your coverage. 

Arvin and Bakersfield you have 1,558 flood policies and are paying $856,999, Bringing your average to $550. 

Kern County has 3,022 flood policies and pays a total of $2,441,651. The average cost of flood insurance in this area is $807. 

Lake County and Lakeport pays an average of $884 with 1,468 combined flood policies and premiums of $1,297,730 

Flood insurance Long Beach CA has 3,173 active NFIP flood insurance policies and pays a total of $3,973,961 for coverage. The average premium for flood insurance in long beach is $1,252. If you pay more, let a Flood Nerd shop the policy to all valid options within your region so you get a fair picture of what flood insurance should cost in your area.  

Los Angeles has 11,062 flood policies and pays $8,447,337 in premiums. Your average is about $763. If you pay more than this, see if the Flood Nerds can get you a better premium.  

Malibu and Manhattan Beach pay an average of $2,947. They have 1,043 NFIP flood policies and pay a total of $3,073,973. This is one of the highest premiums in California. Flood Nerds can save you significant money with private market flood insurance most likely written with Lloyds of London. 

Santa Clarita and Santa Monica have 802 flood policies and pay a total of $908,953 to the federal government. Your average NFIP premium is $1,133. 

Madera County has 800 flood policies with a total premium of $720,285 making the average California flood insurance policy for this area $900. 

Belvedere, Corte Madera, and Fairfax combined paid $1,476,811 for 1,302 flood policies. With the average flood insurance policy at $1,134, you should get a Flood Nerd fast. 

Marin County and Mill Valley pay an average of $1,181 for 2,601 flood policies with a combined premium of  $3,072,568. 

Novato has 1,426 NFIP policies and pays a grand total of $1,144,377 to make the average $802.

San Rafael and San Anselmo have 2,040 flood policies at a total of $3,203,430 to bring your average to $1,570.

Merced County and City pays $3,178,191 for 5,220. The average is $608 for NFIP. Let a Flood Nerd do better.  

Monterey has 1,697 flood policies that cost $2,270,982. You send an average of $1,338 to DC for your coverage.  

Napa County and City combine for 1,569 active flood policies and pay a total of $2,370,831 making the average flood insurance cost $1,511.

Flood Insurance Anaheim, CA has 473 flood policies and pays a total of $353,248. This makes your average $675. If you aren’t seeing this premium let’s see what we can do about it. 

Fountain Valley and Fullerton City pay an average flood insurance cost of $1,019. With 843 flood policies paying the NFIP a total of $859,157

Garden Grove has 1,226 flood policies and is paying a total of $2,084,907. This would make your average $1,700. If you aren’t seeing this premium let’s see what we can do about it. 

Flood Insurance Huntington Beach CA policies for this city have an average premium of $1,192. There are 4,627 flood policies that pay $5,518,811 to the federal program. 

Laguna Beach has 526 NFIP policies that cost a grand total of $640,139. This makes the average $1,216. Do you pay more? If so, let the Flood Nerds help.

Newport Beach has 1,587 flood policies with a total premium of $1,687,177. That makes the average policy cost $1,063.

Santa Ana between the County and City there are 1,208 flood policies with an average flood insurance premium of $608. All together you pay  $3,178,191. That’s just too much. Let a Flood Nerd shop for a better premium. 

Westminster and Yorba Linda insurance policies combine for a total premium of $920,617, the average flood policy in this area is $1,291. That’s for just 713 flood policies! 

Placer County, Rocklin, and Roseville have a combined total of 1,247 flood policies. And you send $821,452 to Washington, DC for that coverage. That makes the average flood insurance premium $658. See if a Flood Nerd can reduce that cost for you.

Indio and La Quinta’s average flood insurance premium is $530. That’s based on 1,150 policies paying $610,633 to the government.  

Riverside County and City have a combined total of  2,416 NFIP policies and pay a grand total of $1,829,872. That makes the average $757. Do you pay more?

Elk Grove and Folsom have 1,378 NFIP policies with a total premium of $568,164. The average policy costs $412.

Sacramento has the most flood insurance policies for an area in the state. There are 51,223 flood policies that pay a total of $23,076,958. The average Sacramento flood insurance policy is $450.

Redlands and San Bernardino County and City have 1,751 flood policies with an average flood insurance cost of $1,089. You pay a total payment of $1,907,425. Lets shop for a better premium. 

Twentynine Palms has more than twentynine policies. There are 512 flood policies that cost a total of $418,437. You certainly send more than twentynine dollars to DC in the form of flood premiums. Your average flood insurance policy premium is $817. 

Oceanside has 1,376 flood policies and pays $860,695. That makes the average flood insurance policy for Oceanside California $625. 

California flood insurance San Diego County and City residents know California flood insurance for San Diego is pricey. And San Diego Flooding is a real risk. There are  4,876 active flood policies that cost a total of $4,553,078. The average flood insurance cost is $933. Get the Flood Nerds to help lower that cost. 

San Joaquin County including Lathrop, Lodi, Manteca has 4,230 flood policies through the NFIP. Those flood policies cost $3,245,721 making the average premium $767. 

Flood Insurance Stockton CA has 3,122 flood policies and pays a total of $1,689,539 to FEMA. That makes the average flood policy $541. If you are paying more, now is the time to get a Flood Nerd to shop for flood zones in Stockton CA. 

San Luis Obispo County and the City area combined to pay $964 for the average flood policy. If you pay a different premium or your premium just jumped it’s a good idea to grab a Flood Nerd to check out the market. And brace yourself! Right now there are 1,669 flood policies paying a total of $1,610,239. But premiums are forecast to jump 25% or more in the near future. 

East Palo Alto and Foster City together have 997 flood policies and pay a total of $1,296,552 to the federal government for flood insurance. That’s an average cost of $1,300. If you are paying more, you need a Flood Nerd to shop for a new policy. 

Menlo Park pays an average of $1,403 for 754 policies with a total cost of $1,058,344.

San Mateo County and City have a total of 1,606 NFIP policies and pay $2,212,840. This makes the average $1,377.

Carpinteria and Goleta pay an average of $1,091 for flood insurance. There are 966 policies with a total premium of $1,054,183.

Santa Barbara pays an average of $1,039 for flood coverage through the NFIP. There are a total of 3,515 flood policies that cost $3,655,410. You might do better on the private flood insurance market. Let a Flood Nerd help you out. 

Milpitas pays an average premium for flood insurance of $1,058. There are 1,382 flood policies that pay $1,463,106 to the federal program. 

Palo Alto and flood insurance San Jose CA have 10,030 NFIP policies and pay a grand total of $9,763,609. That makes the average California flood insurance premium $973 for your area. 

Santa Clara has 1,261 NFIP policies and pays a combined $1,274,449. The average flood policy is $1,089.

Sunnyvale boasts 802 flood policies but they pay a total of $950,414. The average Sunnyvale flood insurance premium is $1,184 and that’s nothing to boast about. Instead, boast about the money you saved by letting a Flood Nerd shop your policy. 

Santa Cruz County and City have 3,179 flood policies with an average flood insurance cost of $1,051. Together you pay $3,341,176 and that’s probably too much. Get a Flood Nerd to shop for a better premium. 

Watsonville flood insurance policies average $1,336. There are 639 flood policies that pay $854,340 to the federal program. Get a Flood Nerd to do better for your area. 

Redding and Shasta County combine 943 flood policies with an average flood insurance premium of $829. You pay a combined total of  $782,500 and a Flood Nerd might be able to do better. You won’t know until you ask!

Siskiyou County has 251 national flood insurance program policies that cost a total of $204,962. That makes an average premium of  $816.

Benicia, Fairfield, and Solano Counties combine for 815 flood policies that cost a total of $726,373 with an average policy premium of $891.

Suisun, Vacaville, and Vallejo together have 2003 flood policies that cost a total of $1,843,061. That makes the average cost $920. And that’s just the base premium before all those government fees are added on top. The final cost is probably higher than this average.

Healdsburg including Petaluma and Santa Rosa pays an average of $829 for national flood insurance coverage. There are 730 NFIP policies paying a total of $605,350 to the federal program. 

Sonoma County and City flood insurance premiums average $1,120 for coverage through the NFIP. There are 2509 policies paying a total of $2,865,384 to the federal program. 

Stanislaus County, including Modesto, Newman, and Patterson together have 1,100 flood insurance program policies that cost $909,136.  The average premium starts at $826, which isn’t so bad, but then they add on so many fees. See if a Flood Nerd can get rid of those fees for you.  

Sutter County flood insurance policies cost an average of  $717. There are 4,834 flood policies in the federal program that cost $2,499.871. 

Yuba has 1,599 flood insurance program policies that pay $739,013 to the federal program making the average policy $485. That’s a great price! If you pay more, call a Flood Nerd right away at 1-866-990-7482

Tehama  County and City including Red Bluff areas combined have a total of 1,096 NFIP policies that cost a total of $1,080,098 to the federal program making the average policy $985.

Tulare County including Dinuba, Farmersville, Lindsay, Porterville, Visalia, and  Woodlake has 7,277 national flood insurance program policies that cost $5,293,837. That’s an average of $727 going to the federal program. Too bad they add so many extra fees. Don’t pay for fees, pay for flood insurance. Let the Flood Nerds show you how.  

Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, and Ojai have 1,254 national flood insurance program policies that cost a total of $759,437. That’s an average policy of $605. 

Oxnard, including San Buenaventura, Santa Paula, and Simi Valley are home to 4,115 NFIP policies that cost $2,730,620. So, the average policy is $633.

Thousand Oaks and Ventura County are covered by 1,938 flood policies that cost $1,697,241. Now the average premium is $875, but that’s the base to which the government adds fees. That can add hundreds of dollars more. See if a Flood Nerd can cut those fees for you.  

Oceanside has 1,376 flood policies and pays $860,695. The average flood insurance policy is $625. 

Yolo County including Davis City, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland has 4,578 national flood insurance program policies that cost $2,985,565. The average policy is $634 which FEMA piles on fees. 

Yuba County including Marysville and Wheatland have 3,445 National flood insurance program policies that pay a total of $1,759,063 to the federal program making the average policy $510.

Consider This About the NFIP

The NFIP made flood insurance available to more than 20,000 communities in the United States. That’s great. But, California has a growing private flood insurance market and private markets usually provide better premiums than the government. 

For decades, the NFIP over-charged 50% of its policyholders and under-charged the other 50% all while racking up $42 billion in taxpayer-funded losses, equating to more than half of every claim paid by the NFIP since 1978. Think about that! If you overcharge half and undercharge half no one pays the correct premium. Are you gambling that you are the undercharged half?

About 30% of NFIP claims payments go to the same 3% of insured repetitive loss structures year after year. This means that the other 97% of flood-exposed policyholders could have paid less and still netted larger claims payouts if they had been in the private flood insurance. 

It doesn’t make sense to risk losing everything if you don’t have flood insurance. And it doesn’t make sense to overpay for flood insurance.

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