How much is flood insurance in Iowa?
Flood plain map Iowa
Does my Iowa homeowner insurance cover flooding?
A typical Iowa homeowners’ policy is written through Farmers, State Farm, Allstate, and Progressive, for instance, excludes flooding as something that will be covered under their homeowner’s policy.
In most cases, the only way to get flood coverage is by purchasing a stand-alone flood insurance policy. However, you should ask your homeowners agent if you can add an endorsement to your homeowner’s policy to cover flooding. Yet, don’t be too surprised if the answer is NO.
Do I need flood insurance in Iowa?
Flood insurance rate map Iowa
Having flood insurance coverage in Iowa is important because our beloved Cowboy State has seen a fair share of flooding, and more is likely coming.
We believe that most homeowners think about Flood insurance in Iowa at some point, maybe before buying a home or during the closing process. However, many of us only think about it when a big storm looms, or we have heard on the news that there is flooding forecasted or happening too close to our home.
If your home or business is in a flood zone, that is considered a low flood risk area. Sadly, many homeowners decide to forgo purchasing coverage because they believe they are safe from flooding. Some real estate and insurance agents may even say you don’t need it.
I ask you to consider the facts: 20 percent of all flooding events across our nation come in areas that are considered low risk. After our last few major storms (Hurricane Harvey), we saw flooding in these low-risk areas. 80 percent of these individuals had water in their homes or buildings and didn’t have flood insurance coverage.
In Harris county, nearly 135,000 homes were damaged. Three-fourths of these properties were considered low to moderate risk.
Iowa flooding map | Iowa flood plan map
We often hear that people believe that the government will help, which is true. However, a few things must align for you to get Iowa flood insurance assistance.
1 – The president of the United States must declare the flooding event a state of emergency. If this doesn’t happen, then there won’t be assistance.
2 – Homeowners’ average amount of assistance after a flood, when they do not have flood coverage, is $5,000. The average cost of damage to one’s property after a flood is $38,000+. That $5K you get from the government? It comes as a loan, and you will need to pay it back. Are you willing to gamble on your financial future by forgoing flood insurance coverage?
One more note on these low-risk flood zone maps. Many of these maps are over 40 years old. If the area has been developed, there is likely more concrete, creating a barrier for land that previously might have absorbed the massive downpour.
Flood plain map Iowa
Because of all these factors, it is difficult for property owners to know their true risk of flooding. FEMA admits that their flood maps only give an idea of part of the risk. Our recent storms are facts that it can rain anywhere within Iowa, and you should consider getting flood coverage so you are not uninsured when you need it most.
FEMA flood zone maps often take years to go into effect after the terrain was studied; this gives the impression that the area is “more up to date” than it is.
The average cost for Iowa flood insurance in these Low-risk areas is $595 per year.
FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and all federally backed lenders rely on these Iowa flood insurance maps to assess risk, set premiums, and determine who is required to purchase flood insurance. Bad information about an areas flood risk can leave property owners under or uninsured.
How much is flood insurance in Iowa?
Iowa NFIP flood insurance.
There are many options available in Iowa regarding flood insurance, but they fall into two main categories.
- The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), also known as FEMA, is the government option for flood insurance. The NFIP has enjoyed a 50-state monopoly on the flood insurance market. Not “private flood insurance” but NFIP Resellers
- If you have Nationwide Flood Insurance, State Farm Flood Insurance, Progressive Flood Insurance, or any of the logos below, then you are buying the NFIP flood policy that is just being resold through a government program. These companies are private companies, but their flood insurance is not. Here is a list of the 70 companies that resell the NFIP policy.
Flood insurance Iowa quote online
Iowa private flood insurance market
There are alternatives to the NFIP or government insurance. It is called Private flood insurance, most notably Lloyd’s of London Flood insurance. However, there are other options available in Iowa. We shop all the options for your property in your region to ensure you are getting the best premium. Please click here if you are ready to have us do the work for you.
Private flood insurance Iowa
Our shopping does include the NFIP because sometimes we find that with government subsidies, you can get a much better premium.
Iowa flood insurance
Lloyd’s of London Flood Insurance Iowa Market
Iowa is fortunate to have many Lloyd’s of London flood insurance options. Although many Lloyd’s flood insurance companies will have you assume that there is only one option, nothing could be further from the truth.
Lloyd’s of London has a rich history attributed to having invented the first modern insurance model. Unlike most of its competition, Lloyds of London is not a company but a corporate body. This structure works well since it has been around for over 330 years. Lloyds operates under multiple financial backers pooling their capital to spread the risk.
I have two blog posts that deep dive into Lloyd’s of London and what they mean to Iowa’s flood insurance market. If you are interested, the links are below.
Lloyd’s of London Flood Insurance
NFIP vs Private Flood Insurance
Lloyd’s also insures the world for flood insurance, meaning they cover flooding events in India, Australia, and much of Europe. The “game” of insurance is to spread your risk since Lloyds is worldwide.
My joke here is that Lloyds is banking on God’s promise that he won’t flood the entire world again, …..so they won’t have to pay out the whole world’s flood claim.
How much does flood insurance cost in Iowa?
Many factors go into getting the cost of flood insurance for Iowa. If your home is in what is considered a low-to-moderate risk, you can get a heavily subsidized policy through the government.
Iowa flood insurance low-to Moderate Risk rate and cost.
This is Flood Zone X, which is not lender required flood zone.
This is usually identified as an X-flood zone. Then we would suggest the government Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) which is a subsidized policy and has set flood insurance coverage limits (see the grid below):
