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Flood Insurance Minnesota

People in Minnesota save on average $500 to $1,457+ on their annual flood premiums.

In many cases, we save them even more. Get the cheapest flood insurance in MN without sacrificing coverage.

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2023 Flood Insurance Minnesota

Get Cheap Flood Insurance without Compromising Coverage

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Flood Nerds will shop the private flood insurance markets and then compare them to the NFIP, guaranteeing you the better option. We will send you the cheapest flood insurance rates within minutes.

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Paying for low-cost flood insurance is awesome. And letting the Flood Nerds shop your property has other benefits – you can get better coverage while saving money, and you can get it fast.

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Better Flood Insurance is an independent flood insurance broker that shops flood insurance ONLY.  Flood Nerds are Flood insurance experts. We have 5000+ happy clients and 390+ 5-star reviews. 

minnesota flood zone map

Does my Minnesota homeowner insurance cover flooding?

A typical Minnesota 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 MN 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 Minnesota?

Having flood insurance coverage in Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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.

Flood mapping

If your home or business is in a flood zone, that is considered a low flood risk area. Sadly, many homeowners in Minnesota 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.  Eighty percent of these individuals had water in their homes or building 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.

We often hear that people believe that the government will help, which is true.  However, a few things must align for you to get government 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 in the form of a loan, and you will need to pay it back.  Are you willing to gamble away your financial future by forgoing flood insurance coverage?

minnesota flooding map

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.

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 Minnesota, 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota flood insurance maps to assess risk, set premiums, and determine who is required to purchase flood insurance. Bad information about an area’s flood risk can leave property owners under or uninsured.

How much is flood insurance in Minnesota?

Minnesota NFIP flood insurance.

There are many options available in Minnesota regarding flood insurance, but they fall into two main categories.

Government and Private flood insurance

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

Not Private flood Insurance

If you have Nationwide Flood Insurance, State Farm Flood Insurance, Progressive Flood Insurance, or any of the of the logos above, 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.

Minnesota private flood insurance market

Llloyds of London Flood Insurance Shopper

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 Minnesota. 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.

Our shopping does include the NFIP because sometimes we find that with government subsidies, you can get a much better premium.

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Lloyd’s of London Flood Insurance Minnesota Market

Minnesota 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, Lloyd’s 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 deeply dive into Lloyds of London and what they mean to Minnesota’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.

Lloyds of London Private Market Flood Insruance

I joke here that Lloyd’s 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 Minnesota?

Many factors go into getting the cost of flood insurance for Minnesota. If your home is in what is considered a low-to-moderate risk, you can get a heavily subsidized policy through the government.

Minnesota 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 grid below):

$250K (Residental) /$500K (commercial) Building

The average cost for flood insurance in Minnesota with the maximum set limits in these Low-risk flood zone areas is $405 – $700 per year.

Your property is in a higher-risk flood zone, usually identified with a Flood Zone AE. Your lender will require you to have flood insurance. The cost of flood insurance in Minnesota depends on many factors unique to the structure. We will try to give you an idea of the most common homes we see in Minnesota with a basement foundation.

We will look at the Minnesota cost of flood insurance for the NFIP maximum of $250,000 for the (building only) with NO CONTENTS and our recommended deductible of $5,000.

We will be rating this example on the NFIP and on a few of our private flood insurance policies, specifically Lloyds flood insurance options in Minnesota.

Cost of Flood Insurance in MINNESOTA in high-risk flood zone AE

Our example is in Minneapolis, but the premiums will be the same in Edina, Rochester, St. Paul, Stearns, and many other Minnesota flood zones.

In our example, the Base Flood Elevation (BFE is 824 and is a home that is built before 1973)

NFIP option in Minnesota Flood Zone AE

NFIP – Coverage of $250,000 building coverage (no Contents coverage) and $5,000 deductible

NFIP Annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $3,522.00

This option is what we see if the property has had a flood loss before and either doesn’t have an Elevation Certificate applied or the Elevation certificate showing that the lowest floor is 4 feet under the BFE for the area. You can use 10% of your coverage to cover other structures on your property

Minnesota Private flood insurance – Lloyd’s of London Flood Insurance (option 1)

Coverage of $250,000 building coverage (no Contents coverage) and $5,000 deductible

Lloyd’s of London (option 1) Annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $980.00

This option is great, and we are very happy when we can get this option. They can be a bit choosey about what risk they will accept and will not take anything that has had a flood loss. They offer basements coverage, about $2,000 for loss of use, and $2,000 for other structures, but they can’t increase this coverage. They do not require an Elevation Certificate to rate.

Base Flood elevation Oregon

Minnesota Private flood insurance – Lloyds of London Flood Insurance (option 2)

Coverage of $250,000 building coverage (no Contents coverage) and $5,000 deductible

Lloyd’s of London (option 2)  Annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $1,236.00

This option is great, and we are very happy when we can get this option for our clients. They seem to be writing almost all risks; however, they do not write any property in a designated floodway or has a depth of -4 under the BFE.  In our example, with our BFE being 824, they will not accept this risk if the lowest floor is 820.  They will not take anything that has had a flood loss. They offer limited coverage for basements and do not require an Elevation Certificate to rate and as a percentage of coverage for loss of use. If you want coverage for other structures, that will need to be added.

 

Private Flood insurance option (option 3) Not Lloyd’s

Coverage of $250,000 building coverage (no Contents coverage) and $5,000 deductible

The annual premium in a High-Risk flood zone is $3,170.00

This option will take properties that have had one flood loss for more than five years, and the payout was under $100,000 on the claim. Their coverage matches the NFIP.  They will write practically all risks, don’t need an elevation certificate to rate, and are a bit lower in premium than the NFIP.

Private Flood Insurance –  Lloyd’s of London (option 4)

This option must be written on the building’s Replacement Cost Value (RCV). Otherwise, there is a co-insurance penalty that kicks in. So, $250,000 might be a bit low in California, but to keep this going, let’s just use that for this option

Coverage of $250,000 (RCV) building coverage, No Contents, and $5,000 deductible

The annual premium in the High-Risk flood zone is $1,793.93.

This options rating system is all over the board.  Sometimes we get a crazy great price, but other times the premium is way higher than the NFIP will consider taking a property that has had one flood loss before as long as it has been more than ten years and the payout was under $50,000 on the claim. Their preferred coverage is at replacement cost, slightly different from some of our other Lloyd’s flood options.  We usually reserve this one if the property doesn’t fit the above options. We can adjust coverages to control premiums. As mentioned before, these underwriters’ rates are all over the board.  It is worth shopping through to ensure we are getting you the best premium possible. They don’t need an elevation certificate to rate.

Private Flood Insurance –  Lloyd’s of London (option 5)

Coverage of $250,000 (RCV) building coverage. No Contents and $5,000 deductible.

The annual premium in a High-Risk flood zone is $1,364.25

This options rating system is also all over the board. Sometimes we get a crazy low price; other times, the premium is way higher than the NFIP. They will consider taking a property that has had one flood loss before as long as it has been more than ten years and the payout was under $25,000 on the claim. They have been rumored to give a low price the first year and then non-renew following years, or sometimes they jack the price way up, so we will watch them. They have a slick system, and their underwriting is managed by a 3rd party, which also sometimes seems to be a glitch.

More options are coming online every day, and we are working to be looking into every viable option.

Currently, Minnesota has 8,694 NFIP policies in force to date, with a total cost of $7,828,757. That would make the average for Minnesota $900. Of course, some will pay more, and some will pay less.

Click here to have us shop and save you money.

Hello, Minnesota!  Thanks for visiting our page for all your flood insurance needs.

Let’s start with Aitkin, Minnesota.  Aitkin has 135 active flood policies with $132,912 in written premiums.  The average flood rate in Aitkin is $985.

Benton, Minnesota, has an average flood rate of $1,006.  There are 113 flood policies in effect with $113,660 in total premiums.

In Rushford, Lake City, and Bloomington, Minnesota, there are 178 active flood policies with $99,598 in written premiums.  The average flood rate in these areas is $560.

Edina, MN, has the highest number of flood policies in the state, with 236 active policies.  The average flood rate in Edina is $811, which includes $191,327 in total premiums.

Hello Minneapolis, Minnesota!  Nice to have you here!  You have 177 active flood policies with $154,368 in written premiums.  The average flood rate in Minneapolis is $872.

In Minnetonka, Plymouth, and St. Louis Park, Minnesota, there are 258 flood policies in effect.  The total premiums in these areas are $214,284, which allows the average flood rate to be $831.

Austin, Minnesota, has 100 active flood policies and $99,621 in written premiums.  The average flood rate in Austin is $996.

The total premiums in Worthington, Minnesota, is $121,652.  The average flood rate in Worthington is $1,181, which includes 103 flood policies in effect.

The rate drops dramatically to $575 in Rochester, Minnesota.  The total active policies in Rochester is 165, with $94,796 in total flood premiums.

There are 129 flood policies in Pine, Minnesota, with $109,883 in flood premiums.  This allows the average flood rate for Pine to be $852.

Let’s look at East Grand Forks and Polk, Minnesota.  Combined, these two areas have 141 active flood policies.  The average flood rate for this area is $1,004, which includes $141,604 in total flood premiums.

When we move over to St. Paul, MN, the average flood rate drops slightly to $869.  This includes $137,258 in premiums with 158 total active policies in St. Paul, Minnesota.

There are 249 active flood policies in Rice, Roseau, Jordan, and Prior Lake, Minnesota.  The total premiums for these areas are $311,679, which allows the average flood rate to be $1,252.

$891 is the average flood rate for Sherburne, Minnesota.  Sherburne’s total number of policies is 106, with $94,443 in flood premiums.

Duluth, Minnesota, has 140 active flood policies and $110,462 in flood premiums.  The average flood rate for Duluth is $789.  Thanks for checking out our page Duluth!

One hundred seven flood policies are in effect in St. Louis, Minnesota.  The average flood rate in St. Louis is $929, including $99,412 in written premiums.

Hello Stearns, Minnesota!  You all have an average flood rate of $902.  This includes 129 active flood policies and $116,317 in premiums.

The average flood rate jumps to $1,853 in Owatonna, Minnesota.  The total premiums in Owatonna are $174,163, with 94 flood policies in effect.

Bayport, Minnesota, has 92 active flood policies and $137,240 in total premiums.  The allows the average flood rate for Bayport to be $1,492.

The average flood rate drops slightly in Winona, Minnesota, to $1,443.  The premiums in Winona total up to $155,879 with 108 total flood policies.

Last but not least, let’s look at Wright, Minnesota.  Wright has 83 active flood policies and $101,986 in total premiums.  The average flood rate for Wright is $1,229.

Thanks for checking out all the flood information on Minnesota!!

Flood Insurance in Minnesota

For decades, the NFIP has over-charged 50 percent of its policyholders and under-charged the other 50 percent, while it has racked up $42 billion in taxpayer-funded losses, equating to more than half of every claim paid by the NFIP since 1978.

About 30 percent of NFIP claims payments go to the same 3 percent of insured “repetitive loss” structures yearly. When you do the math, this means that the other 97 percent of their flood-exposed constituents could have paid in less and still netted larger claims payouts if they had better access to private flood insurance. A recent white paper by Milliman found that 90 percent of homes in Sandy-struck New York and New Jersey would see reduced flood insurance rates through private insurers.

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