Do You Make These 7 Common Flood Insurance New York Mistakes?
Does my New York homeowner insurance cover flooding?
A typical New York 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 New York?
It is important to have flood insurance coverage in New York because our beloved Cowboy State has seen a fair share of flooding, and there is likely more coming.
We believe that most homeowners think about Flood insurance in New York 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 is looming, or we have heard on the news that there is flooding forecasted or happening currently too close to our home.
We believe that most homeowners think about Flood insurance in New York 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 is looming, or we have heard on the news that there is flooding forecasted or happening currently too close to our home.New York State flood zone map
If your home or business is in a flood zone, that is considered low flood risk area. Sadly, many homeowners decide to forgo purchasing coverage because they believe they are safe from flooding. Some real estate agents and some 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. In 80 percent of these individuals, they had water in their home 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 hear often that people believe that the government will help, and this is true. However, there are a few things that 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 – The average amount of assistance that homeowners get 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?
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-fema-faulty-flood-maps/
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, then there is likely more concrete, creating a barrier for land that previously, might have absorbed the massive downpour.
New Your flood map
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 for part of the risk. Our recent storms are facts that it can rain anywhere within New York, 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” then it really is.
The average cost for New York 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 New York 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 New York?
New York NFIP flood insurance.
There are many options available in New York regarding flood insurance, but they basically fall into two main categories.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), also known as FEMA, which is the government option for flood insurance. The NFIP has enjoyed a 50-state monopoly on the flood insurance market.
1 – The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), also known as FEMA, which 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 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.
https://www.fema.gov/wyo_company
New York private flood insurance market
There are alternatives to the NFIP or government insurance. It is called Private flood insurance most notably Lloyds of London Flood insurance, however, there are other options available in New York . We shop all the options for your property in your region to ensure you are getting the best premium. If you are ready to have us do the work for you, please click here.
There are alternatives to the NFIP or government insurance. It is called Private flood insurance most notablyOur shopping does include the NFIP because sometimes we find that with government subsidies you can get a much better premium.
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Lloyds of London Flood Insurance New York Market
New York is fortunate to have many Lloyds of London flood insurance options. Although many Lloyds flood insurance companies will have you assume that there is only one option, nothing could be further from the truth.
Lloyds of London has a rich history and is attributed to have invented the very first modern insurance model. Unlike most of its competition, Lloyds of London is not really a company but rather a corporate body. This structure works quite well since it has been around for over 330 years. Lloyds operates under multiple financial backers that all pool their capital to spread the risk.
I have two blog posts that take a deep dive into Lloyds of London and what they mean to New York ’s flood insurance market. If you are interested, the links are below.
Lloyds of London Flood Insurance
Fema vs private flood insurance market
Lloyds also insures the world for flood insurance, meaning they cover flooding events in India, Australia as well as much of Europe. You see the “game” of insurance is to spread your risk since Lloyds is worldwide.
My joke here is that Lloyds is banking on Gods promise that he won’t flood the entire world again, …..so they won’t have to pay out the whole worlds flood claim.
How much does flood insurance cost in New York?
There are many factors that go into getting the cost of flood insurance for New York. If your home is in what is considered low-to-moderate risk, you can get a heavily subsidized policy though the government.
New York 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):
Here a link if you want to really dig into this one. Be ready for an eye chart because every option is public record and should be standardized accost whoever writes these policies.
The average cost for flood insurance in New York with the maximum set limits in these Low-risk flood zone areas is $405 – $700 per year.
https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1523307331106-4cf9726b2eb04c3471a3e9d37a58fa6a/09_prp_508_apr2018.pdf
If your property is in higher-risk flood zone, it is usually identified with a Flood Zone AE. Your lender will require you to have flood insurance. The cost of flood insurance in New York depends on many factors that are unique to the structure. We are going to try to give you an idea for the most common homes we see in New York with a basement foundation.
We will look at the New York 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, as well as on a few of our private flood insurance policies, specifically Lloyds flood insurance options in New York.
Cost of Flood Insurance in NEW YORK in high-risk flood zone AE
Our example is in New York City, but the premiums will be the same if in Freeport, Rye, New Rochelle, Amhearst, Southampton, and many other New York flood ones.
Map of flooding new York City
In our example, the Base Flood Elevation (BFE is 10.0 ft) and is a home that is built before 1973
NFIP option in New York 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 $3,721.00
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
New York Private flood insurance – Lloyds of London Flood Insurance (option 1)
Coverage of $250,000 building coverage (no Contents coverage) and $5,000 deductible
Lloyds of London (option 1) Annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $894.89
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 do offer coverage for basements, about $2,000 for loss of use, $2,000 for other structures, but they can’t increase this coverage. They do not require an Elevation Certificate to rate.
New York Private flood insurance – Lloyds of London Flood Insurance (option 2)
Coverage of $250,000 building coverage (no Contents coverage) and $5,000 deductible
Lloyds of London (option 2) Annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $956.23
This option is great, and we are very happy when we can get this option for our clients as well. They seem to be writing almost all risks; however, they do not write any property that is in a designated floodway or has the depth of -4 under the BFE. In our example, with our BFE being 10.0 ft, if the lowest floor is 7.0 ft, then they will not accept this risk. They will not take anything that has had a flood loss. They do 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, then that will need to be added.
Private Flood insurance option (option 3) NOT Lloyds
Coverage of $250,000 building coverage (no Contents coverage) and $5,000 deductible
Annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $2,497.46
This option will take properties that have had one flood loss as long as it has been 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 – Lloyds of London (option 4)
This option must be written on the Replacement Cost Value (RCV) of the building, 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
Annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $774.69 (great price).
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, which is a bit different from some of our other Lloyd’s flood options. We usually reserve this one if the property doesn’t fit into any of our options above. We can adjust coverages to control premium. As mentioned before, this underwriters’ rates are all over the board. It is worth shopping through to make sure we are getting you the best premium we can. They don’t need an elevation certificate to rate.
Private Flood insurance – Lloyds of London (option 5)
Coverage of $250,000 (RCV) building coverage, No Contents and $5,000 deductible.
Annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $1,043.91
This option came out of the company that used to run the NFIP program, so the coverage almost exactly matches the NFIP coverage with two differences. They offer living expenses which will cover your cost, when you are displaced from your home during repairs (most Lloyds flood policies offer this). They also offer swimming pool clean out, which is kind of unique so if you have a pool ask for this coverage.
Private Flood insurance – Lloyds of London (option 6)
Private Flood insurance – Lloyds of London (option 6)Coverage of $250,000 (RCV) building coverage. No Contents and $5,000 deductible.
Annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $585.83
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 seems to be a glitch sometimes.
There are more options coming online every day, and we are working to be looking into every viable option.
Currently, New York has 177,772 NFIP policies in force to date with the total cost of $205,299,097. That would make the average flood rate for New York $1,155. Of course, some will pay more, and some will pay less.
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Hello, New York! Thanks for visiting our page for all your flood insurance needs.
Upstate NY Flooding | Flooding in Albany NY
Let’s start off with a group of areas that include Albany, Colonie, and Green Island, New York where the average flood rate is $1,624. The premiums add up to $656,104 with 404 active flood premiums.
Wells NY Flooding
Our next group contains Watervliet, Wellsville, and Binghamton, New York where the premiums add up to $696,528. The policies here number 622 which allows the average flood rate to be $1,100.
Next up is New York City, New York! Hello New York City! You all have the highest number of policies in the state at 54,097 policies in effect. The premiums in New York City total $57,514,218 which causes the average flood rate to be $1,063.
The average flood rate is $975 in Chenango, Conklin, Johnson City, and Union, New York. These areas have a combined 1,045 flood policies in effect with $1,018,377 in premiums.
Vestal, New York has 514 active flood policies with $402,204 in flood premiums. The average flood rate in Vestal is $782.
Let’s study another cluster of areas that include Gowanda, Portville, Horseheads, Norwich, Cortland, Walton, East Fishkill, Fishkill, Poughkeepsie, and Wappinger, New York where the number of flood policies total 1,643 with $1,928,367 in written premiums. The average flood rate for these areas is $1,174.
Our next areas that we’ll look at include Moravia, Hanover, Elmira, Colchester, Hancock, Sidney, Hyde Park, and Lagrange, New York where the average flood rate is $1,092. These areas have a combined total of $1,087,568 in flood premiums with 996 flood policies in effect.
$851 is the average flood rate in Amherst, New York. Amherst have 923 active flood policies with $785,186 in written premiums.
Included in the next cluster is Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Lackawanna, West Seneca, Ilion, Chittenango, Greece, and Henrietta, New York where the number of active flood policies total 1,412. The premiums here add up to up $1,580,219 which allows the average flood rate to be $1,119.
The next group has an average flood rate of $1,601. This group includes Evans, Hamburg, Batavia, Windham, Sullivan, Chili, Gates, Irondequoit, and Penfield, New York. The premiums here total $1,489,805 with 1,404 in total active policies.
609 flood policies are in effect in Atlantic Beach, New York. Atlantic Beach has $993,330 in flood premiums which allows the average flood rate to be $1,631.
The average flood rate rises to $2,028 in Bayville, New York. The number of active flood policies totals 790 with $1,602,074 in flood premiums.
$1,098 is the average flood rate for Cedarhurst and Glen Cove, New York. These two areas have 526 active flood policies with $577,780 in written premium.
East Rockaway, New York has 934 flood policies in effect with $1,165,817 in flood premiums. The average flood rate for East Rockaway is $1,248.
The average flood rate rises to $1,790 in Freeport, New York. Freeport has 3,368 active flood policies with $6,030,218 in premiums.
22,777 active flood policies are in effect in Hempstead, New York. Hempstead has an average flood rate of $1,071 which includes $24,392,115 in flood premiums.
Hewlett Harbor and Kings Point, New York have an average flood rate of $1,016. The policies here number 446 with $452,940 in flood premiums.
Next up is Island Park, New York where the average flood rate is $1,406. The premiums here total $1,423,967 with 1,013 in active flood policies.
The average flood rate drops to $778 in Lawrence, New York. Lawrence has 828 active flood policies with $644,417 in flood premiums.
Hello Long Beach, New York! You all have 7,961 flood policies in effect with $10,113,780 in written premiums. Long Beach has an average flood rate of $1,270.
$670 is the average flood rate for Lynbrook and Manorhaven, New York. The premiums here add up to $259,239 with 387 active flood policies.
The average flood rate drops to $585 in Massapequa Park, New York. There are 436 flood policies in effect with $255,136 in written premiums.
448 policies are active in North Hempstead, New York. North Hempstead has $389,840 in flood premiums which allows the average flood rate to be $870.
Oyster Bay, New York have an average flood rate of $1,201. The premiums in Oyster Bay total $5,479,098 with 4,561 in active flood policies.
Let’s look at a couple of areas that include Rockville Centre and Sands Point, New York where the average flood rate is $704. These areas have 364 policies in effect with $256,380 in premiums.
$874 is the average flood rate for Valley Stream, New York. There are 933 active flood policies with $815,644 in written premiums.
Our next group includes Woodsburgh, Kirkland, Whitesboro, Dewitt, Lysander, Manlius, Gorham, Deer Park, Kiryas Joel, Port Jervis, South Blooming Grove, and Washingtonville, New York where the number of active flood policies total 1,436. The premiums in these areas total $1,434,056 which allows the average flood rate to be $999.
In Niagara Falls, Wheatfield, Cicero, Clay, Syracuse, Van Buren, Middletown, Monroe, Newburgh, Oneonta, Unadilla, Philipstown, and Rensselaer, New York, the average flood rate $1,033. The number of active flood policies total 1,814 with $1,873,635 in flood premiums.
Tory NY Flooding
