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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 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 looms or we have heard on the news that there is flooding forecasted or happening too close to our home.

New York State flood zone map

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 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 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 as a loan, and you will need to pay it back.  Are you willing to gamble 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.

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 of 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” than it 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 area’s flood risk can leave property owners under or uninsured.

How much is flood insurance in New York?

Who is the best private flood insurance companies in NY?

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New York NFIP flood insurance.

There are many options available in New York 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.

1 – 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

Suppose you have Nationwide Flood Insurance, State Farm Flood Insurance, Progressive Flood Insurance, or any of the logos below. In that case, 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.

New York 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 New York. 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 includes the NFIP because sometimes we find that you can get a much better premium with government subsidies.

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Lloyd’s of London Flood Insurance New York Market

New York has 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 New York’s flood insurance market.  If you are interested, the links are below.

Lloyd’s of London Flood Insurance

Fema vs private flood insurance market

Lloyd’s also insures the world with 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 worlds flood claim.

How much does flood insurance cost in New York?

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

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.

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 New York depends on many factors that are unique to the structure. We will try to give you an idea of 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 and 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 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 in New York City

In our example, the Base Flood Elevation (BFE is 10.0 ft) 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 shows 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 – 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 $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 – Lloyd’s 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 $956.23

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 have a depth of -4 under the BFE.  In our example, with our BFE being 10.0 ft, they will not accept this risk if the lowest floor is 7.0 ft.  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, 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 $2,497.46

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 a $5,000 deductible

The annual premium in a 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, 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 to ensure we get 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 $1,043.91

This option came from the company running the NFIP program, so the coverage 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 a unique swimming pool clean-out, so ask for this coverage if you have a pool.

Private Flood Insurance –  Lloyd’s of London (option 6)

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

The annual premium in a 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 sometimes seems to be a glitch.

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

New York has 177,772 NFIP policies in force to date, with a 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.

Click here to have our shop and save you money.

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

Upstate NY Flooding  | Flooding in Albany NY

Let’s start 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, allow 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 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: Gowanda, Portville, Horseheads, Norwich, Cortland, Walton, East Fishkill, Fishkill, Poughkeepsie, and Wappinger, New York, where the number of flood policies totals 1,643 with $1,928,367 in written premiums.  The average flood rate for these areas is $1,174.

The next areas 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 $1,087,568 in flood premiums, with 996 flood policies.

$851 is the average flood rate in Amherst, New York.  Amherst has 923 active flood policies with $785,186 in written premiums.

The next cluster includes Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Lackawanna, West Seneca, Ilion, Chittenango, Greece, and Henrietta, New York, where the number of active flood policies totals 1,412.  The premiums here add up to $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.

Six hundred nine 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 premiums.

East Rockaway, New York, has 934 flood policies, 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.

Twenty-two thousand seven hundred seventy-seven 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 is Island Park, New York, where the average flood rate is $1,406.  The premiums here total $1,423,967, with 1,013 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 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.

Four hundred forty-eight 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, has an average flood rate of $1,201.  The premiums in Oyster Bay total $5,479,098, with 4,561 active flood policies.

Let’s look at a few areas, including 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, allowing the average flood rate to be $999.

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

The average flood rate rises to $1,915 in Troy, New York.  Troy has 522 flood policies in effect with $999,850 in written premiums.

The average flood rate in Clarkstown, New York, drops to $844.  The premiums here total $446 386 with 529 active flood policies.

Look at Haverstraw, Orangetown, Piermont, Waterford, Schenectady, and Schoharie, New York, where the number of active flood policies totals 905.  The premiums for these areas add up to $985,213, allowing the average flood rate to be $1,089.

The average flood rate rises to $1,345 in Ramapo, Suffern, Malta, Campbell, and Erwin, New York.  The number of active flood policies for these areas is 501, with $673,698 in flood premiums.

Amityville, New York, has an average flood rate of $1,264.  Amityville has 1,168 flood policies, with $1,476,609 in total written premiums.

$1,197 is the average flood rate for Babylon, New York.  Babylon has 4,587 active flood policies with $5,490,357 in flood premiums.

Three hundred-three flood policies are in effect in Bellport and Brightwaters, New York.  The premiums add up to $214,390, allowing the average flood rate to be $708.

In Brookhaven, New York, we find 5,393 active flood policies.  The average flood rate in Brookhaven is $1,246, which includes $6,717,779 in written premiums.

The average flood rate rises to $1,279 in East Hampton, New York.  East Hampton has 2,911 active flood policies with $3,724,237 in flood premiums.

Look at East Hampton Village and Greenport, New York, where the premiums add up to $750,935 with 679 active flood policies.  These areas have an average flood rate of $1,106.

$527,919 is the total flood premium in Huntington, New York.  Huntington has an average flood rate of $743, including 711 active flood policies.

Islip, New York, has 6,066 flood policies with $5,909,114 in flood premiums.  Islip has an average flood rate of $974.

Looking at Mastic Beach, North Haven, Patchogue, and New York, we find 664 active flood policies with $726,024 in written premiums.  The average flood rate for these areas is $1,093.

The average flood rate jumps to $2,744 in Ocean Beach, New York.  Ocean Beach has 520 active flood policies with $1,427,015 in flood premiums.

$2,127 is the average flood rate for Quogue, New York.  Quogue has 575 flood policies in effect with $1,223,165 in premiums.

The average flood rate drops to $1,364 in Riverhead, New York.  Riverhead has 599 policies active with $816,962 in written premiums.

Next is Sag Harbor, New York, with 415 active flood policies with $443,400 in flood premiums.  Sag Harbor has an average flood rate of $1,068.

Looking at Sagaponack and Saltaire, New York, the average flood rate jumps to $1,878.  The premiums here add up to $1,027,315 with 547 active flood policies.

Seven hundred forty-two policies are active in Shelter Island, Smithtown, and West Hampton Dunes, New York.  The premiums here add up to $1,071,502, which allows the average flood rate to be $1,444.

Southampton, New York, has an average flood rate of $1,216.  The premiums in Southampton total $6,266,562 with 5,155 active flood policies.

$1,032 is the average flood rate for Southold, New York.  Southold has 1,831 flood policies in effect with $1,890,320 in flood premiums.

The average flood rate rises to $2,006 in Westhampton Beach, New York.  Westhampton has 1,042 active flood policies with $2,090,697 in written premiums.

Let’s check out a group of areas, including Rockland, Ithaca, Bedford, Cortlandt, and Greenburgh, New York, where the premiums total $915,850 with 730 policies.  The average flood rate for these areas is $1,255.

Four hundred twenty-six flood policies are active in Owego, New York.  Owego has $752,436 in flood premiums which allows the average flood rate to be $1,766.

The average flood rate in Shandaken, Ulster, Woodstock, Harrison, Irvington, and Larchmont, New York, is $1,613.  The premiums in these areas add up to $1,918,280 with 1,189 flood policies.

$2,193,811 is the premium total for Mamaroneck, New York.  Mamaroneck has an average flood rate of $1,672, including 1,312 active flood policies.

The average flood rate in Mount Pleasant and New Castle, New York, is $982.  These areas have 298 flood policies, with $292,584 in written premiums.

The average flood rate rises to $1,238 in New Rochelle, New York.  New Rochelle has 611 active flood policies and $756,353 in flood premiums.

Look at North Castle, Port Chester, and Rye Brook, New York, where the active flood policies number 412.  The premiums in these areas add up to $722,139, which allows the average flood rate to be $1,753.

Rye, New York, has 719 active flood policies.  Rye has an average flood rate of $2,073, including $1,490,751 in flood premiums.

Looking at Scarsdale and Tuckahoe, New York, we find an average flood rate of $868.  Active flood policies include 464 with $402,673 in written premiums.

In White Plains and Yorktown, New York, we find $405,564 in flood premiums with 331 flood policies.  The average flood rate for these areas is $1,225.

Finally, look at Yonkers, New York, where the average flood rate is $1,538.  The premiums in Yonkers total $787,658, with 512 active flood policies.

Thanks for checking out all the flood information on New York!!

How to save money on Flood Insurance in NY VE flood zones

All homes that are ocean-facing are custom built, so with this special consideration, our Lloyd’s of London VE flood zone and other Private Flood Insurance options for oceanfront properties consider this with variable coverage options as well as significant savings below is a case study for a property we were shopping just last week.

Our example was in the Massapequa Park, NY area and is in a VE flood zone map.

For the coverage of $250,000 with no contents and a $5,000 deductible, the NFIP annual cost for flood insurance in a VE flood zone is $32,599.00. Ouch!

Since we are who we are and experts in Flood Insurance, we will look at every property every way possible to ensure that we are getting the best premium for our clients, and WE often Do (smile wink)

We tried this same property on our Private flood options and were able to get the premium to under $2,500, and we have, in some cases with similar properties, get the annual premium to $600. This was a feather in our cap and made our clients very happy. Again all properties are unique in these VE flood zones, but if we can find a private flood policy for you, we guarantee it will be better than the NFIP option.

Let us help you save money today.

New Your Flood Insurance Cost Calculator

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.