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Flood insurance Oklahoma | Oklahoma flooding | Oklahoma flooding map

Does my Oklahoma homeowners insurance cover flooding?
Do I need flood insurance in Oklahoma?
What are my flood insurance options in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma NFIP flood insurance
Oklahoma private flood insurance market
How much does flood Insurance cost in Oklahoma?
5 things you need to know about flood insurance in Oklahoma City and Tulsa?
Oklahoma Flood Insurance calculator
Cost of flood insurance in Oklahoma?

Does my Oklahoma homeowner insurance cover flooding? 

A typical Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma? 

It is important to have flood insurance coverage in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 too close to our home.  

Oklahoma flooding 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.  

Oklahoma flooding 

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. The average amount of assistance 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 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.  

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 Oklahoma, 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. 

How much is flood insurance in Oklahoma

The average cost for Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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.  

Oklahoma NFIP flood insurance.

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

NFIP/FEMA or Government policy  

Or 

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 

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. 

Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma. 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.  

Lloyd’s of London Flood Insurance Oklahoma Market 

Oklahoma 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. Lloyd’s operates under multiple financial backers pooling their capital to spread the risk.  

I have two blog posts that deep dive into Lloyds of London and what they mean to Oklahoma’s flood insurance market.  If you are interested, the links are below.  

Lloyd’s of London Flood Insurance   

NFIP vs Private Flood Insurance 

Lloyds 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 Oklahoma? 

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

Oklahoma 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): 

Flood insurance rate map Oklahoma

The average cost for flood insurance in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma depends on many factors unique to the structure. We will try to give you an idea of the most common homes we see in Oklahoma with a crawlspace foundation.  

We will look at the Oklahoma 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 Lloyd’s flood insurance options in Oklahoma.  

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

Food insurance Oklahoma City

Our example is Oklahoma City, but the premiums will be the same if in Norman, Moore, Lawton, Tulsa, and many other Oklahoma flood zones.

How much does flood insurance cost in Oklahoma?

NFIP option in Oklahoma 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 $2,515.00 

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 

Oklahoma 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 $835.00 

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. 

Oklahoma Private flood insurance – Lloyd’s 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 $1,078.36 

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 1214, they will not accept this risk if the lowest floor is 1210.  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, 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 

Private flood insurance (option 3) Not Lloyds,  

The annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $3,075.98 

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 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 

The annual premium in High-Risk flood zone is $2,622.00  

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 High-Risk flood zone is $1,605.00   

This option came from the company that used to run 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 swimming pool clean out, which is kind of unique so if you have a pool ask for this coverage. 

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 $555.00 (great price). 

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 that 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. 

Oklahoma flood Insurance rate

Hello, Oklahoma!  Thanks for visiting our page for all your flood insurance needs.  Let’s start with Oklahoma City, which has the highest number of flood policies in the state – 1,828!  The average flood premium here is $745, including $1,362,460 in written premiums.  

Flood Insurance Oklahoma City

In Yukon, Oklahoma, there are 97 active flood policies.  This allows the average flood rate for Yukon to be $1,224, which includes $118,736 in written premiums.  

Two hundred ten flood policies are in effect in Moore, Oklahoma.  Moore has $133,033 in premiums, which allows the average flood rate to compute at $633. 

There are $371,285 in flood premiums in Norman, Oklahoma.  The average flood rate for Norman is $737, which includes 504 active policies. Thanks for stopping by, Norman! 

In Comanche, Oklahoma, the average rate is a little higher than in Norman, coming in at $831.  This includes 166 active flood policies and $137,866 in premiums.  

Lawton, Oklahoma, has 504 active flood policies.  The average flood premium in Lawton is $865, which includes $494,175 in written premiums.   

Let’s look at Creek and Sapulpa, Oklahoma.  In these areas, there are 186 active flood policies.  Creek and Sapulpa have $170,097 in written premiums which allows the average flood rate to be $915. 

Three hundred sixteen total policies are found in Delaware and Enid, Oklahoma.  The average rate for Delaware and Enid is $935, including $295,321 in written flood premiums.  

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, has 169 active flood policies.  The written premium in Pauls Valley is $304,537, which allows the average flood rate to be $1,802.  

In Chickasha, Oklahoma, the flood rate average is $1,382.  There is a total of 178 active flood policies in Chickasha.  The total written premiums include $245,918. 

One hundred thirty-five flood policies are active in Kay and Ponca City, Oklahoma.  The total premiums for these areas are $113,278.  The average flood rate in Kay and Ponca City is $839. 

Le Flore, Logan, and Mayes, Oklahoma, have an average flood rate of $710.  This includes 246 active policies in this area.  The total written premiums for Le Flore, Logan, and Mayes are $174,615. 

$856 is the average flood insurance rate for Muskogee, Oklahoma.  We get these by looking at 140 active flood policies and $119,881 in total premiums.  

Hello Del City, Oklahoma!  You all have 211 active flood policies.  Your average flood rate is $1,067, which includes $255,150 in flood premiums.    

The average flood rate map drops dramatically to $507 in Edmond, Oklahoma.  There are 271 active flood policies and $137,365 in premiums in Edmond.  

We get closer to the state average in Midwest City, Oklahoma, with $855 as their average.  There are 215 active flood policies with $183,787 in premiums.     

In Oklahoma County and Okmulgee, Oklahoma, there are $121,677 written premiums.  The average flood rate here is $828, with 147 active flood policies.   

Thanks for stopping by Bartlesville, Oklahoma!  You all have an average flood rate of $1,036.  This includes 233 active policies and $241,481 in flood premiums.    

Tulsa Flood Insurance

Tulsa, you all have a lot of flood policies – one of the highest in the state with 1,407 active policies.  Tulsa’s average flood insurance rate is $745, with $1,047,815 in written premiums.  

Miami, Oklahoma, has 221 active policies with $249,322 in flood premiums.  The average flood rate for Miami, OK, is $1,128. 

The rate drops a little when we visit Stillwater, Oklahoma.  Their average rate comes in at $795.  This includes 153 active policies in Stillwater with $121,583 in premiums.   

One hundred sixty-seven flood policies are in effect in Pottawatomie and Shawnee, Oklahoma.  The average flood rate for these two areas is $869, including $145,142 in written premiums.  

$615 is the average flood rate for Rogers, Oklahoma.  The premiums written in Rogers total $166,627 with 271 active flood policies.  

In Duncan, Oklahoma, there are 91 active flood policies. The average flood rate in Duncan, Oklahoma, is $934. This includes $84,950 in written premiums for Duncan.  

Bixby, Oklahoma, has 279 active flood policies, which include $266,040 of written flood premiums. The average flood rate for Bixby is $954. 

Hello Broken Arrow, Oklahoma! You all have an average flood rate of $603. The total number of active flood policies in Broken Arrow is 293, with $176,800 in written premiums. Thanks for stopping by Broken Arrow!  

The average flood rate in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, is $1,029. This includes 115 active flood policies with $118,316 in written flood premiums.  

$860 is the average flood insurance rate for Tulsa County, Oklahoma. The number of active flood policies in Tulsa is 334. The total number of written flood premiums in Tulsa is $287,151. 

In Wagoner, Oklahoma, the average flood rate is $841. Wagoner has 167 active flood policies with $140,497 in written premiums. Thanks for stopping by Wagoner!  

Finally, let’s look at Woodward, Oklahoma.   The average flood rate is $832. The total number of flood policies in effect in Woodward is 185. This includes $153 949 in written premiums.    

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

Best place to get flood insurance in Oklahoma 

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. 

Buy flood insurance in Oklahoma