Historical NFIP Claims Information and Trends
NFIP Claims are one component that help determine your risk level, based on only those who participate in the NFIP. Historical flooding is one of several indicators of flood risk; however, it isn’t the only factor used in determining your property’s flood risk.
- Changing weather patterns can impact flooding vulnerability of your property.
- Wherever it rains, it can flood.
It’s important to remember that historical flooding is not a full-scale risk assessment of your county or of your specific home, so it is always good to talk to a flood insurance agent to evaluate the full flood risk of your property.
This data applies to flood insurance claims paid by the NFIP; it does not contain information on flood damage that was not covered by insurance or that was covered by private insurance. Some older claims data may not have been assigned correctly to a State or County.
Dollar amount of claims paid by NFIP
Number of NFIP claims paid
Key takeaways:
- Flood claims are larger in coastal locations, but non-coastal states and counties have experienced flood events—more than you might expect.
- Every state and territory in the United States has had some flood insurance claims between 1980 and today.
- To date, 2005 was the largest year for flood related claims, partially due to the historic damage of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as other storms that year.
- Years with large hurricane events tend to have larger claim numbers.