Recently I was shopping at a local grocery store. I went to grab some eggs for my family's weekly homemade breakfast. As I picked up the eggs I felt like I had been electrocuted when I saw the price of $8.99 for a dozen eggs. Then I grabbed some milk with just as much shock!

Really, it's a good thing that I buy our meat in bulk or I might have not survived this trip to the grocery store.

It got me thinking about my flood insurance renewal coming up. Are we going to be just as shocked by the pricing of flood insurance policies in the future? Today, we are going to discuss the past and future when it comes to flood insurance pricing.

You can watch a video on this topic below or by clicking here:

Let's take a look down memory lane before the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) had all these changes with Risk Rating 2.0 and the advancements of private flood insurance. Historically, flood insurance pricing was built using the following things:

So, if we had 2 properties with the same foundation type and elevation, then the rate might be the same.

FUTURE OF FLOOD INSURANCE

However, the future is now here where things like claims history, type of flooding, and flooding frequency are having major impacts on flood insurance rates for property owners and insurance agents. Even the replacement cost of a building is having an impact on flood insurance renewal pricing.

One thing that is driving this is the rapid change of flood risks for low-risk and high-risk flood areas. Property characteristics are playing a bigger role in how current flood insurance pricing is built with federal flood insurance and private flood insurance.

Is Flood Insurance Renewal Pricing Skyrocketing?

Flood zones are now having minimal impacts on the cost of flood insurance and things like historical flood damage are having a bigger impact. As a property owner, it's important to know what impacts these rates so you can keep as much money in your pocket as possible

We didn't come here to make you feel like the world is ending it might if it keeps flooding. However, in the meantime, let's talk about what you can do to keep your flood insurance pricing more stable.

KEEPING THE BEST FLOOD PRICING

One thing is making sure that an accurate replacement cost calculator is being used to determine the coverage you need. While there can be some premium discounts like the Community Rating System (CRS) discount and mitigation discount, the greatest impact on your flood pricing depends on the flood insurance option you're going for.

Is Flood Insurance Renewal Pricing Skyrocketing?

Traditionally, if you had something like an FHA loan, VA loan, or even a USDA loan then you had one option available; you were forced to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

However, as of December 21, 2022, these loans now allow private flood insurance. This means you could possibly see up to a 40% decrease in flood insurance simply by picking a private flood insurance option.

Is this going to give you the same building and content coverage as you have now? It might actually give you more coverage as residential flood insurance coverage is not limited to $250,000 on building coverage and $100,000 on contents coverage.

It's also important to know not all private flood insurance company options are the same. One might have higher pricing than others. One might offer more coverage than others.

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This is why it's important to look at all the private flood insurance options at each flood insurance renewal date. Some private flood insurance companies look at these things on your flood insurance:

  • Flood type
  • Flood risk variables
  • Flood frequency

Unlike the National Flood Insurance Program's policy assumption process property changes in ownership could have a big impact on flood insurance rates.

Almost every week I speak with someone who thinks their rate will be the same as the current owner. However, with some private flood insurance companies this couldn't be further from the truth.

We can all agree that flood events are happening more often across the country and flood insurance claims are coming in at an all-time high. So no one should be shocked about the changes to flood insurance premiums.

It's important to know many flood insurance premiums across the country are actually going down. FEMA's new rating methodology has shown this across the country over the last year.

If you want to learn more about flood insurance pricing click here. You can also visit the flood learning center.

Flood Insurance Guru - Flood Learning Center

If you are ready to take the next steps to get the right flood insurance coverage then there are three simple steps.

  • Fill out this form — Get A Quote
  • Talk with our flood education specialist.
  • Get back to the important things in your life.

The flood insurance market has been constantly changing for a couple of years. We've seen this happen for federal flood insurance and even for flood insurance availability.

One of the biggest changes came in form of allowing private flood insurance for property owners who have an FHA loan, USDA, or even VA loan. In this article, let's talk about how the private flood insurance market is changing the whole flood industry.

How Private Flood Is Changing the Flood Industry

Coverages

When it comes to understanding how the private flood is changing flood insurance coverage, we first need to get a basis or some form of comparison to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

So, let's just mention here that when it comes to federal flood insurance, you only get a maximum of $250,000 in building coverage and $100,000 in contents coverage or personal property coverage for residential flood policies. This coverage amount can go up to $500,000 if you're doing a commercial flood policy.

Now that we've established this, it's important to highlight that private flood insurance companies don't have these coverage limits. You can definitely still get more than $250,000. Even when it comes to personal items or content coverage, you can definitely go more than $100,000 for flood damage. That coverage also comes with the loss of use, additional living expenses, and/or replacement costs.

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Pricing

When it comes to pricing, private flood insurance also offers more flexibility and is generally cheaper. This is especially true if we look at how the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Risk Rating 2.0's impacts which will cause around 77% of the properties to get an increase in premium rates.

To know more about private flood insurance pricing, watch the video below to know more:

Claims Payout and Wait Period

Now, let's jump into what may be the most crucial parts of your flood insurance policy: claims and wait periods.

When it comes to wait periods, private insurers generally have a quicker turnaround time for your policy to take effect on your property. Most private flood insurance policies can be available and take effect on your property within a maximum of 15 days.

This is relatively shorter than federal flood insurance with a strict 30-day period. This can be helpful since you immediately get coverage and flood protection on your property quicker.

This type of faster wait time is also applicable for a claims payout. When filing for a flood insurance claim with private insurers, you may get the payout on your private policy within a maximum of 60 days. Now, it's important to note here that this generally depends on private carriers, so your flood claim may be available at an earlier time.

Payment Options

Payment options with private flood are almost similar to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). So you can pay this out of your pocket or through your mortgage bank. When we say that you pay out of your pocket, this means that you pay for the whole premium via cash or using your own funds.

This is drastically different from mortgage payments since carriers would generally bill your bank for your flood insurance. What is important to note here is that there will be more mortgage payment options moving forward as the private flood is now available even for FHA, USDA, or VA loans.

Additionally, some private flood carriers may offer quarterly payments. This may provide more flexibility in paying your flood premiums, but there will be no delay in your flood protection and coverage. This can really be beneficial for premiums that are relatively high. Although banks may not be able to push through with this, paying $2,000 quarterly is way easier than paying it whole upfront.

It's also important to mention here about payment grace periods which, depending on your carrier, may have a 29-day grace period, 7-day, or even no grace period at all for payments to be made.

Want to know more about the difference between NFIP & Private flood in 2023?
Watch this video below to get started:

CHANGING FLOOD MARKET

So this is how the private flood is adapting to the constant changes in the flood insurance market. It's important to keep in mind that this generally doesn't guarantee that it's the best option for your needs. Sometimes, private flood may not be available because most of its assessment isn't based on flood zones alone.

If you want an in-depth understanding of private flood insurance, make sure click below to access our Private Flood Insurance Course:

Flood Insurance Guru | Private Flood Course

We will have to wait and see if federal flood insurance will also follow the path that private flood insurance is taking or one-up it by doing more to fight flood risks and provide more substantial flood protection for residents across the United States.

If you want to start your flood insurance, follow these three simple steps:

  • Fill out this form — Get A Quote
  • Talk with our flood education specialist.
  • Get back to the important things in your life.

If you have additional questions that are related to flooding and flood insurance, make sure to visit our Flood Learning Center where we try to answer all your questions. Click below to start your flood learning with us!

Flood Insurance Guru - Flood Learning Center