Check Your Home's Flood Risk in 2 Minutes
Check Your Home's Flood Risk in 2 Minutes
Short answer: your lender requires flood insurance if the home is in a FEMA high-risk zone (A or V) and has a federally backed or regulated mortgage. Whether you should have it depends on the home itself. Enter the address and 3 quick details, and we'll check free public FEMA and USGS data and give you a flood risk score out of 100, a rough rebuild cost, and a next step. It takes about a minute.
Watch: What Your Flood Risk Score Means
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Do you need flood insurance?
You are required to have flood insurance if your home is in a FEMA high-risk flood zone (any zone starting with A or V) and has a mortgage from a federally regulated or federally backed lender. Whether you should have it is a different question, and the answer doesn't depend on a map. A standard homeowners policy does not pay for flood damage, and flooding happens in every state.
The self-assessment above answers both questions. It checks the FEMA flood map for the lender question, then scores the home's own flood risk from 0 to 100 using free public data and three details you already know: the foundation, the size of the home and any past flood claim.
How the flood risk score works
The score starts with where the home sits. A past flood claim sets it to 100. A FEMA floodway sets it to a flat 90. Otherwise, distance to the nearest mapped river, stream, lake or coastline sets the base, a full basement can add 20, and ground below FEMA's base flood elevation can add 15 or 20.
| Where the home sits | No full basement | Full basement |
|---|---|---|
| Past flood claim on this home | 100 | 100 |
| Inside a FEMA floodway | 90 | 90 (flat, nothing added) |
| 100 feet or less from water | 65 | 85 |
| 101 to 250 feet from water | 60 | 80 |
| More than 250 feet from water | 50 | 50 |
Elevation adjustment: when FEMA publishes a base flood elevation (BFE) for the spot and USGS has the ground elevation, ground 0 to 2 feet below the BFE adds 15 points and more than 2 feet below adds 20. Scores cap at 100. Most addresses outside high-risk zones have no published BFE, so this step is often skipped.
What doesn't change the score: the flood zone and flood claims in your ZIP code. We show both for context. ZIP codes are too large to say much about one home, and the flood zone doesn't set your flood insurance price.
Does the flood zone set the price?
No. The flood zone mainly decides whether your lender requires flood insurance. FEMA's NFIP Risk Rating 2.0 doesn't use flood zones in rating, and private carriers use the zone only about 25% of the time. The biggest drivers of your flood insurance price are the home's elevation, its rebuild cost and its distance to water.
| FEMA flood zone | Risk level on the map | Is flood insurance required by law? |
|---|---|---|
| A, AE, AH, AO, AR | High risk (Special Flood Hazard Area) | Required when the mortgage is from a federally regulated or federally backed lender |
| V, VE | High risk, coastal wave action | Required when the mortgage is from a federally regulated or federally backed lender |
| X (shaded or unshaded), B, C | Moderate to minimal risk | Not required by federal law, though some lenders require it anyway |
How much would it cost to rebuild?
This tool estimates rebuild cost at $225 per square foot. A 1,800 sq ft home comes to about $405,000, which is above the $250,000 NFIP building limit, so private or excess flood coverage can fill the gap. A 1,000 sq ft home comes to about $225,000, within the NFIP limit.
Where the data comes from
Every data point is free and public, and the result names the source next to each one: the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder (address to map location), FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer (flood zone, floodway and base flood elevation), USGS 3D Elevation Program (ground elevation), the USGS National Hydrography Dataset (rivers, streams, lakes and coastline), and OpenFEMA (NFIP claims by ZIP and county disaster declarations). We don't use paid property data.
More free tools: Find your flood zone · Flood insurance cost estimator · Review my flood policy · Homeowners flood insurance · Get a free flood quote
Frequently asked questions
Do I need flood insurance?
There are two answers. You are required to have it if the home is in a FEMA high-risk zone (A or V) and has a mortgage from a federally regulated or federally backed lender. You should consider it almost anywhere it rains, because a standard homeowners policy does not pay for flood damage.
Is flood insurance required by law?
Only in certain cases. Federal law requires it when a building in a high-risk flood zone (A or V) secures a loan from a federally regulated lender or a federal program like FHA, VA or USDA. It is also required if the property got federal disaster assistance for flood damage while in a high-risk zone. Otherwise no law requires it, but your lender can still ask for it.
Do I need flood insurance if I own my home outright?
No law requires it without a mortgage, but your homeowners policy does not cover flood, so you would pay for flood damage yourself. Check your home's flood risk score above to see how exposed it is.
Does my flood zone set my flood insurance price?
No. The flood zone mainly decides whether a lender requires flood insurance. NFIP Risk Rating 2.0 does not use flood zones to set price, and private carriers use the zone only about 25% of the time. The biggest price drivers are the home's elevation, its rebuild cost and its distance to water.
How is this flood risk score calculated?
A past flood claim sets the score to 100. A home in a FEMA floodway scores a flat 90. Otherwise, the distance to the nearest mapped water sets the base: 65 within 100 feet, 60 from 101 to 250 feet, and 50 beyond 250 feet. A full basement adds 20 in the two closer bands, and ground below FEMA's base flood elevation adds 15 or 20 when both values are published.
Why does a full basement raise my score?
Water finds the lowest level of a home first, and a full basement sits below ground, so it floods sooner and costs more to repair. A full basement adds 20 points when the home is within 250 feet of water. Partial basements, crawlspaces, slabs and raised foundations do not change the score.
What is a FEMA floodway?
A floodway is the channel of a river or stream plus the nearby land that FEMA keeps open to carry flood water. Homes in a floodway face fast, deep water during a flood, so this tool gives any home inside a FEMA-mapped floodway a flat score of 90.
How much flood coverage does my home need?
Start with the rebuild cost, not the market value. This tool estimates it at $225 per square foot. A federal NFIP policy covers the building up to $250,000. If your rebuild cost is higher, private flood or excess flood policies can cover the difference.
Does homeowners insurance cover flood?
No. Standard homeowners policies exclude damage from rising surface water, storm surge and overflowing rivers or creeks. Flood coverage is a separate policy from the NFIP or a private flood insurer.
How long until a flood policy starts?
A federal flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has a 30 day waiting period, except in limited cases such as a loan closing. Most private flood policies have a shorter wait, typically 3 to 15 days depending on the company. Either way, it is best to buy before a storm is forecast.
Is this flood risk self-assessment a quote?
No. It is a free educational estimate based on your answers and free public data from FEMA and USGS. It is not a quote or a coverage offer. Your actual price and eligibility depend on the carrier and your property details.
Not sure if you're required to carry flood insurance? Try our free 1-minute Do I Need Flood Insurance? check.
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