Last updated: October 31, 2026
What flood insurance actually costs
Published National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) premium averages, coverage limits, and claims figures under FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0 pricing.
Standard homeowners policies do not cover flood damage, so flood cover is bought separately through the NFIP or a private carrier. Under Risk Rating 2.0, introduced in 2021, NFIP premiums are set per property — distance to water, elevation, rebuilding cost, flood frequency, and flood type — rather than from flood zone alone. That is why two homes in the same zone can pay very different premiums, and why a single national average is only a starting point. The rows below separate national averages, zone averages, and state averages, and state figures from different sources and dates are never averaged together.
The figures
| Figure | Value | Trend vs prior period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average NFIP premium, national, 2026 | About $976 per year | ● Baseline Prior: Single-year average from 2026 NFIP data — no prior-year average stated on the cited page | BeSecuredNow, from FEMA NFIP materials and NerdWallet 2026 analysis of NFIP data |
| Average NFIP premium by zone, 2026 | High-risk zones (A or V): $1,114 per year; other zones: $745 per year | ● Baseline Prior: Single-year zone averages — no prior-year zone averages stated | BeSecuredNow, from FEMA NFIP materials and NerdWallet 2026 analysis of NFIP data |
| Average NFIP premium, lowest and highest states, 2026 | Lowest: about $428 per year (Alaska); highest: about $1,840 per year (West Virginia) | ● Baseline Prior: Single-year state extremes — no prior-year extremes stated | BeSecuredNow, from FEMA NFIP materials and NerdWallet 2026 analysis of NFIP data |
| NFIP policyholders and claims outside high-risk zones | More than 4.6 million policyholders; about one-third of NFIP claims from 2013 to 2023 came from outside high-risk flood zones | ● Baseline Prior: Multi-year claims share — not a year-over-year figure | BeSecuredNow, citing FEMA |
| NFIP coverage limits, homeowners | Building: up to $250,000; contents: up to $100,000, bought separately | ● Baseline Prior: Program limits — unchanged statutory caps, not a price series | BeSecuredNow, from FEMA NFIP materials |
| NFIP waiting period and annual increase cap | Usual waiting period: 30 days; most annual premium increases capped at 18% until the full-risk rate is reached | ● Baseline Prior: Program rules — not a price series | BeSecuredNow, from FEMA NFIP materials |
| Community Rating System discounts | 5% to 45% off NFIP premiums for communities that reduce flood risk | ● Baseline Prior: Program discount range — not a price series | BeSecuredNow, from FEMA NFIP materials |
| Share of policyholders projected to see increases under Risk Rating 2.0 | About 66% nationwide, per FEMA projection | ● Baseline Prior: Projection at rollout — not a measured annual change | FloodPrice, citing FEMA |
| Texas NFIP average premium and policy count, trailing 12 months to August 31, 2026 | $958 per year across 540,914 policies written or renewed; $518.1 million in annual premiums; snapshot national average $915 per year | ● Baseline Prior: Single-snapshot average — the $915 snapshot national figure uses a different window and method than the $976 2026 figure above and the two are not directly comparable | FludZone, from OpenFEMA NFIP Policies API, FEMA snapshot of August 3, 2026 |
| Texas NFIP average premium by flood zone, trailing 12 months to August 31, 2026 | Zone X: $820 per year; Zone AE: $1,213 per year; Zone VE: $1,653 per year; Zone A: $1,050 per year | ● Baseline Prior: Single-snapshot zone averages — no prior-snapshot zone averages stated | FludZone, from OpenFEMA NFIP Policies API, FEMA snapshot of August 3, 2026 |
| Texas NFIP claims, 2025 vs 2024 | 2025: 2,424 claims, $158.4 million paid, average $65,333 per claim | ▲ Up Prior: 2024 average $34,394 per claim (4,717 claims, $162.2 million paid) | FludZone, from OpenFEMA NFIP Claims API, sourced August 2026 |
| Texas NFIP claims since 1978 | 394,152 claims totaling $17.4 billion in payouts; average claim payout since 1978: $44,029 | ● Baseline Prior: Cumulative total since 1978 — not a year-over-year figure | FludZone, from OpenFEMA NFIP Claims API, sourced August 2026 |
| Nebraska NFIP average premium, as of November 30, 2025 | $1,233.22 per policy; Omaha $1,600.97; Kearney $2,461.52; Lincoln $815.29 | ● Baseline Prior: Single-date state average — no prior-date state average stated | FloodPrice, NFIP average prices as of November 30, 2025 |
| Beaufort County, South Carolina, average NFIP premium, 2016 vs 2025 | $1,038 in 2025; Hilton Head Island $1,450 in 2025; Bluffton $543 in 2025 | ▲ Up Prior: $769 in 2016 (Beaufort County average) | Lowcountry Flood Watch newsletter, from published FEMA NFIP policy records |
How to read these numbers
Included: national and zone NFIP averages from 2026 NFIP data as summarized by BeSecuredNow from FEMA materials and NerdWallet analysis, OpenFEMA-derived Texas and Nebraska averages with their stated windows, and program rules (limits, waiting period, increase cap, Community Rating System discounts). Excluded: private-carrier quotes, which are property-specific and not published as averages, and any blended national average across sources — the $976 figure and the $915 snapshot figure come from different windows and methods and are shown side by side with that warning, never combined. Averages describe policies in force, not the price any one homeowner will be quoted; elevation, rebuilding cost, and distance to water move individual premiums sharply.
Disclaimer: Flood risk and premiums vary by property, and program rules change. Figures on this page are aggregated public estimates assembled for information only. They are not investment advice, legal advice, insurance advice, or a professional opinion on any specific property, policy, or claim. Original reporting and the underlying data remain the work of the sources linked above; this page summarizes their published figures with attribution and adds no proprietary dataset.
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Changelog
- October 2026: Initial edition — 2026 national and zone NFIP averages, program limits and rules, Texas OpenFEMA snapshot and claims history, Nebraska averages, and Beaufort County premium trend established.