News Currents

Flood policy purchases rising nationwide; big gains in Miss., S.C. and other East Coast states

There is a national trend of increased sales of flood insurance, with three times as many policies written since last May compared with sales for the previous 12-month period.

Mississippi has shown the greatest percentage increase in flood insurance policy sales over the past year, jumping 41.4 percent, from 42,730 to 60,435 policies.

The purchase of flood insurance in New Hampshire has risen by 26.2 percent since May of last year – a jump attributed to last October’s flooding and some updated maps that identified new areas at risk.

Congress enacted the flood insurance program in 1968. It makes policies available to communities that comply with federal guidelines.

Other states that saw an impressive one-year increase in flood insurance policies were Idaho, with 20.5 percent; Texas, with 17.9 percent; and South Carolina, with 13.2 percent.

Louisiana only saw a 9.6 percent increase, but it already had the fourth-highest number of policy enrollees before Hurricane Katrina, at 381,075. Florida leads the country, with 2,065,573 policies in force.