Office of Emergency Services - Flood Insurance

Lake County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP makes federally backed flood insurance available for all buildings, whether or not they are in a flood plain. The NFIP insures buildings, including mobile homes, with two types of coverage: Structural and Contents. Structural coverage is for the walls, floors, insulation, furnace, and other items permanently attached to the structure. You may also purchase separate coverage for the contents in an insurable building. Flood insurance will also pay a portion of the costs of actions taken to prevent flood damage. Since July 1, 1997, all NFIP policies include Increased Cost of Compliance coverage. This coverage will assist in bringing structures into compliance with current building standards, such as elevating the structure to reduce the risk of future flood damage. The maximum limit of this coverage is $15,000.

There is a thirty-day waiting period before a flood insurance policy takes effect. This means you need to buy insurance before the rains start in order to be covered during a flood.

All properties in Lake County are eligible for Federal flood insurance. Over 25 percent of NFIP claims come from outside Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA's). Properties that have been flooded are also eligible for flood insurance.

Lake County participates in the Community Rating System (CRS). CRS gives a community credit for efforts to reduce flood losses above the minimun requirements of the NFIP. Due to Lake County's efforts, all NFIP policies in the unincorporated County receive a 10 percent discount from the standard rates. With the average NFIP policy of $350, the savings is $35.

Federal financial assistance requires the purchase of flood insurance for buildings located in a SFHA. Nearly all mortgages through commercial lending institutions are affected by this requirement. The mandatory requirement is for structural coverage equal to the amount of the loan (or other financial assistance) or the maximum amount available (currently $250,000 for a single family home), whichever is less. While the mandatory purchase requirement has been in effect for many years, not all lending institutions required flood insurance in the past. Many of these lending institutions are now requiring flood insurance purchase, and some are reviewing all mortgage loans to see if flood insurance is required. When you refinance a loan, the flood insurance requirement will be enforced. It is the lender's responsibility to check the FIRM to determine if the building is in a SFHA. The County's Water Resources Division staff will assist lenders and property owners in making this determination.

There is no mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement for loans or financial assistance on items that are not eligible for coverage, such as vehicles, business expenses, landscaping, and vacant lots. It does not affect loans for buildings that are not in a SFHA, even though a portion of the lot may be flood prone.

Individuals in SFHA's who received disaster assistance after September 23, 1994, for flood losses to real or personal property must purchase and maintain flood insurance coverage. If flood insurance is not purchased and maintained, future disaster assistance will be denied.

There are over 8,000 flood-prone properties within unincorporated Lake County, with approximately 1,000 flood insurance policies in effect. About ten million dollars of flood damage occurred during the 1983 and the 1986 floods, both 50-year flood events. The numbers are still being computed for the recent floods. You may have been spared in 1998, or you might have done some flood proofing, but remember, the next flood could be worse. In 1890 and 1909, lake levels were more than two feet higher than in 1983, 1986, and 1998, and 3 feet higher than in 1995.

Flood insurance covers all surface floods. More detailed information is included in the brochure "Flood, Are You Protected from the Next Disaster" available in the Public Works office.

If you do not have flood insurance, we recommend that you talk to your insurance agent. If you do have flood insurance, you should check your policy to ensure that the coverage is adequate and the contents are insured.