Guidelines for Wyoming Flood Insurance Programs
Floods are among the most significant natural hazards in Wyoming, and are particularly common during the spring thaw due to ice jams. Floods can cause millions of dollars of damage, and are not covered by conventional home insurance policies. Therefore, it's important that both Wyoming homeowners and renters protect themselves with a special flood insurance policy.
Other People Are Reading
-
Federal Insurance
-
While there is no state-specific flood insurance program for Wyoming, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides property owners with affordable insurance if their community participates in the program. In order to participate, a community must agree to practice sound flood-plain management strategies. The NFIP was created by Congress in 1968 as a response to the rising cost of taxpayer-funded disaster relief for flood victims.
Flood Risk
-
In exchange for participating in the NFIP, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), tasked with the management of the program, conducts a flood-risk survey on the community to quantify flood risk. Based on the results from this in-depth survey, land in the community is classified into two main zones; high-risk. which has a 1 percent chance of flooding in a given year, and low-moderate-risk which has less than a 1 percent risk. The results of this study are illustrated on special maps, called Flood Insurance Risk Maps (FIRMs). It is important to note that there may be one more zone on this map -- the undetermined-risk zone, where flood hazard analysis has not been conducted.
-
Wyoming Participation
-
Through the NFIP, owners and renters can purchase federally backed, affordable flood insurance. It's up to the communities in Wyoming, however, to elect to participate. According to FEMA's Community Status Book Report, in Wyoming, 81 communities have elected to participate in the program; nine have not.
Coverage
-
Insurance can be purchased for both buildings and contents. The maximum building coverage is $250,000 and the maximum content coverage is $100,000. For homes in the high-risk zone, annual premiums range from $136 to as much as $5,903, depending on the amount of coverage purchased. In the low-moderate-risk zone, policies range from $49 to $1,636 per year. Private insurance companies also offer excess coverage policies for properties worth more than the maximum coverage amounts. You can't cover more than your home's value. In the case of federally backed mortgages in the high-risk zone, your insurance policy has to cover the amount of the loan, but can be for more than the home is worth.
Disaster Assistiance
-
Floods and flood damage have occurred in every county in Wyoming. According to FEMA, federal aid programs for disaster recovery can include payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible costs for repairing or replacing damaged public facilities, such as roads, bridges, utilities, buildings, schools, recreational areas and similar publicly owned property, as well as certain private nonprofit organizations engaged in community service activities. Payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible cost is available for removing debris from public areas and for emergency measures taken to save lives and protect property and public health. Payment of not more than 75 percent of the approved costs is available for hazard mitigation projects undertaken by state and local governments to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural disasters. These assistance programs are funded by FEMA and provided by the state.
Disaster Assistance
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit ice image by DOLPHIN from Fotolia.com
