NFIP Flood Insurance Claims Data
National and state-level NFIP claims history, payouts, and average claim amounts from the OpenFEMA database.
Last updated: August 2026
National Overview
Total Claims
2,676,223
Since 1978
Total Payouts
$88.4B
Building + contents
Avg Payout per Claim
$33,032
All-time national average
The National Flood Insurance Program has processed over 2.7 million flood insurance claims since 1978, paying out $88.4B in building and contents losses. Three states - Louisiana, Florida, and Texas - account for nearly half of all NFIP claims ever filed, driven by repeated hurricane landfalls and coastal flooding exposure.
Recent Year Trends
Year-by-year NFIP claims and payouts across all states. The average payout per claim varies significantly by year depending on the severity of flooding events.
Claims by Decade
NFIP claims volume and payouts aggregated by decade. The 2000s and 2010s saw the highest payouts, driven by Hurricanes Katrina (2005), Sandy (2012), Harvey (2017), and other major events.
Top 10 States by Total Claims
Top 10 States by Total Payouts
Average Payout per Claim by State (2025)
States with at least 50 claims in 2025, ranked by average payout per claim. Higher averages indicate more severe flood damage per incident.
Showing states with 50+ claims in 2025. Click any state for detailed claims history.
Repetitive Loss Properties
Nationwide, 237,250 properties have experienced multiple flood losses. Of these, 34,679 are classified as Severe Repetitive Loss, and 13,086 have been mitigated. Repetitive loss properties account for a disproportionate share of NFIP payouts relative to their numbers.
Multiple Loss
237,250
2+ claims within 10 years
Repetitive Loss
215,734
2+ claims of $1K+ in 10 years
Severe Repetitive Loss
34,679
4+ claims or 2 exceeding value
Mitigated
13,086
Received FEMA mitigation
Top 10 States by Repetitive Loss Properties
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Multiple Loss Properties. Data sourced August 2026.
Flood Damage Beyond Insurance Claims
NFIP claims only capture insured losses. NOAA's Storm Events Database records all flood events, including uninsured damage. Since 1996, NOAA has recorded 160,639 flood events causing an estimated $121.2B in total property and crop damage and 2,736 deaths.
Total Events
160,639
Since 1996
Total Damage
$121.2B
Property + crop
Fatalities
2,736
Flood-related
Top 10 States by Flood Damage
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, 1996-2026. Data sourced August 2026. Includes Flash Flood, Flood, Coastal Flood, Lakeshore Flood, and Storm Surge/Tide events.
Insurance Coverage by State
How many households carry NFIP flood insurance, by state. Most states have single-digit penetration rates, meaning fewer than 1 in 10 households is covered. The historical claims ratio shows how many claims have been filed since 1978 for every active policy today - it reflects cumulative history, not a prediction of future claims.
| State | Penetration | Historical Claims Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 9% | 1 in 2 |
| Louisiana | 9% | 1 in 1 |
| Hawaii | 5% | 1 in 4 |
| South Carolina | 4% | 1 in 2 |
| Delaware | 3% | 1 in 2 |
| Mississippi | 2% | 1 in 1 |
| New Jersey | 2% | 1 in 1 |
| Texas | 2% | 1 in 1 |
| Alabama | 1% | 1 in 1 |
| Maryland | 1% | 1 in 1 |
| North Carolina | 1% | 1 in 1 |
| North Dakota | 1% | 1 in 1 |
| Rhode Island | 1% | 1 in 1 |
| Virginia | 1% | 1 in 1 |
| Connecticut | 0.9% | 1 in 1 |
| New Mexico | 0.9% | 1 in 4 |
| New York | 0.9% | 1 in 1 |
| Massachusetts | 0.8% | 1 in 1 |
| Georgia | 0.7% | 1 in 1 |
| Vermont | 0.7% | 1 in 1 |
| Maine | 0.6% | 1 in 1 |
| Oregon | 0.6% | 1 in 2 |
| Alaska | 0.5% | 1 in 2 |
| California | 0.5% | 1 in 1 |
| Nebraska | 0.5% | 1 in 1 |
| New Hampshire | 0.5% | 1 in 1 |
| West Virginia | 0.5% | 1 in 1 |
| Arkansas | 0.4% | 1 in 1 |
| District of Columbia | 0.4% | 1 in 2 |
| Kentucky | 0.4% | 1 in 1 |
| Montana | 0.4% | 1 in 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 0.4% | 1 in 1 |
| South Dakota | 0.4% | 1 in 1 |
| Tennessee | 0.4% | 1 in 1 |
| Washington | 0.4% | 1 in 1 |
| Wyoming | 0.4% | 1 in 1 |
| Arizona | 0.3% | 1 in 2 |
| Colorado | 0.3% | 1 in 1 |
| Idaho | 0.3% | 1 in 2 |
| Illinois | 0.3% | 1 in 1 |
| Indiana | 0.3% | 1 in 1 |
| Iowa | 0.3% | 1 in 1 |
| Kansas | 0.3% | 1 in 1 |
| Missouri | 0.3% | 1 in 1 |
| Nevada | 0.3% | 1 in 2 |
| Michigan | 0.2% | 1 in 1 |
| Ohio | 0.2% | 1 in 1 |
| Oklahoma | 0.2% | 1 in 1 |
| Utah | 0.2% | 1 in 2 |
| Wisconsin | 0.2% | 1 in 1 |
| Minnesota | 0.1% | 1 in 1 |
Derived from FEMA NRI population data and OpenFEMA NFIP policy/claims records. Penetration = active policies / estimated households. Historical claims ratio = total claims filed since 1978 / current active policies (a ratio above 1.0 means more claims have been filed historically than there are current policies).
All States Claims Data
| State | Total Claims | Total Payouts | All-Time Avg | 2025 Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 484,979 | $20.7B | $42,697 | $56,736 |
| Florida | 448,425 | $19.3B | $43,002 | $31,884 |
| Texas | 393,669 | $17.3B | $44,054 | $65,168 |
| New Jersey | 202,156 | $6.3B | $30,960 | $37,176 |
| New York | 175,253 | $5.7B | $32,475 | $20,047 |
| North Carolina | 109,539 | $2.3B | $20,707 | $61,076 |
| Pennsylvania | 76,907 | $1.4B | $18,549 | $28,767 |
| Mississippi | 64,278 | $3.1B | $47,707 | $33,324 |
| California | 53,545 | $758.1M | $14,158 | $33,722 |
| Illinois | 52,736 | $577.9M | $10,959 | $15,010 |
| Missouri | 51,261 | $963.4M | $18,794 | $32,527 |
| Virginia | 50,566 | $748.7M | $14,806 | $28,220 |
| South Carolina | 49,606 | $1.0B | $20,866 | $23,352 |
| Alabama | 44,875 | $1.2B | $26,360 | $35,888 |
| Massachusetts | 35,366 | $439.9M | $12,440 | $8,343 |
| Connecticut | 29,425 | $545.0M | $18,520 | $9,727 |
| Ohio | 28,179 | $366.4M | $13,002 | $40,592 |
| Kentucky | 27,849 | $521.9M | $18,740 | $51,502 |
| West Virginia | 27,832 | $381.8M | $13,718 | $37,633 |
| Maryland | 25,355 | $325.4M | $12,833 | $21,933 |
| Georgia | 24,418 | $516.5M | $21,150 | $18,500 |
| Indiana | 19,283 | $295.4M | $15,322 | $47,727 |
| Tennessee | 17,649 | $476.6M | $27,002 | $42,762 |
| Washington | 16,061 | $361.2M | $22,487 | $57,092 |
| Michigan | 14,921 | $145.6M | $9,759 | $16,222 |
| Iowa | 14,748 | $344.7M | $23,372 | $19,857 |
| North Dakota | 13,307 | $259.2M | $19,479 | $1,833 |
| Oklahoma | 12,973 | $259.3M | $19,991 | $48,158 |
| Minnesota | 12,470 | $156.3M | $12,536 | $3,333 |
| Arkansas | 10,250 | $217.8M | $21,246 | $51,788 |
| Wisconsin | 9,498 | $136.7M | $14,392 | $40,182 |
| Kansas | 7,857 | $113.9M | $14,501 | $47,901 |
| Rhode Island | 7,023 | $138.7M | $19,754 | $74,857 |
| Delaware | 6,334 | $89.5M | $14,136 | $3,500 |
| Hawaii | 6,250 | $157.5M | $25,205 | $53,795 |
| Oregon | 6,095 | $106.2M | $17,424 | $40,310 |
| Nebraska | 6,067 | $97.3M | $16,042 | $15,571 |
| Colorado | 5,778 | $90.3M | $15,636 | $11,000 |
| Maine | 5,671 | $86.7M | $15,297 | $17,000 |
| Arizona | 5,323 | $62.8M | $11,789 | $35,754 |
| New Hampshire | 4,422 | $65.6M | $14,827 | $0 |
| South Dakota | 4,017 | $62.0M | $15,441 | $8,500 |
| Vermont | 3,726 | $117.6M | $31,571 | $0 |
| Montana | 2,217 | $19.0M | $8,559 | $0 |
| Nevada | 1,960 | $47.4M | $24,203 | $42,588 |
| New Mexico | 1,927 | $41.4M | $21,476 | $54,513 |
| Utah | 1,204 | $8.1M | $6,703 | $8,933 |
| Idaho | 1,113 | $10.4M | $9,362 | $7,500 |
| Alaska | 805 | $16.4M | $20,365 | $32,375 |
| Wyoming | 561 | $3.8M | $6,708 | $9,000 |
| District of Columbia | 494 | $5.5M | $11,206 | $7,800 |
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Claims API. Data sourced August 2026. Sorted by total claims (highest first).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this NFIP claims data come from?
All data comes from the OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Claims API (v2), the official public API for National Flood Insurance Program claims. FludZone extracts and aggregates this data for easier analysis.
How often is this data updated?
This data was last sourced August 2026. FEMA updates the claims dataset periodically as new claims are processed and closed. We re-extract the data regularly to keep it current.
What does average payout per claim mean?
Average payout per claim is the total NFIP payouts (building + contents) divided by the number of claims filed in a given period. It reflects the typical severity of flood damage, not just how many properties flooded. A higher average payout usually indicates more severe flooding events.
Why do some states have very high average payouts?
States with high average payouts per claim tend to experience catastrophic flooding events (hurricanes, major river flooding) that cause severe structural damage. States with lower averages may have more frequent but less severe flooding, such as nuisance flooding or minor basement water intrusion.
What are repetitive loss properties?
Repetitive loss properties are structures that have experienced two or more NFIP claims of at least $1,000 each within any 10-year period. Severe repetitive loss properties have had four or more claims of $5,000 or more, or two or more claims where the total exceeds the building value. Nationwide, there are 237,250 multiple loss properties, with 34,679 classified as severe repetitive loss.
What percentage of homes have flood insurance?
Most states have single-digit NFIP flood insurance penetration rates, meaning fewer than 10% of households carry flood insurance. Even in high-risk flood states like Florida and Louisiana, a significant gap exists between the number of at-risk properties and the number of active NFIP policies. This coverage gap means the majority of flood damage in the US is uninsured.
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Disclaimer: This guide is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Flood risk, insurance requirements, and property values depend on many factors specific to each property and location. Consult a licensed real estate attorney, insurance agent, or certified floodplain manager for guidance on your specific situation. FludZone results are informational and are not a substitute for an official flood zone determination from a certified provider.