Flood Insurance in Highlands County

Highlands County flood insurance costs, flood zones, and tips

Sitting in South Central Florida, Highlands County offers residents and visitors a scenic escape from the bustle of city life. Here, you’ll find plenty of forests, citrus groves, and tranquil lakes. But nature comes with a cost, and the area faces an increasingly high risk for flooding, according to Flood Factor. In the last 30 years, more than 12,000 properties have been at risk for flooding.

Highlands County and so many other parts of Florida are facing increasing flood risks because of rising sea levels, shifting weather patterns, and more severe storms. As the atmosphere increases in temperature, there’s more evaporation, which creates more water during rain events. Flood Factor states that 12% of all Highlands County properties are at risk for flooding.

That means flood insurance is a wise investment for homeowners in Highlands County, regardless of their flood zone. Let’s take a look at the average flood costs for this region.

Highlands County Flood Insurance costs

On average, our Highlands County flood insurance costs $143 a year. Compare that to the National Flood Insurance Program’s average premium for this area: $472. That means homeowners can potentially save up to $329 a year with Kin.

In fact, our coverage is cheaper than the NFIP for about 71% of Florida.

Kin vs. NFIP average flood insurance premiums

Remember that your flood zone is the biggest factor in how much your flood coverage costs. The best way to find out how much your flood protection will be? Contact us for an accurate quote in seconds.

So what’s behind Florida flood insurance costs? Namely its weather and likelihood of flooding. Florida has the highest flood risk of any state thanks to its 11,000 miles of rivers, waterways, and streams paired with the region’s flat terrain. Add in Florida’s yearly 54 inches of rainfall, and you have a recipe for floods.

Coastal regions in Florida generally have a greater risk of flooding than inland areas, but approximately 25% of flood claims happen in low or moderate-risk zones.

Is Flood insurance required in Highlands County?

FEMA designated flood zones with letter labels to indicate their risk level. Highlands County’s flood map reveals both A and AE flood zones, both of which are high-risk areas. If your home is in either of these zones, you’re required to have flood insurance if your mortgage is federally secured.

Both Zone A and AE designate high-risk flood zones with a 1% annual chance of flooding.

What Highlands County flood insurance covers

Many Florida residents go through the NFIP for flood insurance, but its coverage can be limited. It caps coverage for your home at $250,000 and $100,000 for your belongings.

By contrast, we match our flood coverage to your homeowners' policy’s underlying limits. If you have $150,000 in coverage for your personal belongings, you’ll have $150,000 in flood coverage for it, too.

Our Florida flood insurance can cover:

• Electrical, cooling, heating, and plumbing systems.
• Appliances.
• Carpeting and window treatments.
• Built-in bookcases and paneling.
• Personal property.
• A detached garage or shed.
• Foundation, walls, anchorage systems, staircases.
• Debris removal.
• Filling sandbags for temporary leaves.
• Moving property before a flood.
• Home maintenance to mitigate your property's flood risks.

Our flood endorsement doesn't cover:

• Boathouses.
• Fences and retaining walls.
• Sea walls.
• Hot tubs, pools, pool equipment.
• Landscaping.
• Decks.
• Septic systems.
• Preventable moisture/mold.
• Cars.
• Earthquakes and earth movements caused by floods.
• Damage to personal belongings in basements and crawlspaces.

Managing Highlands County flood risk

The first step to minimizing your home’s flood risk is to understand it. Check out FEMA’s flood maps or Flood Factor, where you can type in your address and see your property’s risk at a glance. You can even see the flood outlook for your area. For example, 33% of properties in Lorida, Florida, are at risk of flooding. Nearly 11% of those are at severe to extreme risk.

The next phase is to minimize your home's flood risk. You might start by:

• Keeping water-sensitive items out of the basement or crawlspaces.
• Installing foundation vents or a sump pump.
• Apply coatings and sealants to your foundation.
• Installing gate valves on your pipes.
• Grading your lawn away from the house.
• Directing downspouts away from your foundation.

Doing so can lower your flood risk and help keep your coverage costs down over time.