NFIP records · the District of Columbia · policies as of July 31, 2026
Flood insurance in the District of Columbia
What policyholders here actually pay, what floods have paid out, and how to pay less, from public federal records.
2,187 insured units in force (all types)
This is what existing single-family policies cost — not a quote. Your own premium depends on your building, coverage and elevation.
Check your address on FEMA's flood map →Your flood zone is set at your exact address and drives your price and whether coverage is required. Look it up first, then read your zone's row in "What does it cost in my flood zone?" below.
Built from all 1,572 in-force NFIP policy records and 501 claim records FEMA publishes for the District of Columbia, downloaded October 25, 2026 and matched to FEMA's own count, none missing. Download the figures on this page (CSV) · How we check them
Is my quote or renewal normal here?
Type your yearly flood cost (premium plus fees, as on your bill) to see where it sits among the District of Columbia's existing single-family policies. This is a comparison, not a quote.
Enter an amount above.
Am I required to carry it?
Only if your home is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and your mortgage is from a federally regulated lender, or federal help to buy or build (42 U.S.C. §4012a). Check your zone on FEMA's flood map.
24.9% of the District of Columbia's NFIP policies are in high-risk zones (not 24.9% of all buildings, and not an answer about your own home).
| Flood zone | Policies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Zone X | 1,634 | 74.7% |
| Zone AE (high-risk) | 531 | 24.3% |
| Other or unclassified zones | 22 | 1.0% |
Policies by rated zone (summed policyCount; condo buildings count each unit). Outside those zones the federal requirement drops, but a lender can still require coverage.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Source: govinfo.gov, federalreserve.gov (official pages, checked October 25, 2026). Not endorsed by FEMA.
I'm outside the high-risk zone. Do floods happen there?
Yes. 51.6% of the flood-insurance claim money paid in the District of Columbia went to homes outside the high-risk zones, which hold 75.1% of policies here: less per policy than inside the high-risk zone, but not zero.
- Claim dollars paid outside A/V zones51.6%
- Policies outside A/V zones75.1%
- Zone X median cost$375
Outside those zones the federal requirement drops, but a lender can still require coverage. Insured claims only, by each policy's rated zone.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims; FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective October 22, 2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
How much does it cost here?
Typically about $384 a year ($32 a month), fees included. Half of homeowners here pay between $349 and $450. To check a quote, use the checker at the top.
Each policy's annual cost (premium plus the federal policy fee, reserve fund assessment and HFIAA surcharge), single-family primary residences. The bar is the middle half (p25–p75), from 1,035 single-family primary-home policies.
Coverage in force: $464.1 million of building and $136.1 million of contents coverage across all the District of Columbia policies.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
How do I actually get covered — and how fast?
Buy it now: most policies start 30 days after you buy, but there's no wait if you buy it with a new or refinanced mortgage.
- Waiting period30 days
- Bought with a new or refinanced mortgageNo wait
- NFIP building limit$250,000
- NFIP contents limit$100,000
Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage; flood insurance is bought separately, through the federal NFIP or a private insurer. Exceptions: no wait if you buy while making, increasing, extending or renewing a mortgage, or change coverage at renewal; a one-day wait if a map revision puts the property in a high-risk zone and you buy within 13 months of the revision (44 CFR §61.11). NFIP covers up to $250,000 on the building and $100,000 on contents, which is a separate policy. To buy: call the NFIP at (877) 336-2627, go to FloodSmart.gov, or ask any licensed insurance agent. Every NFIP insurer offers the same rates.
Already flooded? Insured: report the loss to your insurance agent or company now (FEMA's steps: how to start a flood claim). Not insured: a policy bought today will not cover a flood that already happened, and FEMA disaster aid is open to people in counties designated in a federally declared disaster. Past aid paid here is in “Did the government pay homeowners after floods?” below.
Source: floodsmart.gov, govinfo.gov, fema.gov (official pages, checked October 25, 2026). Not endorsed by FEMA.
What does it cost in my flood zone?
From about $375 a year (Zone X) to $523 (Zone AE) here. Your zone is on your lender's flood determination or FEMA's map; find its row below.
| Flood zone | Median / yr | Policies |
|---|---|---|
| Zone X | $375 | 871 |
| Zone AE | $523 | 154 |
Zones with fewer than 50 priced single-family policies are omitted. Your own premium still depends on elevation and coverage.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
How do current premiums compare with FEMA's full-risk price?
15.1% of bills here can keep rising: they pay less than FEMA's full-risk price. Those prices step up toward full-risk each year, limited by the yearly cap. Median premium $264, full-risk $264 (premiums only, before fees).
- Median premium charged (before fees)$264
- Median full-risk premium$264
- Pay below full-risk15.1% of 1,035
Yearly cap: By law most premiums cannot rise more than 18% a year (FloodSmart puts it at 18–25% for most policyholders); the cap usually does not apply to new policies, and fees and surcharges sit outside it. Here the median premium is already at or above the median full-risk premium, so the median policy has no gap left to close; any one policy can still sit below its own full-risk price.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Are people dropping flood insurance in the District of Columbia?
Yes: policies in force fell 16.6% from 2022 to 2026, from 1,885 to 1,572 NFIP policy records.
| July 31 | Policies in force |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,738 |
| 2020 | 1,730 |
| 2021 | 1,731 |
| 2022 | 1,885 |
| 2023 | 1,782 |
| 2024 | 1,747 |
| 2025 | 1,665 |
| 2026 | 1,572 |
Policy records in force on July 31 of each year (a condo-building policy counts once). Private flood policies are not in this data.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies. Data effective 2019–2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Can I pay less than the sticker price?
Not through a community discount: the District of Columbia's only NFIP community has none.
The 0 largest discounts of 0 discounted communities are shown; 1 communities here have no CRS discount. Each county page lists its own towns.
The Community Rating System cuts NFIP premiums for every eligible policy in a community that does extra flood work. The discount shown is the community's rate; what share of its policies currently receive it is not in this data. Confirm with your agent.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Community Status Book (CRS). Data effective October 22, 2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
What do floods actually pay out here?
Floods here have led to 501 NFIP flood claims and $5.4 million in payouts since 1978; the worst years were 2011, 2023 and 2020.
Orange bars are the three costliest years: 2011 ($1,644,463), 2023 ($623,536), 2020 ($572,389). Total paid $5,445,365: net building + contents payments by year of loss. Claims are matched by the claims dataset's county code, which may not exactly match a policy's property county.
That is 501 claims since 1978 against 2,187 policies in force today — a cumulative tally spanning ~49 years over a present-day snapshot, not an annual claim rate or a flood probability.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective 1978–2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Do flood claims here actually pay out?
Most do: 53.7% of claims here paid something. The average paid claim was $20,243.
- Average paid claim$20,243
- Closed with no payment46.3%
- Claims that paid269
FEMA lists reasons a claim closes without payment, such as damage below the deductible, no flood as the policy defines it, or seepage and drain backup the policy does not cover. The average is over claims that paid something; a single home can file across several floods over the years.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective October 22, 2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Why do flood claims here go unpaid?
Of the 232 claims here closed without payment, the top reason FEMA recorded was “not an actual flood” (70 claims).
| Reason recorded | Claims |
|---|---|
| Not an actual flood | 70 |
| Damage less than the deductible | 48 |
The building non-payment reason on each NFIP claim closed with nothing paid. Records marked “other” or entered in error are left out.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective 1978–2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Which named storms paid out the biggest totals here?
Among named storms, Hurricane Irene paid out the largest total: $24,921 across 5 NFIP flood claims.
| Storm (FEMA's name) | Claims | Total paid | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Irene | 5 | $24,921 | $4,984 |
| Hurricane Sandy | 2 | $17,118 | $8,559 |
| Hurricane Ida | 1 | $8,866 | $8,866 |
| Tropical Storm Ophelia | 2 | $7,076 | $3,538 |
NFIP claims that were paid, grouped by the flood event FEMA assigned; claims with no event name, or a generic one like “flooding”, are left out.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective 1978–2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Would a policy here pay to rebuild my home?
Not in full for 65.0% of insured single-family homes here: FEMA's records put their rebuilding cost above the NFIP's $250,000 building limit.
- Rebuilding cost above the building limit65.0% of 512 policies reporting one
- Carry the maximum building coverage84.7%
- Damage was more than the coverage1.9% of 258 claims paid with a damage figure
NFIP covers up to $250,000 on the building and $100,000 on contents, which is a separate policy. Rebuilding cost is the replacement-cost figure on each single-family primary-home policy record.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Policies; FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective July 31, 2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Source: floodsmart.gov (official pages, checked October 25, 2026). Not endorsed by FEMA.
How often do the same homes flood here?
Some homes here flood again and again: 4 flood-damage applications in FEMA's disaster-aid records came from homes that flooded more than once.
- Repeat-flood damage records4
One home appears once for each declared disaster that damaged it, so this counts damage events on repeat-flooded homes, not distinct homes (FEMA says these records cannot be totaled by property). Disaster-aid applications since 2002, separate from NFIP insurance claims.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — Repetitive-Loss Flood Properties. Data effective October 25, 2026; retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
How many homes here carry flood insurance?
About 1 in 91 homes here has flood insurance (1.1%).
- All homes insured1.1%
- Residential policies in force1,443
FEMA's NFIP residential take-up rate — share of residential structures with an NFIP policy, overall and inside the Special Flood Hazard Area. NFIP only (excludes private flood insurance); the structure count is a FEMA estimate.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Residential Penetration Rates. Data effective August 3, 2026; retrieved August 3, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
How often is the District of Columbia a flood disaster?
13 federal disasters for floods or storms here; the latest was Hurricane Sandy (2012).
- 2012 — Hurricane: Hurricane Sandy
- 2012 — Severe Storm: Severe Storms
- 2011 — Hurricane: Hurricane Irene
- 2010 — Severe Storm: Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms
- 2005 — Hurricane: Hurricane Katrina Evacuation
- 2003 — Hurricane: Hurricane Isabel
Distinct storms by calendar year (one storm's emergency and major-disaster declarations are counted once), not individual declaration records.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — Disaster Declarations Summaries. Data effective declarations through 2026; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Did the government pay homeowners after floods?
Yes, but not much per household: FEMA approved $680,009 for homeowners here, about $614 per registration, against an average paid flood claim of $20,243.
FEMA disaster aid helps with uninsured and underinsured losses, and is separate from NFIP insurance.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA — Housing Assistance (Owners); FEMA OpenFEMA — NFIP Claims. Data effective owner registrations by disaster; retrieved October 22, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Reconciliation & data completeness
Our counts are checked against FEMA's official figure and the API's own totals.
In-force count: 2,187 policy units (from 1,572 API records; condo-association records carry more than one unit). FEMA official reconciliation count pending for this county. Count reconciliation (not a snapshot proof): policies: 1572/1572 fetched; claims: 501/501 fetched.
What this data cannot tell you
- Your own premium — it depends on elevation, coverage and deductible. We show where existing policies fall.
- Private (non-NFIP) flood insurance prices.
- Your address's exact flood zone — use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center.
- Why any one premium changes — we show the gap to full-risk, not the cause.
- A year-over-year premium trend — the in-force snapshot holds only current-term policies, so a like-for-like multi-year index isn't possible from this data. A per-effective-year median is shown only where several years of policies exist.
The federal datasets behind this page
Every figure comes from a public U.S. federal dataset; estimates are labeled where they appear. This page joins 7 of them for the District of Columbia. Last pulled October 25, 2026.