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The Effect of Changes in the National Flood Insurance Program on Florida
Which Florida Counties are most affected?
Florida has more than 2.05 million policies and 268,648 (13 percent) are subsidized.6 As these policies are moved to actuarially-sound rates, as required in the Reform Act, Pinellas, Miami-Dade, and Lee counties will be most affected by the subsequent increases in policy costs, as these counties contain almost 48 percent of the subsidized policies.
Although not the leader in subsidized policies, Monroe County has, by far, the highest density of subsidized policies, with 2,244 per 10,000 housing units, more than double the density of Florida’s next-highest county: Pinellas, which leads in number of subsidized policies.
| Top Florida Counties with Subsidized NFIP Policies | ||
| County |
# Subsidized policies |
Subsidies Per 10k Units |
| Pinellas |
50,255 | 998 |
| Miami-Dade |
47,442 | 479 |
| Lee |
30,398 | 819 |
| Broward |
19,425 | 240 |
| Sarasota |
18,770 | 822 |
| Collier |
17,133 | 868 |
| Hillsborough |
14,368 | 268 |
| Monroe | 11,840 | 2,244 |
Floridians paid $3.60 in Premiums for Every $1 collected in Flood Claims
| States Receiving More in Payout $ Than They Paid in Premiums | |
| State | Claim $ Paid Per Premium Dollar |
| Mississippi |
$5.00 |
| Louisiana |
$3.33 |
| Alabama |
$2.50 |
| Missouri |
$2.50 |
| North Dakota |
$2.50 |
| Iowa |
$2.00 |
| Texas |
$1.43 |
| Minnesota |
$1.43 |
| West Virginia |
$1.43 |
| Oklahoma |
$1.11 |
| Kentucky | $1.11 |
| 1978 - 2008 NFIP Data | |
In a study done by the Wharton Center for Risk Management and Decision Processes, the amount of claims paid to states was compared to the amount of flood insurance premiums collected over the period of 1978–2008.7 This study showed that Floridians paid $3.60 in premiums for every $1 collected in flood claims from the program. This put Florida as the 14th-largest donor to the program. Leading the pack were Colorado ($15.1) and New Mexico ($10.4) in premiums paid per dollar received in claims during the period of the study.
Interestingly, 11 states have received more in payouts over the 30-year period of the study than their policyholders paid in premiums, with 6 of those states receiving double or higher what they paid in premiums.
6 Map: NFIP Policyholders: Total Number of Subsidized Policies by State and County (as of 12/31/2012).
7 Catastrophe Economics: The National Flood Insurance Program, Journal of Economic Perspectives. Volume 24, Number 4. Fall 2010.
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