Although your property is not flooded yearly, you still need to get flood insurance to protect you from floods that may happen in the future.  Knowing the dangers of flood and getting flood insurance will help property owners, homeowners or tenants prepare for possible floods that may cause serious damage to their properties.

An important factor before getting flood insurance is to find out if the location of your property is a flood zone.  Take a look at flood maps provided by FEMA or Federal Emergency Management Agency on the internet and simply check if your property is a flood zone.  The maps show various flood zones from areas that are annually flooded to those that are less frequently flooded.  The flood risk shown on a FEMA flood map is based on history, rainfall, river flow, topography, and other data, and is re-evaluated every few years based on new data.

If you see that your property has a lower risk of getting flooded then you’ll get a lower flood insurance premium.  Flood insurance providers use the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for insurance evaluations.  This map shows your community’s base flood elevation, flood zones, and the boundaries of the floodplain, or area that is most at risk of frequent flooding.  To reduce your flood insurance requirements, you may need to hire a land surveyor to provide elevation certification for your property.