Lee County Florida Flood Mitigation


Lee County's flood hazard
The function of floodplains
Flood warning system
Flood safety
Property protection measures
Flood insurance
Building or buying a home
Contractors' Corner
What can Lee County do?
Flood insurance
flooded residenceWhat about insurance? What do I need?
When it comes to flood protection, your homeowner's policy is not enough - since typical policies do not even cover losses due to flooding.

However, flood insurance is available for most enclosed buildings, covering both structures and contents. This includes homes, condominiums, mobile homes on foundations, businesses or commercial structure and farms. The contents of rental units are also insurable. You can find out more about obtaining flood insurance, and the parameters of its coverage, by contacting any licensed property or casualty insurance agent or broker.

There is a 30-day waiting period between purchase and when coverage begins, to prevent purchasing insurance when a major storm is forecast (only to cancel the policy when the threat passes). The following exceptions apply:

  • When the purchase of insurance is done in connection with making, increasing, extending or renewing a loan.
  • When the purchase of insurance occurs during the one-year period following issuance of a revised flood map for a community.
    If a flood strikes, the type and amount of federal disaster assistance you can receive is affected by whether you have flood insurance - making it all the more important to have a policy before a flood threatens.

    What is the National Flood Insurance Program?
    The NFIP is a federal program enacted in 1968 that makes flood insurance available in communities that enact floodplain management regulations; Lee County and all of its cities have enacted such rules. This insurance is available to buildings in floodprone areas that comply with these regulations (or which were in existence prior to their enactment).

    This coverage protects you even when a federal disaster isn't declared (which is required for most federal disaster assistance to be offered). And it's paid for by policy premiums -- not tax dollars.

    This coverage has its limits, however. For buildings, single-family homes or other residential structures are limited to $250,000 in damages, while commercial and other structures are capped at $500,000. For contents-only policies, residences are limited to $100,000 in damages, while the contents of commercial and other structures are capped at $500,000.

    • Lee County Government | Lee County Public Safety | Lee County Emergency Operations Center