Flood Maps and Flood Insurance in Louisiana: What the Map Does and Does Not Say

What is a flood map for?

A flood map under the National Flood Insurance Program shows which areas are designated as flood zones under that program's rules. It is a tool for the program, and it answers a narrow question about designation.

A map is not a risk assessment of the water at any particular house. It does not show how much water a storm could bring, how fast it might arrive or what damage it would do.

A homeowner should read a map as one piece of information among several, and should not rely on it alone when thinking about water.

Maps are updated by the program on its own schedule, so a map you have seen may not be the most recent one. Ask the insurer which map it used and when that map was issued, and keep the answer in writing.

Why does the Red River show no designated flood zone?

The state's 2020 watershed notes for the Region 1 flood risk presentation record that the Red River does not participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, so there are no designated flood zones along it on the program's maps.

A river outside the program has no designation to show, and that is why the map looks empty. An empty map is a fact about the program, and it does not describe the water or the homes beside the river.

The local record shows the river reaching 37 feet at Shreveport-Bossier in June 2015, and it shows Bossier City neighborhoods flooded by rain in March 2016. Those events are not on the maps, and they are the reason to read the policy carefully.

The non-participation is a matter of the program's scope, not of the river's behaviour. A reader who wants to know how the river has behaved should look at the local record of the 2015 crest and the 2016 rain, and at any official gauge data, rather than at the designation.

Does an empty map mean my house is safe from water?

No. Water can reach a house from a river, from heavy rain, from a burst line or from a drain, and each one is handled differently in the policy. A map that shows no zone does not decide any of those questions.

A property that has taken in water before, or that sits on low ground, or near a bayou, is worth discussing with the insurer in writing. The answer should come from the insurer's knowledge of the policy, not from the map alone.

A map with no zone also does not mean the policy will pay for water. The wording decides that, and the wording may treat rain or drain water differently from river water.

What does a homeowner policy usually say about water?

Policies differ, and this guide does not describe a standard form. Read every section that mentions water, flood, surface water, sewer back-up, rain entering through a roof, and any exclusion or endorsement that touches them.

The definitions at the front of the policy decide which kind of water is covered. A word such as flood may be defined in a way that leaves out a burst line or a drain back-up, so read the definition before the coverage.

Endorsements can add or remove cover. Ask whether any endorsement applies to the property and to the water you are most worried about.

Flood cover, where it is available, is a separate product and may be bought apart from a homeowner policy. Its exclusions and limits are set out in its own wording, and that wording deserves the same careful reading as the homeowner policy.

What should I ask the insurer, and in what form?

Ask which kinds of water the policy covers, how it defines flood, what the exclusions are for rain and surface water, what the sewer back-up terms are, which map or designation the insurer used, and whether any endorsement changes the answer. Ask for each answer in writing.

Ask the insurer to point to the section of the wording that supports each answer. Keep a copy of that section with your papers, so you can refer to it later without relying on memory.

A verbal answer that is not confirmed in writing is not enough to rely on. Write down the date and the name of the person who answered, and ask for a written confirmation.

Ask the insurer for the deductible and any limit that applies to each kind of water, and for the amount each one sets out in the wording. A deductible is the part of a loss the homeowner bears before the policy responds, and a limit caps what the policy will pay. Neither figure is published in this guide, and both belong in the written terms.

What do lenders ask for, and what should I do about it?

A lender may set its own requirements for insurance on a property, and those requirements are the lender's to state. Ask the lender in writing what it requires, and ask the insurer whether the policy meets that requirement.

Do not assume that a policy which satisfies a lender also covers every kind of water. The two questions are different, and each needs its own written answer.

This guide cannot tell you what a lender requires or whether a policy meets it. Those questions belong to the lender and the insurer.

If a lender asks for a particular kind of cover, ask it to put the requirement in writing, including the amount, the type of water and the period it applies. A written requirement lets you check it against each policy before you buy.

How do I compare two quotes without a price figure?

Compare the wording, the coverage for each kind of water, the exclusions and the endorsements, and then compare the premiums. A lower premium that excludes a common source of water may cost more in a claim than a higher one that covers it.

Ask each insurer for the same written summary of the water terms, so the comparison is like for like. Keep both quotes with your papers.

This guide publishes no premium or price figure. The decision to buy cover, and how much, belongs to the homeowner and the insurer.

Each insurer sets its own terms, and an agent who presents a quote should be asked to explain each term in writing. Ask which parts of the quote are fixed and which may change, because a comparison is only fair when the terms are fixed in the same way.

What if the insurer's answer conflicts with the map?

The insurer's written answer and the policy wording take priority over the map for the question of cover. If the answer is unclear or contradicts the wording, ask for the reasons in writing and keep the correspondence.

If the question remains unclear, the Louisiana Department of Insurance is the complaint route for insurance questions. This guide does not describe its procedures, deadlines or limits.

The state's watershed notes are a source about the program's maps. They are not a statement about any policy, and they should not be used as one.

Keep a record of every conversation, with the date, the name of the person, and what was said. If the insurer later changes its answer, the record shows what it said first, and that record is often the most useful evidence you will have.