Flood maps missed risks
Risk and purchase rules differ.
- Event / announcement date
- 2026-10-01
GAO’s October 2026 report estimated that 86% of properties modeled by First Street at about 1% annual flood risk or higher lacked National Flood Insurance Program coverage on April 30. It adjusted for unmatched policy records and excluded private coverage. [1]
GAO’s 2023 review explains the pricing distinction: Risk Rating 2.0 assessed individual properties, while statutory discounts limited premiums. Affordability and insurance solvency could pull in different directions. [2]
The 2026 report found about 13 million high-risk properties outside FEMA’s special flood hazard areas. Those mapped areas trigger the federal mortgage-linked purchase requirement; they generally omit heavy-rainfall risk. A map boundary is not a complete risk assessment. [1]
The source
- GAO: Flood insurance ↗
Source date 2026-10-01 · reviewed October 30, 2026 - GAO: Historical flood premium reform ↗
Source date 2023-07-31 · reviewed October 30, 2026
About this item: Retrospective report. No first-hand reporting or independent testing is claimed. Corrections policy.
