Oklahoma flood insurance may rise

• The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s method for setting rates may not ensure those rates accurately reflect the risk of flood damage.

• The data used by FEMA to define flood probabilities is outdated and inaccurate.

• Nationwide, insured properties do not generate sufficient premiums to cover flood losses in recent years.

• All policies are derived from the National Flood Insurance Program, which spreads the risk among the 50 states.

• There are 16,289 flood insurance policies in Oklahoma with $2.3 billion in coverage.

• Oklahoma had a 7 percent growth in policies in the last year.

• Since 1978, 9,871 losses in Oklahoma have been paid totaling $136.6 million.

• About one-fourth of those policies were paid in the past year.

• There are 680 policy holders with repeat claims; of those, 117 had four or more losses.

• There are 126 properties statewide that the National Flood Insurance Program is trying to buy or elevate out of a flood zone.

• At floodsmart.gov property owners can get a cost estimate for flood insurance.

Source: National Flood Insurance Program