Homeowners InsuranceModule 3By Ofir SaharPublished November 3, 2026Editorial policy

How Often Do Flood Insurance Claims Go Unpaid, by State?

Learning goal: See how often federal flood insurance claims close with no payment in your state, the most common recorded reasons, and what you can do about each.

Short answer

About 16.5% of National Flood Insurance Program claims from 2016 to 2025 closed with no payment, according to FEMA's records. The most common recorded reasons were that the event wasn't a flood under the policy (about 30%) and that the damage was below the deductible (about 26%). Rates ranged widely by state.

Read to the end to complete this lesson.

On this page

The Fuller Picture
Flood claims closed with no payment by state, 2016–2025
Key Takeaways
Real-World Example
Common Mistakes
Interactive Exercise
Knowledge Check
Questions to explore next

The Fuller Picture

Insurpedia went through FEMA's records of NFIP claims with a date of loss from 2016 to 2025, left out 28,882 records FEMA marks as errors, and counted how many of the remaining 557,266 closed with no payment. A claim closed with no payment isn't necessarily a denial: some are below the deductible, withdrawn, or not pursued. After the two most common reasons, FEMA recorded no demonstrable damage (about 15%) and other reasons (about 15%), and no reason for about 9%. Among states with at least 1,000 claims, the share ranges from about 10% in Kentucky to about 28% in California.

Unpaid flood claims at a glance

16.5% of NFIP claims from 2016 to 2025 closed with no payment
557,266 claims counted, after leaving out FEMA's error records
30% of unpaid claims: not a flood under the policy
26% of unpaid claims: damage below the deductible

Rounded, as in the text.

Why NFIP claims closed with no payment, 2016 to 2025

Not a flood under the policy 30%
Below the deductible 26%
No demonstrable damage 15%
Other reasons 15%
No reason recorded 9%

Share of unpaid claims, by FEMA's recorded reason for the building part of the claim.

Share of NFIP claims closed with no payment, by state

Lower share: 10% (Kentucky) Higher share: 53% (Colorado)

States with few claims can swing a lot; the table shows each state's number of claims.

Flood claims closed with no payment by state, 2016–2025

State	Claims	Closed with no payment	Share	Most common recorded reason	Source
Alabama	5,345	1,091	20%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Alaska	139	17	12%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Arizona	652	194	30%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Arkansas	2,252	274	12%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
California	6,628	1,849	28%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Colorado	454	242	53%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Connecticut	1,851	364	20%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Delaware	552	122	22%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
District of Columbia	200	72	36%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Florida	189,294	33,563	18%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Georgia	6,701	1,560	23%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Hawaii	1,066	228	21%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Idaho	319	69	22%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Illinois	4,198	803	19%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Indiana	1,746	254	15%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Iowa	1,999	230	12%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Kansas	918	153	17%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Kentucky	5,158	534	10%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Louisiana	68,212	9,872	14%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Maine	1,220	222	18%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Maryland	2,712	610	22%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Massachusetts	3,247	672	21%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Michigan	3,051	636	21%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Minnesota	786	203	26%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Mississippi	5,021	886	18%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Missouri	5,417	572	11%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Montana	270	49	18%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Nebraska	1,375	204	15%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Nevada	270	85	31%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
New Hampshire	653	123	19%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
New Jersey	13,598	2,143	16%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
New Mexico	596	182	31%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
New York	11,024	2,055	19%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
North Carolina	31,220	4,323	14%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
North Dakota	214	46	21%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Ohio	2,504	443	18%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Oklahoma	1,316	161	12%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Oregon	469	144	31%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Pennsylvania	8,090	1,124	14%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Rhode Island	468	112	24%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
South Carolina	14,760	2,805	19%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
South Dakota	593	67	11%	Other	fema.gov
Tennessee	3,717	490	13%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Texas	131,846	19,197	15%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Utah	179	83	46%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Vermont	1,029	153	15%	Not recorded	fema.gov
Virginia	5,522	1,098	20%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
Washington	2,422	366	15%	Not a flood under the policy	fema.gov
West Virginia	2,631	324	12%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Wisconsin	1,864	277	15%	Below the deductible	fema.gov
Wyoming	64	20	31%	Below the deductible	fema.gov

Each row checked against its source on 3 November 2026. NFIP claims only. Records FEMA marks as errors are left out. Where a state has few claims, its share can swing a lot.

Key Takeaways

About 16.5% of NFIP claims from 2016 to 2025 closed with no payment.
The most common recorded reason was that the event wasn't a flood as the policy defines it, about 30% of unpaid claims.
Damage below the deductible was next, about 26%, so the deductible you choose affects whether a smaller claim pays anything.
Rates differ by state, but a state's rate isn't a prediction for your claim, which depends on your policy and what happened.

Real-World Example

Reading your state's row

Take California. Of its 6,628 NFIP claims from 2016 to 2025, about 28% closed with no payment. In Missouri, about 11% of 5,417 claims did. A homeowner in either state could use this as a reason to read their policy's definition of a flood and its deductible before a storm, not as a forecast for their own claim.

Common Mistakes

Reading all unpaid claims as denials. Some were below the deductible, withdrawn or not pursued.
Assuming any water damage is a flood. The NFIP policy has its own definition, and water that doesn't meet it isn't covered by the flood policy.
Choosing the highest deductible without checking it against likely smaller losses.
Comparing small states too closely, since a few claims can move their rates a lot.

Interactive Exercise

Check your flood policy before you need it

Use the two most common reasons for unpaid claims as a checklist for your own policy.

Find your state's row and note its share of unpaid claims.
Read your flood policy's definition of a flood.
Note your building and contents deductibles.
Write down what you'd photograph and keep if water came in.

Tick each step as you do it. Your checklist is saved in this browser.

Knowledge Check

Question: What was the most common recorded reason NFIP claims from 2016 to 2025 closed with no payment?

Explanation: In FEMA's records, "not actual flood" was the most common recorded reason, about 30% of unpaid claims, followed by damage below the deductible, about 26%.

Recommended Insurpedia Tools

Deductible Calculator: Enter a claim amount, deductible and coverage limit for a worked example of how a covered claim splits between you and the insurer. It does not read your policy or estimate premiums.

Related Insurance Terms

Related Scenarios

Questions to explore next

Questions readers often ask next about this topic:

How does a flood insurance policy define a flood?
Can I appeal a flood claim that was closed with no payment?
Should I choose a lower flood deductible?

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Sources

The factual claims on this page were checked against these sources. Rules and figures change, so check the source itself if you need to confirm the current version.

fema.govNFIP Redacted Claims v3, field definitions · Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA
fema.govOpenFEMA Terms and Conditions · Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Educational information, not advice: This lesson is for general education only, not legal, financial, or insurance advice. Actual coverage, discounts, and requirements depend on your policy’s wording, your insurer, and the laws of your state. Confirm specifics with your own insurer or a licensed agent before making a decision. Insurpedia does not sell insurance and does not recommend specific insurers. Insurpedia's own calculation from OpenFEMA's NFIP Redacted Claims v3, retrieved on 3 November 2026: claims with a date of loss from 2016 to 2025, excluding records whose building non-payment reason FEMA codes as an error (98 or 99). Closed with no payment means no building, contents or increased cost of compliance payment. Reasons are FEMA's recorded building reasons. National totals include U.S. territories and records with no state. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).