Levee Systems and Flood Insurance 
Information for Insurance Industry Professionals 
FACT SHEET 
Levee Systems and Flood Insurance 
Information for Insurance Industry Professionals 
FACT SHEET 
LEVEE SYSTEMS: RISK 
REDUCTION, NOT RISK 
ELIMINATION 

The United States has thousands of 
miles of levee systems—usually 
earthen embankments—designed and 
constructed in accordance with sound 
engineering practices to provide 
protection from temporary flooding 
along rivers, lakes, and coastlines. 
Many levee systems were first put in 
place to protect agricultural areas 
from frequent flooding. They date 
back as much as 150 years. Others 
were designed to protect urban areas, 
and were typically built to higher 
standards. However, no levee system 
provides full protection from all flood 
events. 

All levee systems are designed and 
constructed to provide a specific level 
of flood protection and can be 
overtopped during larger flood 
events. This includes levee systems 
designed to provide protection from 
the “1-percent-annual-chance flood.” 
Levee systems require regular 
maintenance to retain their level of 
protection. Levee systems can and do 
decay over time, and maintenance can 
become a serious challenge. When 
levee systems do fail, or they are 
overtopped, the results are often 
catastrophic; the flood damage may 
be more significant than if the levee 
system had not been built. 

For these reasons, insurance industry 
professionals must understand the 
flood risks associated with levee 
systems when recommending the 
appropriate insurance protection for 
their clients. 

FLOOD MAPS IDENTIFY RISKS 

Flood risks are identified on Flood 
Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). 
FIRMs display high-risk areas as 
Special Flood Hazard Areas 
(SFHAs). Flood insurance is 
required in SFHAs as a condition of 
any mortgage that is federally backed, 
regulated, or insured. FIRMs also 
show low- to moderate-risk areas, 
where flood insurance is optional, but 
encouraged along with floodproofing 
and other mitigation measures. Many 
of your customers in these areas will 
qualify for lower-cost Preferred Risk 
Policies. 

LEVEE SYSTEMS AND 
MODERNIZED FLOOD MAPS 

FEMA is updating FIRMs nationwide 
to reflect current flood risk data. As 
part of the process, FEMA is 
collecting data and documentation 
from community officials and levee 
system owners to determine whether 
levee systems meet NFIP 
requirements for providing 1-percentannual-
chance flood protection. 

Eligible levee system owners are 
being allowed up to 24 months to 
submit required data and 
documentation. During that time, the 
levee system is shown on the 
modernized, digital map—the 
DFIRM–as provisionally accredited 
and the impacted area is shown as 
having a moderate flood risk. If a 
levee system cannot be shown as 
meeting NFIP criteria within the time 
allowed, the levee-impacted area will 
be shown as an SFHA and flood 
insurance requirements will apply. 

LEVEE SYSTEMS—AN 
INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL’S 
ROLE 
Your customers rely on you to 
keep their homes and 
businesses protected financially. 
To help your customers obtain 
proper coverage, you should 
keep them informed about 
mandatory purchase 
requirements and be prepared 
to answer questions about 
changing flood risks. If your 
customer’s property is shown as 
being in a high-risk Special 
Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) on a 
new or updated flood map, 
make sure they understand the 
flood risk and the need for flood 
insurance protection. 
Areas impacted by levee 
systems that longer meet NFIP 
regulations are designated as 
high-risk SFHAs, and flood 
insurance is required in these 
areas once the map becomes 
effective. 
More information and marketing 
tools for agents are available 
online at Agents.FloodSmart.gov 
DECEMBER 2008 PAGE 1 



PROTECTING EVERY PROPERTY—THE INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL’S ROLE 

When a FIRM or DFIRM shows SFHAs, you should notify affected clients of the requirement to obtain flood insurance. 
Your customers’ flood risk doesn’t end at the line on a map. Flood insurance is strongly encouraged for property owners 
in all levee-impacted areas. Remind customers impacted by accredited or provisionally accredited levee systems that 
their risk is reduced, not removed, and that Preferred Risk Policies, where applicable, can start as low as $112 a year. 

If your customers live or work in a levee-impacted area, you should recommend the following steps to help them reduce 
the impact of flood events: 

. 
Understand the risk. Local officials can provide more information about the flood risk for the property. 
. 
Plan for evacuation. Plan and practice a flood evacuation route, and ask someone out of state to be a “family 
contact” in an emergency. 
. 
Consider purchasing flood insurance. Flood insurance can financially protect a home and is available 
regardless of the accreditation status of the levee system. 
The chart below shows how FEMA designates risks on FIRMs and DFIRMs and the requirements and options for flood 
insurance in levee-impacted areas. 

IF THE LEVEE SYSTEM… THE NFIP FLOOD MAP SHOWS 
THIS FLOOD RISK AS… 
AND THESE FLOOD INSURANCE 
REQUIREMENTS AND OPTIONS APPLY 
Is not currently shown as 
providing protection from the 
1-percent annual- chance flood. 
(Not Accredited) 
High flood risk, with levee-impacted 
areas shown as being in an SFHA (labeled 
as Zones A, AE, AH, AO) on the map. 
Flood insurance is required in high-risk areas as 
a condition of any mortgage that is federally 
backed, regulated, or insured. Your customers 
should be aware that Insurance rates may rise to 
reflect higher flood risk in these areas. 
Provides protection from the 
1 percent-annual chance flood. 
(Accredited) 
Moderate flood risk, with levee-impacted 
areas shown as being in Zones B, C, X, or 
X (shaded) on the map. 
The mandatory flood insurance purchase 
requirements of the NFIP do not apply in 
Zones B, C, X, or X (shaded), but flood insurance 
is strongly recommended. Lower-cost 
Preferred Risk Policies (PRPs) are available for 
most buildings in Zones B, C, X, or X (shaded). 
No longer meets the minimum 
standards to be shown as 
providing protection from the 
1 percent-annual chance flood. 
(De-Accredited) 
High flood risk, with levee-impacted 
areas shown as being in an SFHA (labeled 
as Zones A, AE, AH, AO) on the map. 
Flood insurance is required in high-risk areas as 
a condition of any mortgage that is federally 
backed, regulated or insured. Grandfathering 
can save your customers money. Buildings 
covered by flood insurance before the effective 
date of new maps can be grandfathered in at the 
current flood insurance risk zone designation, as 
long as there is no lapse in coverage. Note: This 
coverage can be transferred. 
Is temporarily shown as 
providing protection from the 
1-percent-annual-chance flood 
while additional data and 
documentation are gathered. 
(Provisionally Accredited) 
Moderate flood risk, with levee-impacted 
areas being shown as being behind a 
Provisionally Accredited Levee, or PAL 
(shown as a Zone X (shaded) on the map 
pending accreditation of the levee system). 
The mandatory flood insurance purchase 
requirements of the NFIP do not apply in 
Zones B, C, X, or X (shaded), but flood insurance 
is strongly recommended. Lower-cost PRPs 
are available for most buildings in Zones B, C, X, 
or X (shaded). 
For more detailed information about levee systems and the flood insurance risk zones shown on FIRMs and DFIRMs, 
please visit the FEMA Web site at www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm. The gateway to the FEMA-provided levee system 
information, which is organized by stakeholder group to assist community officials, property owners, insurance industry 
professionals, and other stakeholders, is www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/lv_intro.shtm. 

 DECEMBER 2008 PAGE 2