Alabama
flood insurance data
- Alabama counts 48 flood, hurricane and severe-storm declarations (DR and EM) since 2000, the 4th most of 53 States and territories. Severe Storm declarations are the most frequent (28), ahead of Hurricane (20).
- The median paid claim, $13,074, is 64.9% below the national median of the same years ($37,248), the 19th lowest of 51 States and territories.
- Residential NFIP policies counted by FEMA fell 28.4% between 2019 (36,014) and 2025 (25,804); the first year, 2019, has the highest count of the 7.
- 2020 alone holds 65.5% of the paid claims (year of loss 2015-2024).
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA NfipPolicies (v3, data as of 2026-09-09, retrieved 2026-10-11 and 2026-10-12), NfipClaims (v3, data as of 2026-09-09, retrieved 2026-10-12), DisasterDeclarationsSummaries (v2, data as of 2026-10-11, retrieved 2026-10-12), HousingAssistanceOwners (v2, data as of 2026-10-11, retrieved 2026-10-12), NfipCommunityStatusBook (v1, data as of 2026-10-11, retrieved 2026-10-12); CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items (CUUR0000SA0), annual average (BLS Public Data API v1, annual averages 2005-2025, retrieved 2026-10-12). Not an official federal report.
NFIP premiums in Alabama
NFIP premiums: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote. Across 25,804 policies (policies effective 2025; occupancy: residential (occupancyType 1,2,3,11,12,13,14); amount: FEMA field policyCost), the median is $1,119, and half of them fall between $925 (Q1) and $1,507 (Q3).
Of the 4 zones listed (AE, X, VE, A), zone VE has the highest median premium ($1,508) and zone X the lowest ($1,043). Coastal high-hazard zone VE is listed, with 1,977 policies. Inside the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the median premium in Alabama is $1,258, 20.6% higher than outside it ($1,043); most of its zoned policies sit inside the SFHA (70.5%). With 25,804 residential NFIP policies effective 2025, Alabama has the 15th most of 53 States and territories. The median NFIP premium in Alabama, $1,119, is 6.1% above the national median ($1,055); it is the 13th highest of 53 States and territories.
| Flood zone group | Policies | Q1 | Median | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFHA (A, AE, AH, AO, AR, A99, V, VE) | 18,200 | $997 | $1,258 | $1,722 |
| Outside SFHA (X, B, C) | 7,604 | $737 | $1,043 | $1,087 |
By flood zone
| Flood zone | Policies | Q1 | Median | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE | 14,242 | $984 | $1,231 | $1,658 |
| X | 7,604 | $737 | $1,043 | $1,087 |
| VE | 1,977 | $1,181 | $1,508 | $2,289 |
| A | 1,906 | $966 | $1,223 | $1,668 |
Policies in force by year
| Year | Policies |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 36,014 |
| 2020 | 35,051 |
| 2021 | 34,448 |
| 2022 | 31,043 |
| 2023 | 28,681 |
| 2024 | 27,414 |
| 2025 | 25,804 |
Base of each count: the yearly figures are FEMA API counts of residential policy terms, every premium included; the median and quartiles rest on the policies effective 2025 with a positive policyCost. For 2025 both bases count 25,804 policies.
NFIP paid building claims in Alabama
NFIP claims: amounts paid, not repair cost. Window: year of loss 2015-2024; 4,442 paid claims; median $13,074, half of them between $4,422 (Q1) and $44,068 (Q3), in nominal dollars. Median in 2024 dollars (CPI-U): $15,826, a monetary adjustment, not today’s cost of repair.
One event weighs on these figures: Hurricane Sally accounts for 56.3% of the paid claims in Alabama, the next event (Early winter storms) for 5.9%. These figures largely reflect that one disaster. With 4,442 paid claims (year of loss 2015-2024), Alabama has the 13th most of 53 States and territories.
| Event | Paid claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Sally | 2,500 | 56.3% |
| Early winter storms | 263 | 5.9% |
| Hurricane Zeta | 179 | 4.0% |
| Hurricane Ida | 32 | 0.7% |
| Tropical Storm Nicholas | 32 | 0.7% |
Paid claims by year of loss
| Year of loss | Paid claims |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 340 |
| 2016 | 36 |
| 2017 | 334 |
| 2018 | 72 |
| 2019 | 130 |
| 2020 | 2,908 |
| 2021 | 450 |
| 2022 | 81 |
| 2023 | 37 |
| 2024 | 54 |
FEMA disaster declarations
Since 2000: 48 flood, hurricane and severe-storm declarations (DR and EM) covering Alabama, 38 of them major disaster declarations.
| Incident type | Declarations |
|---|---|
| Flood | 0 |
| Hurricane | 20 |
| Severe Storm | 28 |
Latest declarations
- EM-3656: HURRICANE ISAIAS (Hurricane, 2026-10-09)
- EM-3618: HURRICANE HELENE (Hurricane, 2024-09-26)
- DR-4710: SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES (Severe Storm, 2023-05-05)
- DR-4684: SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES (Severe Storm, 2023-01-15)
- DR-4632: SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING (Severe Storm, 2021-12-21)
FEMA assistance to homeowners
Since 2002: 233,804 owner registrations inspected by FEMA in Alabama after disasters of every declared type; inspected damage is FEMA’s assessment for its assistance program, not repair cost.
Of the 233,804 owner registrations FEMA inspected in Alabama after disasters of every declared type, 1.8% show more than $30,000 of FEMA-inspected damage, against 2.6% nationally. The disaster with the most inspections is DR-1549, HURRICANE IVAN (declared 2004-09-15), with 85,503.
| Damage band | Registrations |
|---|---|
| No FEMA-inspected damage | 32,213 |
| $1-$10,000 | 188,918 |
| $10,001-$20,000 | 6,426 |
| $20,001-$30,000 | 1,995 |
| More than $30,000 | 4,252 |
Disasters with the most inspections
- DR-1549, HURRICANE IVAN (declared 2004-09-15): 85,503 inspections
- DR-1605, HURRICANE KATRINA (declared 2005-08-29): 56,592 inspections
- DR-1971, SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING (declared 2011-04-28): 31,478 inspections
- DR-4563, HURRICANE SALLY (declared 2020-09-20): 16,239 inspections
- DR-1466, SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING (declared 2003-05-12): 15,314 inspections
NFIP communities and flood maps
FEMA’s Community Status Book lists 495 NFIP communities in Alabama: 434 participate in the NFIP and 19 (3.8%) are classed in the Community Rating System (CRS). The best class among the communities counted here is 5 (Birmingham, City of): FEMA applies its CRS discount to the full-risk premium of Regular Program NFIP policies in that community, inside or outside the SFHA, not to the whole state; a policy can be excluded if its building does not comply with local floodplain rules. The oldest flood map still in effect in Alabama dates from 2006-09-29 (Fairfield, City of). 61 of these communities do not participate in the NFIP; 61 carry a sanction, 1 coded as a suspension and 0 as a withdrawal.
In Alabama, 5.7% of the Status Book’s communities span several counties or match no county by name, so community counts by county are partial there.
| CRS class | Communities |
|---|---|
| 5 | 1 |
| 6 | 2 |
| 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 3 |
| 10 | 7 |
Questions about flood insurance in Alabama
How much is flood insurance in Alabama?
NFIP policyholders in Alabama paid a median of $1,119 for residential policies effective 2025 (25,804 policies; FEMA field policyCost: premium, reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge); half paid between $925 and $1,507; $1,258 inside the Special Flood Hazard Area against $1,043 outside it: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote.
How many flood insurance claims has Alabama had?
4,442 NFIP building claims were paid (year of loss 2015-2024), with a median of $13,074; the year with the most was 2020 (2,908), and the named event with the most was Hurricane Sally (2,500). These are amounts paid, not repair cost.
Is Alabama in a flood zone?
Of the residential NFIP policies of Alabama (policies effective 2025), 18,200 are rated inside the Special Flood Hazard Area and 7,604 outside it (zones listed: AE, X, VE, A), but these aggregates cannot tell the flood zone of an address: FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center shows it for a given property.
Counties of Alabama
Named storms with paid claims in Alabama
Related tools
NFIP paid claims and premiums are not repair estimates: to estimate the cleanup of a flooded basement from published cost-guide rates, use the basement water damage repair cost calculator; for water removal and drying after any water loss, the water damage and mitigation calculator.
To set these figures against every State on one claims window, amounts paid, not repair cost: NFIP paid building claims by state.
Before using these figures
A state figure mixes very different counties and flood zones. Method and limits.
Source and notice
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).