West Virginia
flood insurance data
- Residential NFIP policies counted by FEMA fell 39.3% between 2019 (12,007) and 2025 (7,292); the first year, 2019, has the highest count of the 7.
- The median paid claim, $15,099, is 59.5% below the national median of the same years ($37,248), the 23rd highest of 51 States and territories.
- West Virginia counts 43 flood, hurricane and severe-storm declarations (DR and EM) since 2000, the 9th most of 53 States and territories. Severe Storm declarations are the most frequent (26), ahead of Flood (13) and Hurricane (4).
- Inside the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the median premium in West Virginia is $1,388, 31.6% higher than outside it ($1,055); most of its zoned policies sit inside the SFHA (78.9%).
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 West Virginia
NFIP premiums: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote. Across 7,292 policies (policies effective 2025; occupancy: residential (occupancyType 1,2,3,11,12,13,14); amount: FEMA field policyCost), the median is $1,241, and half of them fall between $929 (Q1) and $1,877 (Q3).
The median NFIP premium in West Virginia, $1,241, is 17.6% above the national median ($1,055); it is the 7th highest of 53 States and territories. Of the 3 zones listed (AE, X, A), zone A has the highest median premium ($1,400) and zone X the lowest ($1,055). No coastal V or VE zone is listed. With 7,292 residential NFIP policies effective 2025, West Virginia has the 18th fewest of 53 States and territories.
| Flood zone group | Policies | Q1 | Median | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFHA (A, AE, AH, AO, AR, A99, V, VE) | 5,752 | $979 | $1,388 | $2,084 |
| Outside SFHA (X, B, C) | 1,540 | $796 | $1,055 | $1,202 |
By flood zone
| Flood zone | Policies | Q1 | Median | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE | 4,370 | $966 | $1,385 | $2,070 |
| X | 1,540 | $796 | $1,055 | $1,202 |
| A | 1,370 | $1,010 | $1,400 | $2,093 |
Policies in force by year
| Year | Policies |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 12,007 |
| 2020 | 11,446 |
| 2021 | 10,826 |
| 2022 | 9,826 |
| 2023 | 8,768 |
| 2024 | 7,960 |
| 2025 | 7,292 |
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 7,292 policies.
NFIP paid building claims in West Virginia
NFIP claims: amounts paid, not repair cost. Window: year of loss 2015-2024; 2,152 paid claims; median $15,099, half of them between $6,047 (Q1) and $39,000 (Q3), in nominal dollars. Median in 2024 dollars (CPI-U): $18,946, a monetary adjustment, not today’s cost of repair.
The named event with the most paid claims in West Virginia, Summer severe storms, accounts for 40.0% of them, ahead of West Virginia Flooding (1.8%): no single event holds a majority. The paid claims are spread over the years (year of loss 2015-2024): the busiest, 2016, holds 43.7% of them. With 2,152 paid claims (year of loss 2015-2024), West Virginia has the 21st most of 53 States and territories.
| Event | Paid claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Summer severe storms | 860 | 40.0% |
| West Virginia Flooding | 38 | 1.8% |
Paid claims by year of loss
| Year of loss | Paid claims |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 234 |
| 2016 | 940 |
| 2017 | 141 |
| 2018 | 201 |
| 2019 | 34 |
| 2020 | 44 |
| 2021 | 206 |
| 2022 | 142 |
| 2023 | 48 |
| 2024 | 162 |
FEMA disaster declarations
Since 2000: 43 flood, hurricane and severe-storm declarations (DR and EM) covering West Virginia, 40 of them major disaster declarations.
| Incident type | Declarations |
|---|---|
| Flood | 13 |
| Hurricane | 4 |
| Severe Storm | 26 |
Latest declarations
- DR-4953: SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING (Severe Storm, 2026-10-07)
- DR-4932: SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES (Flood, 2026-08-03)
- DR-4884: SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES (Flood, 2025-07-22)
- DR-4861: SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES (Severe Storm, 2025-02-26)
- DR-4787: SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES (Flood, 2024-05-24)
FEMA assistance to homeowners
Since 2002: 51,954 owner registrations inspected by FEMA in West Virginia after disasters of every declared type; inspected damage is FEMA’s assessment for its assistance program, not repair cost.
| Damage band | Registrations |
|---|---|
| No FEMA-inspected damage | 6,515 |
| $1-$10,000 | 38,383 |
| $10,001-$20,000 | 3,896 |
| $20,001-$30,000 | 1,642 |
| More than $30,000 | 1,518 |
Disasters with the most inspections
- DR-1522, SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES (declared 2004-06-07): 6,921 inspections
- DR-1500, SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES (declared 2003-11-21): 5,970 inspections
- DR-4273, SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES (declared 2016-06-25): 5,819 inspections
- DR-1558, SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES (declared 2004-09-20): 4,835 inspections
- DR-4861, SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES (declared 2025-02-26): 4,356 inspections
NFIP communities and flood maps
FEMA’s Community Status Book lists 283 NFIP communities in West Virginia: 278 participate in the NFIP and 14 (4.9%) are classed in the Community Rating System (CRS). The best class among the communities counted here is 7 (Berkeley County * and Jefferson County *): FEMA applies its CRS discount to the full-risk premium of Regular Program NFIP policies in those communities, 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 West Virginia dates from 2004-02-18 (Jackson County *). 5 of these communities do not participate in the NFIP; 5 carry a sanction, 0 coded as a suspension and 0 as a withdrawal.
| CRS class | Communities |
|---|---|
| 7 | 2 |
| 8 | 4 |
| 9 | 8 |
Questions about flood insurance in West Virginia
How much is flood insurance in West Virginia?
NFIP policyholders in West Virginia paid a median of $1,241 for residential policies effective 2025 (7,292 policies; FEMA field policyCost: premium, reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge); half paid between $929 and $1,877; $1,388 inside the Special Flood Hazard Area against $1,055 outside it: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote.
How many flood insurance claims has West Virginia had?
2,152 NFIP building claims were paid (year of loss 2015-2024), with a median of $15,099; the year with the most was 2016 (940), and the named event with the most was Summer severe storms (860). These are amounts paid, not repair cost.
Is West Virginia in a flood zone?
Of the residential NFIP policies of West Virginia (policies effective 2025), 5,752 are rated inside the Special Flood Hazard Area and 1,540 outside it (zones listed: AE, X, A), but these aggregates cannot tell the flood zone of an address: FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center shows it for a given property.
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
- Owners assistance: county names not matched to a FIPS code (counted in the State total only): Union Mills (no match, 1 inspected)
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).