This course will provide information on marketing to increase flood insurance policy sales and highlight FEMA marketing resources.

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Summarize why an agent should sell flood insurance
• Describe ways for agents to grow their flood business
• Identify sales and marketing resources available to agents
• Provide agents with building blocks to start the flood conversation and overcome common objections

This course is organized into three lessons. Lesson 1 will discuss why you should sell flood insurance. This lesson will:

• Describe multiple reasons why selling flood insurance is a good idea
• Identify examples of clients who have benefited from purchasing flood insurance

Starting a conversation can sometimes be difficult. It’s even harder when you don’t know how to begin.

Talking to your customers about flood insurance may be one of those tough conversations. It can be even more difficult if you don’t know why it is important for you to write flood insurance or why it is important for your clients to buy it.

So, let’s begin by talking about why you should sell flood insurance.

Make a difference and help your clients protect the life they’ve built. Talk to them about their flood risk and explain how flood insurance can help them get back on their feet after a flood.

This can also build your client’s trust since you are advocating for them and identifying a missing piece in their coverage portfolio. Some clients may not know they aren’t covered until it’s too late. Even if the client doesn’t buy flood insurance, they know you are covering all the bases and have their best interests in mind.

Let your clients know that insured residential property owners and business owners almost always recover more quickly and more completely after disasters than uninsured property owners.

They return to their homes and workplaces sooner, continue to attend school and community activities more often, and communities themselves get back to normal more quickly when residents and businesses are fully insured.

Find out how flood insurance helped save this policyholder by viewing their Survivor Story on FloodSmart.gov, the official consumer-facing website of the National Flood Insurance Program.

In addition to building client trust, rounding out existing accounts with a flood insurance policy will build commission revenues. Selling flood insurance to a new client can also lead to leveraging the rest of a client’s insurance portfolio. Let flood insurance start the relationship.

It’s simple math—the more you sell, the more your commissions can grow.

E&O claims can occur if you fail to offer coverage or if you fail to offer the right amount of insurance. Cross-selling not only helps your bottom line as an agent, but it also helps close gaps in coverage and can reduce your risk of an E&O claim.

One simple way to avoid E&O claims is to offer flood insurance at every introductory meeting and every renewal.

Educating yourself and your client on what coverage options are available and what the policy covers can help save you and your client from a more difficult conversation. The one you won’t want to start when there is an uncovered flood loss.

For added protection, some agents have their clients sign a declination form or waiver if they refuse flood insurance. Later in this course, we will show an example of such a form.

This lesson discussed why you should sell flood insurance. This included:

• Describing multiple reasons why selling flood insurance is a good idea
• Identifying examples of clients who have benefited from purchasing flood insurance

In this lesson, you will learn ways to grow your flood knowledge to help you increase your flood insurance sales. This lesson provides:

• Ways to develop your NFIP product knowledge
• Insight on where to find your target market
• Tips on how to target your marketing efforts

NFIP webinars allow you to learn the fundamentals of flood insurance from the comfort of your home or office, while the in-person classroom seminars are great for learners who prefer a more traditional learning environment.

To learn more about the NFIP’s official training webinars and classroom seminars, sign up for email updates using FEMA's GovDelivery service.

Have a busy schedule with only random slots of free time? Then FEMA’s self-paced Emergency Management Institute (EMI) courses are a great option for you.

To learn more about FEMA’s online flood insurance courses you can check out this list of EMI Independent Study Program courses on NFIP topics.

Check With Your Flood Carrier

Many flood insurance carriers offer their own training webinars and in-person seminars with valuable information on the National Flood Insurance Program. Some carriers even offer rating and policy writing demos to help agents. Check with your flood carrier about what training opportunities they may provide.​

Check With State & Local Government and Trade Associations

Your state or local government and industry trade associations are another great place to look for flood webinars, seminars, and other training opportunities. We will discuss a few of these trade associations, such as the Association of State Floodplain Managers and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, in more detail later in the course.​

Certifications & Designations

Want to become an expert in flood? You can earn your Associate in National Flood Insurance (ANFI) designation. The ANFI designation was developed by The Institutes and FEMA to help a wide variety of stakeholders “confidently and accurately handle all aspects of flood insurance."

NFIP Resources

The National Flood Insurance Program section of FEMA's website also provides a great deal of resources for agents of all experience levels.

Be sure to bookmark the NFIP Flood Insurance Manual for future reference.

Check out the agent portion of the official website of the NFIP, at Agents.FloodSmart.gov.

Sign up to receive NFIP bulletins to stay informed about program changes/updates.

NFIP Resources

The FloodSmart Agent Field Guide is a great reference for all things flood insurance, including what’s considered a flood, what’s covered, affordable coverage options, and more.

Check out Flood Insurance: Make It Your Business for more information on why all agents should add flood insurance to their sales portfolios.​

You can order other NFIP Publications by using the NFIP Public Awareness Materials Order Form.

When selling a new product, it's always important to know where to focus your marketing efforts. One way to start is to review local flood maps to locate Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) in your neighborhood.

You can access flood maps at FEMA’s Map Service Center. Take advantage of the How to Print a FIRMette and Download a FIRM Panel job aid to learn the basics for using the site.

Flood hazards change over time and so can a homeowner’s flood risk. Homeowners can be mapped into or out of a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), either increasing or decreasing their perceived flood risk.

The NFIP publication Map Changes and Flood Insurance: What Property Owners Need to Know explains what map changes are and how they may affect a homeowner.

Newly Mapped Procedure

Occasionally FEMA will update flood maps which may cause a property owner in a moderate-to low-risk Non-Special Flood Hazard Area (Non-SFHA) to be remapped into a high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). When this happens, the property owner may now be required to purchase flood insurance as a condition of their loan.

For cases such as this, the NFIP offers the Newly Mapped procedure for those clients newly mapped into an SFHA from a non-SFHA if they meet certain eligibility requirements.

Newly Mapped Procedure

For eligible clients, the Newly Mapped procedure provides homeowners a “preferred risk premium” in its first policy year. After the first year, the policy will have an annual premium increase multiplier added to it as it moves toward full-risk rating.

Preferred Risk Policy (PRP)

The Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) is a lower-cost alternative available for properties located in Zones B, C, X, AR, or A99 in a Regular Program NFIP community that meet certain loss history requirements. For these policies, the NFIP offers fixed policy combination limits for building/contents or contents-only coverage.

This is a great alternative for homeowners located in low-risk zones who are not required to purchase flood insurance because they do not have a federally backed loan on their property.

Preferred Risk Policy (PRP)

It's also a great option for homeowners whose properties are mapped into a Non-Special Flood Hazard Area from a Special Flood Hazard Area as the result of a map change. It’s easy to convert an existing standard policy to a PRP when your client is mapped out of a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). Simply cancel the standard policy and rewrite as a PRP using the original policy’s effective date.

And, remind your client that this map change means that their risk is reduced, but not eliminated.

Connect with other local professionals who are invested in flood insurance and mitigation. ​

Most communities have an individual, called a Floodplain Manager, whose job it is to effectively manage floodplain resources and flood mitigation. You'll likely find these contacts in community planning offices or a local environmental office at the municipality or county/parish level.

They can help you identify local floodplain areas with frequent issues as well as identify local storm water drainage issues such as flash flooding from torrential rainfall, snowmelt, and inadequate local storm sewers that are not identified on FEMA flood maps.

Learn more about floodplain managers and floodplain management as a whole.

Connect with other local contacts

Your community should come to see you as the local expert on financially safeguarding homes and businesses before flood events. 

Connect with real estate professionals, mortgage lenders and bankers, home inspectors, financial planners and investment counselors, and others in the local business community. Start a conversation about flood insurance and why your community needs to be better protected.

Give a presentation at a local business event and you'll become the go-to community expert in no time.

Connect Nationally​

There are a number of other groups of flood professionals working to make America safer from flood including:​

• Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS)​ (specifically the flood committee​)
• Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big "I")​
• American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA)​
• Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM)

This lesson discussed ways to grow your flood knowledge to help increase your flood insurance sales. These proactive steps included:

• Identifying ways to develop your NFIP product knowledge
• Describing best practices for locating your target market
• Stating tips on how to focus your marketing efforts

In this lesson, you will learn some tips and best practices for selling flood insurance. This lesson will:

• State tips for starting the flood insurance conversation
• Summarize talking points to help overcome common objections
• Describe best practices when handling flood insurance rejections in order to protect your business
• Demonstrate where to find FREE flood insurance marketing resources created by FEMA 

Now that you know where you can go to learn more about flood insurance, how can you use this information to sell more flood insurance coverage?

Well, the hardest part of any sales process is starting the conversation. Let’s look at how to introduce flood insurance talking points and ways to counter your client’s objections.

Remember to keep the conversation two-sided. The process should be a give and take of information between you and your clients. A sales pitch is one-sided with you telling clients what you have to offer and immediately asking if they want to purchase a product such as a flood insurance policy. A two-sided conversation, on the other hand, allows you to uncover your clients’ needs and offers a solution tailored to their specific situation.

For example:

Sales Pitch: Hi Mr. Smith, we at XYZ Insurance pride ourselves on offering a wide variety of insurance products to cover our clients' needs. Would you like a quote for flood insurance?

Conversation: Hi Mr. Smith! While I was reviewing the paperwork for your homeowner’s policy, I noticed a potential gap in your coverage. Did you know that your homeowner’s policy doesn’t cover damage from a flood? We should talk about how we can close this coverage gap and why it is important for you.

Review the following talking points and then we will demonstrate how you can use them to educate your client and counter any objections.

• Flooding can happen anywhere at any time
• Get flood insurance now. Don’t wait until disaster strikes to realize you are not covered
• Securing flood insurance is a crucial step to protecting the life you have built
• If you live in a high-risk area, insurance may be mandatory
• No matter your flood risk, you should purchase flood insurance
• If you live outside a high-risk area, you might qualify for lower-cost coverage
• In most cases, it takes 30 days to become effective

Let’s take a look at some of the common objections you might hear during your sales conversation:

Budget/Cost

“I can’t afford it.”

Necessity

“I’m not in a flood zone.”

“My neighborhood/property has never flooded."

"It won’t happen to me.”

“The government will bail me out.”

“My homeowner’s policy covers that.”

“I don’t live near a river or a coast, I won’t flood.”

“My house is on a hill, so water drains away. I’m safe.”

Timing

“I can get flood insurance before the next big storm hits.”

Now let’s see how you can use your talking points to counter each type of objection.

• Budget/Cost
• Necessity
• Timing

Budget/Cost

Not being able to afford the product is a common objection in any type of sale. You can respond to cost objections by demonstrating the value of having flood insurance.

Myth #1: “I can’t afford it.”

Explain to your client that just 1 inch of water can cause more than $25,000 in damage.

Let your client know that in 2017, the average flood insurance claim was more than $90,000, while the average payout from government-provided disaster assistance was only around $5,000. Tell them that for these reasons, you can’t afford not to have it.

The average flood insurance premium costs around $890 a year. A flood insurance policy can provide up to $250,000 in building coverage and $100,000 in personal property coverage on a one- to four-family residence. If your client is in a moderate- to low-risk area, they may be eligible for a Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) for as low as $325 a year!

Necessity

Clients may not see the need to buy flood insurance. You can overcome this type of objection by educating clients on their actual risk and how flood insurance can help prepare them for the future and get them back on their feet faster after an event.

Myth #2: “I’m not in a flood zone.”

Many people incorrectly believe that if they are not located in a high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), they are not in a flood zone and have no flood risk. Explain to your client that EVERY property is in a flood zone and the fact that they are not in a high-risk zone does not mean they are free of risk.

Low risk does not mean no risk. In fact, nearly 57% of Hurricane Harvey flood insurance claims came from properties located in moderate- to low-risk flood areas.

Necessity

Myth #3: “My neighborhood/property has never flooded. It won’t happen to me.”

Remind your client that buying insurance is a preventative measure to help protect against future possibilities.

For example, how many times have you totaled your car? But you still buy insurance to cover yourself from a potential loss. If you never need to file a claim, that’s great! But it’s good to have in case a time comes when you do need it.

Necessity

Myth #4: “The government will bail me out.”

Let your client know that in 2017, the average flood insurance claim was more than $90,000, while the average payout from government provided disaster assistance was only around $5,000.

Also, disaster assistance isn’t guaranteed. Federal disaster assistance is only available for a Presidentially declared disaster. And even then, there are eligibility requirements potential recipients have to meet in order to qualify for assistance.

For those who qualify, disaster assistance typically comes in two forms:

• A U.S. Small Business Administration loan, which must be paid back with interest, or
• A FEMA disaster grant, which is about $5,000 on average per household

This is also a good opportunity to educate your client on their insurance options. The average flood insurance premium costs around $890 a year. A flood insurance policy can provide up to $250,000 in building coverage and $100,000 in personal property coverage on a one- to four-family residence. If your client is in a moderate- to low-risk area, they may be eligible for a Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) for as low as $325 a year!

Necessity

Myth #5: “My homeowner’s policy covers that.”

One in four homeowners mistakenly believe that a standard homeowners insurance policy covers damage caused by flooding. Sadly, most don’t find out they aren’t covered until too late. An NFIP flood policy covers direct physical loss by or from a flood. Your client can insure their home for up to $250,000 for the building and up to $100,000 for the contents. They can also insure their commercial property for up to $500,000 for the building and up to an additional $500,000 for the contents.

For a summary of what is covered under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy, take a look at the Summary of Coverage document.

Necessity

Myth #6: “I don’t live near a river or coast, I won’t flood.”

Did you know that flooding is the most common natural disaster in the United States? Explain to your client that they are more likely to experience a flood than a fire. According to the NFIP, flooding can be caused by storms, snowmelt, dams or levees breaking, new development changing how water flows above and below ground, and more.  

Necessity

Myth #6: “I don’t live near a river or coast, I won’t flood.”

In March of 2019, the President issued two separate major disaster declarations for the states of Nebraska and Iowa due to severe flooding. Several other Midwest states were also affected by the flooding, including Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, and South Dakota. A majority of those states are landlocked without a coastline. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the severe flooding in much of the area was caused by “rapid snow melt combined with heavy spring rain and late season snowfall in areas where soil moisture [was] high.”

Necessity

Myth #6: “I don’t live near a river or coast, I won’t flood.”

In August of 2017 Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane. However, it wasn’t the winds or coastal water surges that caused the most damage, but historic rainfall. The storm stalled over southeast Texas dropping an unprecedented 60 inches of rain, approximately 15 inches more than the average annual rainfall for the area. Twenty-six percent of Hurricane Harvey-related flood insurance claims were from properties outside of the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas. The storm displaced nearly 780,000 Texans and resulted in an astounding $8.8 billion in NFIP payments. With an estimated $125 billion in total damages, Harvey was the second-most costly hurricane in U.S. history, behind only Hurricane Katrina.

CRS Reports: 2019 Midwest Flooding: FEMA and Other Federal Programs and Resources

Necessity

Myth #6: “I don’t live near a river or coast, I won’t flood.”

For example, as a result of the 2019 Midwest flooding, as of July 10, 2019, more than 300 NFIP flood insurance claims had already been filed, totaling more than $10.9 million in claims paid. 

You can monitor updates about this event at the link listed below.

FEMA: Recovery Update: Iowa Recovery Update 006

NOAA: National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report - Hurricane Harvey​

FEMA: All Texans are at risk for floods

USGS: Post-Harvey Report Provides Inundation Maps and Flood Details

Time

Your client may feel like they don’t need to purchase flood insurance now because there is no imminent risk of flooding. If they wait until its needed, it could be too late. You can overcome this type of objection by reminding your client that flooding can occur at any time and explaining that coverage most likely won’t be immediate.

Myth #7: “I can get flood insurance before the next big storm hits.”

Remind your client that flooding can occur during any season and for a wide variety of reasons including snow melt, heavy rains, and tropical storms or hurricanes.

Also, let them know that there is typically a 30-day waiting period before most policies take effect. Which means if the client’s property floods within 30 days from the date of purchase, the damage will likely not be covered.

Flood Insurance Waiver

If your client chooses to forgo flood insurance, be sure to have them sign a waiver or declination.

If your company doesn’t have its own waiver form, you can use a waiver like this ACORD Flood Insurance Notice/Rejection form.

Having the client sign the waiver does two things:

• It proves that you offered flood insurance and removes your liability should their property flood in the future, and
• Signing a legal document rejecting the flood insurance offer can make your client pause and reevaluate their decision to decline

Knowing the right time to offer flood insurance can also help alleviate some anxiety. Be proactive! 

The best time to offer flood insurance is before your client needs it. Letting your clients know you are thinking about them helps to build trust.

Use opportunities like the following as a way to start the conversation.

When preparing a new homeowner or business owner policy, mention that a flood insurance policy would help cover the gaps that their other policy may not cover and can protect them from damage caused by flooding.

Reviewing a client’s existing portfolio prior to renewal? Now is a great time to reintroduce the idea of purchasing flood insurance.

Map changes in the area are another great time to discuss purchasing a flood policy. Clients newly mapped into a high-risk flood zone may now be required to purchase flood insurance by their lender. Even if your client does not have a mortgage and isn’t required to purchase flood insurance, it’s still a great time to start the conversation about the benefits of flood insurance and preparing for the future.

Existing flood insurance clients newly mapped into a moderate- to low-risk zone may be eligible for a lower-cost policy.

Service Your Accounts

The process doesn’t end with the initial offer and purchase of flood insurance. Make sure to review key NFIP coverages, limitations, and exclusions with clients before and after the sale.

Download the NFIP Summary of Coverage document and explain key coverage elements with your client such as the definition of “flood,” choosing deductibles, loss settlement approaches, and Increased Cost of Compliance coverage. This is also a good time to clarify what is covered and what is not, including limited coverage in basements and certain elevated building enclosures.

Service Your Accounts

Be sure to continue to monitor and develop the relationship after the sale. Review accounts annually to ensure adequate coverage limits are in place as risk and circumstances evolve. Encourage your clients to insure their property to value and recommend buying both building and contents coverage. ​

You can also periodically review deductible choices and options with clients and implement an account rounding strategy related to flood insurance. ​

Finally, don’t forget to follow up on expiration notices to prevent policy lapse. Encourage clients to keep coverage continuously in force since lapsed policies can lead to loss of rating discounts and subsidies.

Knowing the right time to offer flood insurance is only half the battle. You also need to know how to market flood insurance to maximize your results. Your agency’s website, social media, and seasonal campaigns are all great places to start.

Agency Website​

Your agency’s website is an easy place to start your marketing efforts. Both existing and potential clients can search your site to learn more about your agency as a whole, as well as the products you offer, including flood insurance.

Develop a web page on your agency’s website devoted to flood insurance with key flood links, such as FloodSmart, FEMA, and the NFIP. Provide local flooding statistics and a few of your key talking points to help start the flood insurance conversation before you meet with the client.

Social Media

Your business social media accounts are a great low- to no-cost marketing tool. It’s an easy way to reach a wide audience with a single post. You can even take advantage of the NFIP’s seasonal marketing campaigns and the great variety of FREE graphic assets, photos and even videos available at the FloodSmart Resource Library.​

Seasonal Campaigns

Tailor your marketing efforts to each season’s flooding hazards using the NFIP’s seasonal marketing campaign materials. Each campaign is geared towards a specific flood hazard and time of year, like Hurricane Season and Spring Flooding. The campaigns include resources such as preformatted posts for social media, email templates, and short videos.​

You can find these seasonal campaign materials in the marketing section of the agent portion of FloodSmart.

This lesson discussed tips and best practices for selling flood insurance, including:

• Identifying tips for starting the flood insurance conversation
• Summarizing talking points to help overcome common objections
• Describing best practices when handling flood insurance rejections in order to protect your business
• Demonstrating where to find FREE flood insurance marketing resources created by FEMA

This course consisted of three lessons.

Lesson 1: Why You Should Sell Flood Insurance

Lesson 2: Develop NFIP Product Knowledge

Lesson 3: How to Sell Flood Insurance

​ After taking this course, you should be able to:​

• Summarize why an agent should sell flood insurance​
• Describe ways for agents to grow their flood business​
• Identify sales and marketing resources available to agents
• Recognize the building blocks required to start the flood conversation
• Overcome common client objections for purchasing flood insurance

Congratulations! You have completed all lessons for the Sales for Agents course.