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Flood insurance cost · Brunswick County, NC

Flood insurance cost in Brunswick County, North Carolina

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 17,632 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

Brunswick County, North CarolinaPolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$971a year

Half of insured homes paid between $673 and $1,333. That is 5% less than the North Carolina median ($1,025). The most common flood zone for insured homes here is zone AE (49%).

$0$673 · $971 · $1,333$1,666
+7.9% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $900)
17,632home policies in force
$1,140average cost (mean)
55%of insured homes in high-risk zones (A, V)
$250,000median building coverage

This is what policyholders paid, not a quote. Two neighbors can pay very different prices: NFIP prices depend on the building (elevation, foundation, number of floors, replacement cost), the coverage and deductible chosen and the distance to water (FEMA FloodSmart: premium factors). For a price for your building, ask an insurance agent. Private flood insurance is not included in these figures.

Cost by flood zone in Brunswick County

The flood zone on FEMA's map is one of the main price factors. Median and middle half of what insured homes paid, by the zone used to rate the policy.

Flood zoneMedianMiddle half (25th–75th percentile)AveragePoliciesvs last year
Zone VE / V
High risk, coastal		$1,997$1,368–$2,738$2,216998 (6%)+4.2%
Zone AE
High risk		$1,213$971–$1,542$1,3858,644 (49%)+11.9%
Zone A
High risk		$670$516–$799$74191 (1%)+5.3%
Zone AO
High risk, shallow		$1,204$1,064–$1,360$1,24611 (0%)+4.5%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$670$540–$871$7407,888 (45%)+2.1%

Not shown (fewer than 10 home policies): AH, A99/AR, D. Shares are of all insured homes; a few policies have no rated zone. "vs last year" compares medians with policies in force a year earlier.

Cost by type of building

All NFIP policies in force in Brunswick County, by what they insure.

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home16,855$981$1,151
2–4 unit building187$1,177$1,473
Manufactured (mobile) home226$898$1,042
Condo or apartment unit364$484$542
Whole residential building (5+ units or condo association)
One policy covers the whole building, so the cost is much higher than for a single home.		510$1,732$2,454
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		344$1,821$3,039
18,486NFIP policies in force, any building
20,541insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
88%of home policies also cover contents
$100,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: Brunswick County

Policies in force on August 31, 2026 compared with a year earlier. Nationwide, practically all policies in both years carry FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0 occupancy codes, so both years use the same pricing system. The policies are not the same: some were new, some lapsed.

Aug 31, 2025Aug 31, 2026Change
Home policies in force18,10017,632−2.6%
Median annual cost$900$971+7.9%
Average annual cost$1,057$1,140+7.9%
All policies in force (any building)18,95418,486−2.5%

How many homes have flood insurance?

21.5%of all homes in Brunswick County have an NFIP policy
78.0%of homes in high-risk zones (special flood hazard area) have one
84,693residential buildings counted by FEMA
12,962of them in high-risk zones

FEMA NFIP Residential Penetration Rates, data as of August 3, 2026: residential contracts in force divided by residential structures.

Flood claims history

Since 1978, NFIP policyholders in Brunswick County, North Carolina have filed 9,886 flood claims. 6,026 received a payment, for a total of $99.3 million (an average of $16,472 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 1999 (1,783 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

05001k1.5k2k1979: 46 claims, 14 paid, $53,984 in total19801983: 36 claims1984: 126 claims, 32 paid, $146,780 in total1985: 40 claims, 19 paid, $34,385 in total1986: 47 claims, 29 paid, $122,315 in total1987: 349 claims, 282 paid, $981,629 in total1988: 12 claims1989: 1,574 claims, 1,295 paid, $10,594,261 in total19891990: 59 claims, 41 paid, $621,759 in total19901991: 40 claims, 24 paid, $584,232 in total1992: 23 claims, 17 paid, $370,175 in total1993: 584 claims, 435 paid, $2,211,115 in total1994: 78 claims, 48 paid, $1,785,328 in total1995: 148 claims, 88 paid, $3,213,439 in total1996: 611 claims, 222 paid, $2,276,609 in total1998: 487 claims, 67 paid, $409,988 in total1999: 1,783 claims, 1,059 paid, $18,076,013 in total199920002001: 18 claims2003: 18 claims2004: 396 claims, 18 paid, $369,939 in total2005: 208 claims, 107 paid, $1,699,864 in total2008: 25 claims, 15 paid, $139,975 in total2010: 58 claims, 36 paid, $474,270 in total20102011: 26 claims2014: 21 claims2015: 111 claims, 66 paid, $1,824,214 in total2016: 424 claims, 240 paid, $3,356,549 in total2018: 1,148 claims, 812 paid, $24,773,394 in total20182019: 16 claims2020: 880 claims, 634 paid, $9,309,577 in total20202021: 11 claims2022: 112 claims, 76 paid, $968,508 in total2023: 10 claims2024: 300 claims, 259 paid, $13,578,241 in total
Flood claims per year of loss, 1978–2026. Years with fewer than 10 claims are left blank. Hover a bar for details.
All years with at least 10 claims (34)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsTotal paidAverage per paid claim
2024300259$13,578,241$52,426
202310<10––
202211276$968,508$12,744
202111<10––
2020880634$9,309,577$14,684
201916<10––
20181,148812$24,773,394$30,509
2016424240$3,356,549$13,986
201511166$1,824,214$27,640
201421<10––
201126<10––
20105836$474,270$13,174
20082515$139,975$9,332
2005208107$1,699,864$15,887
200439618$369,939$20,552
200318<10––
200118<10––
19991,7831,059$18,076,013$17,069
199848767$409,988$6,119
1996611222$2,276,609$10,255
199514888$3,213,439$36,516
19947848$1,785,328$37,194
1993584435$2,211,115$5,083
19922317$370,175$21,775
19914024$584,232$24,343
19905941$621,759$15,165
19891,5741,295$10,594,261$8,181
198812<10––
1987349282$981,629$3,481
19864729$122,315$4,218
19854019$34,385$1,810
198412632$146,780$4,587
198336<10––
19794614$53,984$3,856

From 2016 to 2026: 2,901 claims (counting only years with at least 10). 2026 is a partial year. Claims are counted where the insured property is; they include buildings and contents, homes and businesses.

ZIP codes in Brunswick County

ZIP codes with at least 300 NFIP home policies in force have their own page.

Main NFIP communities in the county

Unincorporated Brunswick County (3,822 home policies) · Oak Island (3,020 home policies) · Ocean Isle Beach (1,969 home policies) · Holden Beach (1,782 home policies) · Sunset Beach (1,553 home policies) · Leland (1,499 home policies)