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Flood insurance cost · Hamilton County, TN

Flood insurance cost in Hamilton County, Tennessee

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 1,209 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

Hamilton County, TennesseePolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$1,100a year

Half of insured homes paid between $795 and $1,454. That is about the same as the Tennessee median ($1,084). Most insured homes here are rated in zone AE (65%).

$0$795 · $1,100 · $1,454$1,818
+9.1% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $1,008)
1,209home policies in force
$1,214average cost (mean)
66%of insured homes in high-risk zones (A, V)
$237,000median 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 Hamilton 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 AE
High risk		$1,210$903–$1,623$1,350784 (65%)+9.8%
Zone A
High risk		$1,252$981–$1,680$1,32818 (1%)+21.4%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$898$634–$1,219$945407 (34%)+7.9%

Not shown (fewer than 10 home policies): VE, AO, 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 Hamilton County, by what they insure.

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home1,071$1,093$1,212
2–4 unit building74$1,223$1,358
Condo or apartment unit55$854$922
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.		44$2,762$4,381
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		336$3,223$4,012

Not shown (fewer than 10 policies): manufactured (mobile) home.

1,589NFIP policies in force, any building
1,849insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
54%of home policies also cover contents
$100,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: Hamilton 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 force1,2501,209−3.3%
Median annual cost$1,008$1,100+9.1%
Average annual cost$1,126$1,214+7.8%
All policies in force (any building)1,6321,589−2.6%

How many homes have flood insurance?

1.0%of all homes in Hamilton County have an NFIP policy
22.4%of homes in high-risk zones (special flood hazard area) have one
128,907residential buildings counted by FEMA
3,789of 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 Hamilton County, Tennessee have filed 1,751 flood claims. 1,449 received a payment, for a total of $30.3 million (an average of $20,925 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 2003 (304 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

01002003004001978: 20 claims, 16 paid, $39,418 in total1979: 32 claims, 26 paid, $90,523 in total1980: 86 claims, 55 paid, $141,806 in total19801982: 30 claims, 20 paid, $101,089 in total1983: 11 claims1984: 39 claims, 29 paid, $275,308 in total1988: 15 claims1990: 129 claims, 110 paid, $1,577,915 in total19901994: 215 claims, 183 paid, $1,575,319 in total19941995: 71 claims, 59 paid, $480,649 in total1996: 57 claims, 51 paid, $573,240 in total1997: 10 claims1998: 16 claims, 13 paid, $104,188 in total1999: 12 claims2000: 18 claims, 13 paid, $204,936 in total20002003: 304 claims, 265 paid, $9,185,512 in total20032004: 70 claims, 63 paid, $1,061,759 in total2009: 227 claims, 207 paid, $7,078,419 in total200920102011: 30 claims, 23 paid, $272,800 in total2012: 34 claims, 29 paid, $976,725 in total2013: 44 claims, 38 paid, $644,140 in total2015: 48 claims, 42 paid, $651,112 in total2018: 29 claims, 27 paid, $520,860 in total2020: 54 claims, 43 paid, $701,470 in total20202025: 61 claims, 56 paid, $3,204,099 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 (25)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsTotal paidAverage per paid claim
20256156$3,204,099$57,216
20205443$701,470$16,313
20182927$520,860$19,291
20154842$651,112$15,503
20134438$644,140$16,951
20123429$976,725$33,680
20113023$272,800$11,861
2009227207$7,078,419$34,195
20047063$1,061,759$16,853
2003304265$9,185,512$34,662
20001813$204,936$15,764
199912<10––
19981613$104,188$8,014
199710<10––
19965751$573,240$11,240
19957159$480,649$8,147
1994215183$1,575,319$8,608
1990129110$1,577,915$14,345
198815<10––
19843929$275,308$9,493
198311<10––
19823020$101,089$5,054
19808655$141,806$2,578
19793226$90,523$3,482
19782016$39,418$2,464

From 2016 to 2026: 144 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.

Main NFIP communities in the county

Chattanooga (536 home policies) · Unincorporated Hamilton County (246 home policies) · East Ridge (236 home policies) · Soddy-Daisy (115 home policies) · Red Bank (51 home policies) · Collegedale (12 home policies)