Hurricane Irene: Newark, New Jersey, Lags Other Major East Coast Cities in Flood Insurance Coverage

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In terms of flood insurance, Newark, N.J., is the least prepared major city in the path of Hurricane Irene, an InsuranceQuotes.com review of federal statistics shows, while Charleston, S.C., is the most prepared major city.

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When it comes to flood insurance, No. 2 among the least prepared major cities is Boston. Newport News, Va., is in second place among the most prepared major cities.

The flood insurance rates for major cities that could be affected by Irene were calculated by taking the number of flood insurance policies in effect as of June 30, 2011, and dividing by the number of households. Flood insurance policies are for residential and commercial property. Figures are for each city only, not an entire metropolitan area.

Newark's flood insurance rate is 0.0018056 per household, based on 165 policies in effect as of June 30, 2011, and 91,382 households. Charleston's flood insurance rate is 0.5408791, based on 22,063 policies and 40,791 households. Policy figures came from the National Flood Insurance Program; household figures for the year 2000 came from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Not surprisingly, the InsuranceQuotes.com review showed New York City has the highest dollar amount for the insured value of property covered by flood insurance -- more than $8.6 billion as of June 30, 2011. Newark has the lowest amount: nearly $66.5 million.

The level of an area's flood insurance coverage is critical in hurricanes. Why? In all but the most hurricane-prone areas, wind damage caused by a hurricane typically is covered by a standard homeowner's insurance policy. However, flood damage triggered by a hurricane is not covered by a standard homeowner's policy.

Protecting a home or other property against flood damage requires separate flood coverage; most Americans must buy flood insurance through the federally backed National Flood Insurance Program. Few private companies sell flood insurance.

Here are the number of flood insurance policies in place (as of June 30, 2011) for major cities in the path of Hurricane Irene, the number of households in each city, the flood insurance rate for each city and the insured value of property covered by flood insurance in each city.

The cities are listed from the least amount of flood insurance per household to the most.

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SOURCE InsuranceQuotes.com