Here in Florida, the decision to purchase flood insurance is not only a question of math, it's a matter of geography.

The mean elevation of the state of Florida is only 100 feet above sea level, with the highest point just 345 feet above sea level — in Lakewood Park in Walton County, which has been dubbed "the country's lowest high point." Nearly 80 percent of the state is considered coastal because portions of so many counties touch the Atlantic Coast or the Gulf Coast.

It is not only the oceans that pose the flood risk in our low-elevation state. It's the fact that 11,761 square miles of Florida are covered by water. To associate flood damage only with proximity to a large body of water — coastal or inland — overlooks the fact that Florida experiences such a high average rainfall (about 54 inches a year compared with the national average of 30 inches) and that flooding can come from sudden, violent rainstorms or lingering rain-filled days. Overflow from those picturesque man-made inland lakes and ponds we Floridians are fond of encircling with residences is one concern; clogged storm drains from high rainfall, inadequate drainage, new construction that tips the rain runoff in the wrong direction, or broken water mains are other flood perils.

According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), from 1998 through 2008, insured flood losses in Florida were almost $2.3 billion. More than $1.7 billion of these damages occurred in a single year — hurricane season 2004. Hurricanes with resulting flood damage occur on average 1.7 times per year nationally, according to research by the Universities Council on Water Resources (April 2008). Florida was ranked third for highest flood losses in that study, behind Texas and New York. An assessment of loss magnitude by the Universities Council revealed that flooding losses were 47 percent of the total hurricane losses during 1972-2006, and total U.S. losses over that time period just from floods were over $53.5 billion.

The Insurance Information Institute's (I.I.I.) latest Insurance Pulse poll, conducted in May 2010, determined that fewer people are buying flood insurance today. Only one in 10 Americans currently have a flood insurance policy, down from 13 percent a year ago and 17 percent in May 2008. The proportion of those who say they have a flood insurance policy fell five points in the South.

The proportion of Americans who think their homeowners' policy covers flood damage has been falling steadily since 2006, when it stood at 35 percent. But, alarmingly, the I.I.I. poll revealed that 26 percent of poll respondents in the South still think their homeowners' policy covers damage from flooding during a hurricane. Clearly, we have more work to do to educate Floridians about their risk and vulnerability.

A suggested place to start: Take insurance customers on a guided tour of www.FloodSmart.gov. There is an interactive tool in a box labeled, "What would flooding cost me?" You select the number of inches of water inside a home to determine the cost of a flood. As little as three inches of water can cause $7,800 of damage, says the NFIP, including the cost of replacing flooring and carpets, baseboards, bookcases and cleanup. There is also a tool on the site to assess personal flood risk with information that explains that those who live in low-to-moderate flood risk areas still have a 25 percent chance of experiencing a flood.

Flood insurance has been in the headlines this summer, primarily because the program lapsed three times this year, which complicated home sales in flood plains. It will continue to be in the headlines as the overhaul of the program is addressed by the U.S. Senate. The House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R. 5114) in July that would approve NFIP operations for five years and allow some premium and deductible increases. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California), said the legislation will help consumers by phasing in full premiums over five years to put an end to some of the subsidies now in place in flood-prone areas for vacation homes and non-residential properties. It also would end subsidies for severe repetitive loss properties, and Florida has its fair share of those. Florida's Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan details that the state has severe repetitive loss properties in 43 of its 67 counties, and that Escambia, Pinellas, Santa Rosa, and Hillsborough counties will be targeted by the state to reduce the number of repetitive loss properties.

Currently, the flood program is set to expire again on September 30, two months before the end of hurricane season. The clich? about saving money for a rainy day deserves a twist when it comes to flood insurance: Spending money for our rainy days means securing financial protection from floods.

Lynne McChristian is the Florida representative for the Insurance Information Institute. She may be contacted at 813-480-6446, [email protected]. Also, see www.InsuringFlorida.org for her insurance blog, "Straight Talk."

For related information, see Multi-Peril Insurance Bill May be on the Move and NFIP's New Lower-Cost Insurance Option and Putting Mother Nature in a Box.