This Tuesday, May 28, 2019, aerial photo shows flooded homes along the Arkansas River in Sand Spring, Okla. Communities that have seen little rain are getting hit by historic flooding along the Arkansas River thanks to downpours upstream that have prompted officials to open dams to protect some cities but inundate others with swells of water. (Photo: DroneBase via AP) This Tuesday, May 28, 2019, aerial photo shows flooded homes along the Arkansas River in Sand Spring, Okla. Communities that have seen little rain are getting hit by historic flooding along the Arkansas River thanks to downpours upstream that have prompted officials to open dams to protect some cities but inundate others with swells of water. (Photo: DroneBase via AP)

Floods remain the most common and destructive natural disaster in the United States, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Center of Insurance Policy and Research. All 50 states have experienced flooding or flash floods in the last five years. Some reports suggest that as much as 90% of all natural disasters involve flooding. Flooding is serious business, and should be taken into account no matter where you live or where your business is located.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) following the 1968 passage of the National Flood Insurance Act by Congress. The Act was passed in recognition of the lack of readily available flood coverage in the private insurance market for many of the most exposed homeowners and business owners. A series of widespread flood events along the Mississippi River Valley in the early to mid-1960s drove most of the private flood insurers out of the market, the frequency and severity of the losses made flood seem uninsurable in the private sector. Enter the NFIP.

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