Lee County Flood Insurance: What 10 Years of Claims Paid

Lee County holds 125,800 NFIP policies. If you are buying, refinancing or insuring a home in Lee County, the questions are the same ones Ian made real: what zone is the home in, what will it cost, and what do you do if the water comes in.

Check my address

Lee County flood insurance in 5 numbers

What does flood insurance cost in Lee County?

The average NFIP policy in Lee County costs $1,539 a year. That is an average per policy, and a condo unit counts as one policy. It is not your quote. Three things move your own price.

1. Same flood zone, very different prices. Your flood zone decides if a lender requires flood insurance. The price depends on the home itself: how high the first floor sits, what it would cost to rebuild, and how often that spot floods. Two homes on the same Lee County street can get very different prices. An elevation certificate may lower an NFIP price. A lender must also accept a private policy that meets the federal rules.

2. Which community your home is in. Unincorporated Lee County is its own NFIP community. FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS) list rates it Class 5, worth a 25% discount on NFIP premiums for eligible policies. Lee County joined the CRS in 1991 and has held its current class since October 1, 2007. That discount is for unincorporated Lee County only. Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Bonita Springs and Estero each run their own flood program, so the county's discount does not apply there. Two homes a few miles apart can get different discounts.

Confirm your 25% credit is applied. If your home is in unincorporated Lee County, check your declarations page for the CRS credit. Check my address to confirm which community your home is in.

3. The claim record around you. Lee County has 48,455 NFIP claims on record since 1978, and 39,188 of them came in the last 10 years. That record is why lenders ask for proof of flood coverage, and why how often your own spot floods matters to the price.

Lee County flood zones: which 2 maps matter?

Two different maps answer two different questions in Lee County.

Zones that start with A or V are high-risk areas. A home there with a federally backed mortgage must carry flood insurance. Zone X has no federal requirement, but floods do not stop at map lines.

Lee County's first flood insurance rate map dates to September 19, 1984, and the current maps for unincorporated Lee County took effect on November 17, 2022, per FEMA's Community Status Book. For a home in unincorporated Lee County, the county's Find My Flood Zone map shows the zone, and the county's flood property portal shows flood details and elevation certificates on file. Inside a city, use the city's own map or the official maps at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.

Lee County emergency numbers

In an emergency, call 9-1-1. More help: Lee County Emergency Management and the county's flood protection page.

Shelters. Lee County keeps a list of 21 public shelters. They open only when the county activates them for a storm, and not every shelter opens every time. The list includes:

• Lehigh Acres: Varsity Lakes Middle, 801 Gunnery Rd.; Veterans Park Recreation Center, 55 Homestead Rd. S.; East Lee County High, 715 Thomas Sherwin Ave. S.; Harns Marsh Elementary and Harns Marsh Middle, Unice Ave. N.; Mirror Lakes Elementary, 525 Charwood Ave. S.; Tortuga Preserve Elementary, 1711 Gunnery Rd.; Amanecer Elementary, 641 Sunrise Blvd.
• Fort Myers: South Fort Myers High, 14020 Plantation Rd.; Alico Arena, 10501 FGCU Blvd. S.; Oak Hammock Middle, 5321 Tice St.; Manatee Elementary, 5301 Tice St.; Ray V. Pottorf Elementary, 4600 Challenger Blvd.; Dunbar High, 3800 Edison Ave.; Treeline Elementary, 10900 Treeline Ave.; Gateway High, 13820 Griffin Dr.
• Estero: Estero Community Recreation Center, 9200 Corkscrew Palm Blvd.; Hertz Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy.
• North Fort Myers: North Fort Myers Community Center, 2000 North Recreation Park Way; North Fort Myers Academy, 1856 Arts Way.
• Cape Coral: Island Coast High, 2125 De Navarra Pkwy.

Before you go, call Lee County Emergency Management at (239) 533-0622 or check the county's emergency page to see which shelters are open.

If your Lee County home floods: 5 steps

1. Stay safe. Do not walk or drive through flood water.
2. Take photos and video of every room before you clean up.
3. Call your insurance company and file the claim fast.
4. Make a list of damaged items. Keep receipts for cleanup and repairs.
5. Ask your building department about permits before you repair or rebuild. In unincorporated Lee County, call (239) 533-8948.

The 50% rule. If repairs cost 50% or more of the building's market value, federal rules call the home "substantially damaged." It must then be brought up to current flood rules, which can mean raising it. Ask your community how it counts the cost before you start work. Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage on an NFIP policy can help pay for that work.

5 storms behind Lee County's numbers

Three of these storms hit Lee County in one year, 2024. Ian alone paid more than the other four storms in this table put together.

See Florida's flood record since 1978, storm by storm and year by year

Also in Lee County

Lee County's cities run their own flood programs. Two places with deep claim records:

Fort Myers Beach

The Town of Fort Myers Beach holds 6,857 NFIP policies, and every one of them is rated in a high-risk A or V zone. The average NFIP premium is $1,748 per policy. In the last 10 years flood insurance paid $534,002,555 on 3,125 claims in the town, and it has 5,994 claims on record since 1978. The town runs its own flood program, so the county's 25% CRS discount is not the town's number.

North Fort Myers

North Fort Myers is not a city. It is part of unincorporated Lee County, so the county's Class 5 rating and its 25% CRS discount apply to eligible policies there. It holds about 5,800 NFIP policies, and about 88% are rated in a high-risk A or V zone. In the last 10 years flood insurance paid about $219.5 million on about 2,200 claims there. FEMA does not mark the place on each policy, so these North Fort Myers numbers are built from Census neighborhoods (block groups) split by where the homes are. That is why they are rounded and say "about."

Also in Lee County: Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Sanibel, Bonita Springs, Estero and Lehigh Acres.

Buying or closing in Lee County? Read this first

If the home is in a high-risk zone and you have a federally backed mortgage, your lender will ask for proof of flood insurance before closing. Ask the seller for an elevation certificate, ask what the home's flood claims were after Ian, and ask whether the seller's flood policy can be assigned to you at closing.

NFIP flood policies have a 30-day waiting period. The big exception: if you buy the policy as part of getting, refinancing, increasing, extending or renewing a loan on the home, coverage can start at closing with no wait, as long as the application and payment are in by closing. If a new flood map just put your home in a high-risk zone, you can buy within 13 months of the map date and wait only one day. A lender asking for flood coverage partway through an existing loan does not skip the wait. Private flood policies set their own waiting periods, often shorter. Unincorporated Lee County's November 17, 2022 maps are past that 13-month window.

All major lenders accept private flood insurance under federal guidelines. The policy has to meet the federal definition of private flood insurance, so look for that statement on the policy or ask your lender. Private flood can cost less for some Lee County homes and more for others. What a lender can require.

Buying in Lee County? Start with the buyer guide

Lee County flood insurance: 6 questions

How much is flood insurance in Lee County? The NFIP average is $1,539 per policy, per FEMA records from July 2026. Condo units count one each, so a single-family home can pay much more or less. Your price depends on your home.

Does Lee County get a flood insurance discount? Yes, for unincorporated Lee County. FEMA rates it Class 5 in the Community Rating System, worth 25% off NFIP premiums for eligible policies. Each city in Lee County runs its own flood program, so the county's discount does not apply there.

How much did Hurricane Ian cost in Lee County flood claims? NFIP paid $3,387,327,468 on 28,585 flood claims in Lee County for Hurricane Ian, per FEMA claim records.

How long is the wait for a new flood policy in Lee County? 30 days for a standard NFIP purchase. No wait when the policy is bought as part of getting, refinancing, increasing, extending or renewing a loan on the home. One day when a new flood map just placed the home in a high-risk zone (within 13 months of the map date).

What evacuation zone am I in? Look it up on Lee County's Find My Evacuation Zone tool, or call Lee County Emergency Management at (239) 533-0622. Your evacuation zone is not your FEMA flood zone.

Do I need flood insurance in zone X in Lee County? A lender does not have to require it in zone X. Many owners buy it anyway, because storm surge and rain flood homes outside high-risk zones too.

Explore Florida flood guides

• Florida flood insurance: the state picture
• Pinellas County flood insurance: Helene's county, up the Gulf coast
• Hillsborough County flood insurance: Tampa and the bay
• Miami-Dade County flood insurance: across the state
• Florida commercial flood insurance: for business owners
• The 30-day wait and its exceptions
• Flood insurance questions, answered

Sources: OpenFEMA NFIP policies and claims (FEMA, data as of July 4, 2026; Fort Myers Beach and North Fort Myers split by Census block group and 2020 housing units, rounded where the split is an estimate); FEMA CRS Eligible Communities list, October 1, 2026 (Lee County row, read October 24, 2026); FEMA NFIP Community Status Book (read November 3, 2026); Lee County Emergency Management, Flood Protection Information, public shelter, evacuation zone and flood zone map pages (read November 4, 2026); U.S. Census ACS 2024.

Lender says you need flood insurance? Read what the law requires and what you still choose.

Own a business, condo or apartment building in Lee County? Read the Florida commercial flood insurance guide.

Page data last verified 2026-11-04. Every figure links to the federal or county record it came from.