NFP has launched a national flood practice for its personal risk business, expanding a specialty flood proposition as brokers increasingly target one of the largest protection gaps in US personal lines.
The broker said the new practice will build on its existing Atlantic region flood platform and provide flood advisory and placement services nationwide for high-net-worth and personal risk clients.
Dana Sutton, a vice president at NFP with more than 15 years of experience writing complex flood exposures, has been appointed national flood practice leader.
The move comes as brokers and insurers continue to increase focus on flood as changing weather patterns, inland flooding events, and rising property values expose significant underinsurance across US residential markets.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, flooding remains the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States. Yet flood insurance penetration remains low, particularly outside designated high-risk zones.
Research suggests only a small minority of US homeowners carry dedicated flood insurance, while broader industry analysis indicates that two-thirds of modeled US residential flood losses remain uninsured.
NFP said its flood practice will use catastrophe modeling, historical flood data, and property-level risk analysis to help clients assess exposure and compare coverage between the National Flood Insurance Program and private flood insurers.
The launch reflects broader momentum in the private flood market, which has grown steadily in recent years as brokers seek alternatives to the NFIP’s structural limitations, including coverage caps and more standardized underwriting.
Private residential flood insurance has been expanding at an estimated annual rate of around 20% since 2020, according to market data, as carriers use improved modeling and analytics to underwrite more granular flood exposures.
However, the flood market remains challenging. FEMA’s flood maps have faced criticism for lagging behind evolving exposure realities, while many homeowners remain unaware that standard property policies exclude flood damage.
NFP said the expanded practice is intended to improve client education and close knowledge gaps around flood risk, with Sutton noting that many insureds continue to underestimate their exposure even when they carry substantial property insurance elsewhere.
The launch is the latest sign that flood is increasingly moving from niche specialty coverage into a broader strategic focus area for brokers, carriers, and MGAs as climate-linked catastrophe concerns reshape personal lines underwriting.
