Water damage, especially flooding, is one of the scariest threats homeowners face—it’s destructive, dangerous, and costly. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), one inch of water can cause $25,000 worth of damage to your home.
But that doesn’t mean you’re helpless. You can take action to protect your home, starting with understanding your flood zone—especially if your home is in flood zone AE.
Your flood zone indicates your home’s risk level when it comes to flooding and plays a crucial role in how you protect it.
If you’re looking to buy a house in an AE flood zone—or live in one and are thinking about renovations or water damage protection—then let’s dive in.
First: A Quick Introduction to Flood Zones
FEMA manages flood maps for communities all across the United States. These maps help you understand your general flood risk and potential need for flood insurance. How do they do it?
Well, flood maps identify a community’s flood zones: areas with a certain amount of flood risk.
You’re more likely to be in a flood zone if you live by a body of water, like a coast or lake, but you can still experience flooding away from bodies of water if the conditions are right.
FEMA accounts for all of the conditions in an area, from the lay of the land to the potential severity of weather events, to assign each area a flood zone code. Flood zone code AE is one of these codes.
A location’s flood zone can change with geographical shifts and new city developments.
Helpful Tips for Reading Flood Maps
As a beginner to flood maps and flood zones, you should first know that the highest-risk flood zones start with the letter A or V. (Yep, that includes AE.)
Flood zones that start with A are low-lying areas typically close to large bodies of water. Flood zones that start with V are coastal regions that experience flash floods and other weather-related hazards.
However, just because low-risk areas are less likely to flood doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
“Everyone lives in an area with some flood risk—it’s just a question of whether you live in a high-risk, low-risk, or moderate-risk flood area.”
— FEMA
3 Need-to-Know Terms for Understanding Flood Zones
- Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA): All high-risk flood zones, including zone AE, are in the SFHA. These areas are also known as 100-year floodplains because they have a 1% chance of flooding during any given year. (In other words, they’re likely to flood at least once in the span of 100 years.)
- Floodplains: Flat land next to a body of water with seasonal flooding.
- Base flood elevation (BFE): The elevation that floodwaters can reach in an area during a flood that has a 1% chance of meeting or exceeding that level in any given year. Insurance providers use BFE to help calculate flood insurance premiums.
To view your city’s flood map and your home’s designated flood zone, enter your address at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
What Is Flood Zone AE?
Flood zone AE is a high-risk flood zone that’s close to floodplains and bodies of water, like rivers and lakes. It has a 1% chance of flooding annually and a 26% chance during a 30‐year mortgage. A low-lying area without a body of water nearby can also be designated as AE if there’s a high risk of flooding.
The AE flood zone is a new singular flood zone that represents what used to be flood zones A1-A30.
Additionally, because two areas are labeled as the same flood zone doesn’t mean the reasons are the same. For example, one AE zone’s concern might be hurricanes, while another’s might be lake flooding with high winds that create waves.
Flood Zone A vs AE
Like AE, flood zone A is a high-risk flood zone with a 1% chance of flooding each year and a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. However, there are no detailed analyses of areas in flood zone A, meaning there are no BFEs identified in this zone like there are for AE.
Building Regulations in the AE Flood Zone
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has strict requirements for buildings in high-risk flood zones. The three most noteworthy regulations for homes in flood zone AE are:
1. The elevation of your lowest floor must be at or above the zone’s BFE.
2. You can’t use enclosed areas below your lowest floor or the zone’s BFE as living spaces, including basements.
3. Any electrical, plumbing, and HVAC units must be above the zone’s BFE.
If you’re looking to buy a newer home, it will likely meet the ASCE’s requirements already. But if you’re buying an older home, there is a chance that you’ll need to update it to meet all AE building regulations.
And if you’re planning extreme renovations or remodeling in your current or future home, they must also meet all AE building requirements.
Does Flood Zone AE Require Flood Insurance?
Yes, if your property is in FEMA zone AE and you have a federally-backed mortgage, your mortgage loan requires you to have flood insurance. This is the case if any part of your property crosses into any high-risk flood zone.
Flood zones A, AE, AH, and AO are all high-risk and require flood insurance.
That said, even if you weren’t required to have flood insurance, it’s the smart thing to do. While home insurance will cover wind damage from storms, it doesn’t cover storm flooding. The only way to protect your home and belongings from flood-induced water damage is with a flood insurance policy.
How Much Is Flood Insurance in Zone AE?
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the main flood insurance provider in the United States. The average cost of NFIP flood insurance is $700 a year generally and $852 a year in zone AE. Insurance rates increase with risk, so flood zone AE rates are higher than those in, say, zone X.
Still, many factors influence your AE flood zone rate, including:
- Your home’s age and construction style
- Your home’s flood history
- How the lowest elevation of your home compares to the zone’s BFE
- The coverage, coverage limits, and deductibles you choose
How Can I Save on Zone AE Flood Insurance?
There are a few ways to lower your zone AE flood insurance cost.
- Get an elevation certificate from your community floodplain manager. An elevation certificate guarantees that your home complies with floodplain building requirements and reveals whether your home’s lowest floor is above the area’s BFE. Both can lower your premium and make you eligible for Community Rating System discounts.
- Increase your flood insurance deductible. As with all forms of insurance, the higher your deductible, the lower your monthly payments. Be careful not to increase your deductible so much that it’ll be unaffordable or too much of a burden in the event of a flood.
- Update your home for extra flood protection. Certain home updates make your home more flood-resistant and lower your premium. That said, many such updates are expensive, so you’ll want to compare the cost of the work with how much it will reduce your premium. And remember, flood protection also saves you the emotional and physical stress of managing flood damage. Example home updates include:
- Moving utility units in your home above the BFE
- Installing flood openings
- Elevating your home
Bonus Round: Tips for Homeowners in Flood Zone AE
When your home is in a high-risk flood zone, getting flood insurance is the first step to protecting the life you’ve built. But once you’ve done that, the best protection is always prevention.
There are actions you can take to minimize damage in the event of a flood:
- Clean out your gutters so they work properly when heavy rains hit.
- Use rain spouts angled so that water moves away from your home.
- Adjust your landscaping to remove areas in your yard that collect water during rain.
- Keep your most valuable possessions stored above the BFE.
- Your city government has a department responsible for local drainage. If you’re concerned about the amount of street flooding during rain, contact your local officials.
- Prepare appropriately for severe storms and hurricanes, from shutters and sandbags to a well-rounded evacuation plan. Our Hurricane Preparedness Checklist can help.
FAQs for Florida Flood Zone AE
Is flood zone AE bad?
Flood zone AE is one of the higher-risk flood zone areas. That said, it’s never guaranteed that an area will or won’t flood—no one can predict a flood with 100% accuracy. Whether flood zone AE is too bad to live in is up to your risk aversion and ability to afford flood insurance.
Can you build in flood zone AE in Florida?
Yes, you can build a home in flood zone AE in Florida as long as the house meets local regulations for building in a high-risk flood zone.
Do I need flood insurance in zone AE in Florida?
Yes, like anywhere else in the U.S., if you have a mortgage on a home in flood zone AE in Florida, you will need to get a flood insurance policy. If your Florida property is near a floodplain, body of water, or particularly low-lying area, you may be in flood zone AE.
How much does flood insurance cost in zone AE in Florida?
According to the National Flood Insurance Program, the average cost of flood insurance in Zone AE in Florida is $757 a year or $63 a month.
Rise Above: Protect Against Flood Waters in Zone AE
Whether you already live in FEMA flood zone AE or finally found your dream home only for it to be in AE, there are ways to protect against potential flood waters and the damage they cause.
From smart home prevention measures to flood insurance coverage, you have the power to help ensure you come out on top in a worst-case scenario.
And in the best-case scenario? You’ll still live every day with the confidence that you and your family are safe.