The National Weather Service (NWS) prediction of an above-normal hurricane season in the central Pacific is already proving to be true in just the first couple of months into the 2026 season. Tropical Storm Fausto in late July and Hurricane Lala last week have many property owners, business owners, and renters reevaluating their storm preparedness and mitigation plans.
An often-overlooked mitigation action is purchasing flood insurance. Not uncommon, those that have purchased flood insurance did so as a result of a lender requirement. Real property secured by a federally backed mortgage on a parcel encroaching within a Special Flood Hazard Area (A or V type flood zones) identified on FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) are required by law to purchase flood insurance as a condition of the loan. However, when the loan is paid off, the mandatory purchase requirement goes away. It’s important to remember that although the mandatory purchase requirement is no longer in effect, the flood risk remains and most homeowners or renters insurance won’t cover flood damage. Federal flood insurance is available to all property owners and renters in Hawai'i regardless of your flood zone designation or whether you have a federally backed mortgage.
On June 10th 2026, the City and County of Honolulu had a significant FEMA FIRM update which put an estimated 4000 properties into a Special Flood Hazard Area for the first time. Affected property owners with federally backed mortgages should have already received a letter from the lender notifying the mortgagor of the requirement to obtain flood insurance within 45 days of the map change.
Federal flood insurance purchase typically accompanies a 30-day waiting period before the policy is effective. For example, if you electively decided to purchase an NFIP policy one week ahead of Hurricane Lala and experienced flood damage because of the storm, your policy would likely not cover those damages. However, FEMA has three exceptions to the 30-day wait period where flood insurance could become effective after only a 1-day wait period (See table below for an explanation of these exceptions).
| Map Revision Exception | Coverage becomes effective after a 1-day waiting period during the first 13 months following a flood map revision newly identifying a building as located within an SFHA when it was previously identified as outside of an SFHA. |
| Loan Exception | If the initial purchase of new, additional, or increased flood insurance coverage is in connection with making, increasing, extending, or renewing a loan secured by the insured property (for example, a mortgage loan) – and if the NFIP receives the Application Form or endorsement request and full amount due within specified timeframes – then no waiting period applies and coverage becomes effective as of the time of the loan closing. |
| Post Wildfire Exception | Coverage becomes effective after a 1-day waiting period if: a. The insured property is privately owned (property not owned by a federal, state, local, territorial, or tribal government) and experiences damage caused by a flood that originated on federal land; b. Post-wildfire conditions on federal lands caused or worsened the flooding; and c. The policyholder purchased the new, additional, or increased coverage either: i. On or before the fire containment date; or ii. During the 60-calendar day period following the fire containment date. |
With more potential wet weather ahead of us in the coming weeks according to the NWS Central Pacific Hurricane Center, now is the time to give your insurance agent a call to discuss your flood insurance options. For property owners without a mortgage and were recently mapped into a Special Flood Hazard Area on June 10th, consider adding flood insurance to your mitigation plan and take advantage of the 1-day wait period and the NFIP’s newly mapped discount. Visit the City and County of Honolulu’s FIRM map viewer to determine your current and historic flood zones.
Visit floodsmart.gov for more information on flood insurance.
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