Glossary

Write Your Own (WYO) insurer

A private insurance company that sells and services federal flood policies under its own name while the federal government carries the flood losses.

Also called: WYO company, WYO program, NFIP participating insurer

A Write Your Own insurer is a private company that takes part in the NFIP's Write Your Own program, which FEMA created in 1983. The company issues the federal Standard Flood Insurance Policy under its own name, collects premiums and handles claims. It earns an expense allowance for that work, and the federal government, not the company, bears the flood losses.

The policy from a WYO insurer is therefore the same federal policy, at the same FEMA-set rates and with the same coverage, whichever company issues it. FEMA's own materials say there is no difference in what WYO companies and NFIP Direct offer. Billing, claims service and payment options can differ from company to company; the coverage cannot. FEMA also sells policies directly through NFIP Direct.

The confusion is common. A flood policy carrying a familiar company's name looks like part of your homeowners package, but it is a separate federal policy, governed by federal rules rather than the insurer's own forms. Your homeowners insurer may not write one at all, and the agent who sells flood coverage may represent a different company. A privately underwritten flood policy is different again: that insurer sets its own rates and pays claims from its own funds. See private flood insurance and the guide on NFIP flood insurance explained.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

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Related terms

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) The federal program, run by FEMA since 1968, that makes flood insurance available to owners and renters in communities that adopt floodplain management rules. Private flood insurance Flood coverage issued on an insurer's own form and rates instead of through the federal program, which a lender may accept in place of an NFIP policy. Risk Rating 2.0 FEMA's current method of pricing NFIP flood policies by each home's own flood risk and rebuilding cost rather than mainly by flood zone and elevation. Special flood hazard area (SFHA) The land FEMA maps as having at least a 1% chance of flooding in any year, where lenders must require flood insurance on federally backed mortgages. Increased cost of compliance (ICC) Flood policy coverage of up to $30,000, apart from the damage claim, toward elevating, relocating or demolishing a substantially damaged building.

Related guides

The federal role in home insurance Washington does not regulate homeowners policies, but it runs flood insurance, studies the market, sets mortgage rules and pays disaster aid. Where it stops. The 30-day flood insurance waiting period A new NFIP flood policy starts 30 days after you apply and pay, with exceptions for loan closings, new map zones and post-wildfire floods. How it is counted. How to file a flood insurance claim Notify your flood insurer in writing, photograph before you discard, and send a sworn proof of loss within 60 days. The steps, deadlines and appeal options. NFIP flood insurance explained How the National Flood Insurance Program works: who sells it, what it covers (up to $250,000 building, $100,000 contents), what it excludes, and how it pays. NFIP reauthorization and what a lapse means for you When the NFIP lapses, existing policies and claims continue but new policies and added coverage stop. What happened in 2025–2026 and how to protect yourself. Wind vs water: the hurricane claim dispute Your homeowners policy pays for wind and your flood policy for water. When one storm does both, how the damage is split decides who pays, and how to contest it.

Related insurers

Selective Insurance New Jersey commercial insurer, founded 1926, whose personal lines unit sells homeowners through independent agents in 15 states to mass-affluent households. Farm Bureau Insurance (Southern Farm Bureau Casualty) Mississippi-based carrier owned by state Farm Bureaus that insures Farm Bureau members' homes in Mississippi, Arkansas, Colorado and Florida.