There's a -little- more nuance to it. Private Mortgages may require flood insurance depending on factors, depends on the bank and their rules. Govt Backed mort

There's a -little- more nuance to it. Private Mortgages may require flood insurance depending on factors, depends on the bank and their rules. Govt Backed mortgages (i.e. FHA) will require for 'high risk' areas. However you can still have a flood within 100 years in your area but not be required to have insurance (I live in such an area.) Typically this is for cases where flooding is going to be very minor; i.e. in this area it can happen but it's a small enough flood both in size and depth it doesn't meet the criteria. As a result, savvy folks just make sure not to keep anything expensive out of their basements. Less savy folks take extra trash out after a bad rain.