Justin, this may be just in the hurricane prone areas, the change came about just after the '05 hurricane season. I got flood insurance in 09/99, after a couple of freak thunderstorms came together right over my area, and stalled for 2.5 hours, dumping about 2.5-3.0 inches of rain, on average here in the Phoenix area there are few storm drains in the main arterial streets. There are just water retention areas in the sub-divisions to hold water until it's absorbed into the ground. Well that day it rained so much, I had water within 6 inches from coming into my garage ( the entrance to the garage is about 24 inches higher than the highest part of the street in front of my house). The water subsided quickly, probably within an hour, but it was an eye opening experience to say the least bit. I inquired as to how much it would cost to replace all the carpeting in the house if water did get in, and I was quoted a price of about $11,000 for removal, clean-up and installation of new padding and similar carpeting, and this was in '99, so I'm sure it's even more costly today ! $250 a year doesn't seem like too much of a price to pay, for the possible cost of repairs.