Editorial & Corrections Policy

PlainInsure turns the U.S. Treasury's published homeowners insurance data and the FEMA National Risk Index into readable ZIP, state, and county pages. This page explains how those pages are produced, the standards we hold them to, and exactly how to flag a number that looks wrong.

How Pages Are Produced

PlainInsure's ZIP, state, and county pages are generated from published federal datasets: the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Federal Insurance Office (FIO) Homeowners Insurance Markets data (2018–2022), which the office collects directly from the largest property insurers, and the FEMA National Risk Index. Our dental-insurance pages use market data published by the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP) and the NAIC. We download each source, load it into a structured database, and render every page from that database. The figures you see — average premiums, loss ratios, claim frequency and severity, nonrenewal rates, percentile rankings, and FEMA risk scores — are computed from the source numbers, not hand-typed and not estimated by us.

This is a data-publishing model: the same template renders thousands of pages so that every ZIP code and state is covered consistently. We are transparent that these data pages are produced programmatically from the source datasets rather than written individually. The editorial work goes into the pipeline — how data is sourced, normalized, joined, and computed — into the methodology, and into the written guides; not into hand-authoring tens of thousands of near-identical ZIP pages, which would add no accuracy and invite inconsistency.

Sourcing Standards

  • Primary sources only. Premium and claims figures come from the Treasury FIO Homeowners Insurance Markets data; risk scores come from the FEMA National Risk Index; dental figures come from NADP and the NAIC — all documented in our methodology.
  • Attribution in context. Each data page names its dataset and the 2018–2022 reporting period near the figures, and links to the methodology that explains how the Treasury FIO and FEMA calculate them.
  • Derived values are labeled. Numbers we compute ourselves — national and state percentile rankings, year-over-year change, and five-year trends — are presented as our analysis of the source data, distinct from the published figures.
  • No invented data. Where a value is unavailable for an area, the page says so rather than filling the gap with an estimate.

Update Cadence

The Treasury FIO Homeowners Insurance Markets report covers the 2018–2022 period; FEMA updates the National Risk Index on its own schedule, and NADP publishes dental market figures annually. When a source releases new data we refresh our database and recompute every derived metric, typically within about two weeks of the release. Between releases the figures are stable because the source itself does not change. The reporting period is shown on every data page.

Corrections Process

If a figure on PlainInsure looks wrong, please tell us. Because our pages are generated from federal datasets, a genuine error almost always traces back to either the source data or our processing of it — so this is how we handle a report:

  1. Report. Email corrections@plaininsure.com or use the contact page with the page URL and the number that looks off.
  2. Verify. We compare the figure against the source's published documentation for that ZIP code, state, and reporting period.
  3. Fix at the source. If the value is wrong on our side, we correct it in the database and pipeline that generate the page — not just on the single page — so every affected page is fixed at once. If the figure faithfully reflects the published data, we explain that and, where useful, add context.
  4. Note it. Material corrections that change a published figure are reflected the next time the page rebuilds, with the data reporting period shown so you can see which release a page is based on.

We aim to acknowledge data-error reports within a few business days.

Editorial Independence

PlainInsure is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with the U.S. Treasury, FEMA, any state insurance department, or any insurance company. We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from insurers, agents, brokers, or any covered entity. Our only revenue is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense; advertisers do not influence which areas we cover or how we present data. Our rankings are computed mechanically from the source figures, so no insurer or area can pay to move up a list.

Appropriate Use

PlainInsure is for informational purposes only and does not constitute insurance, financial, or legal advice. The premiums shown are Treasury FIO market averages aggregated across many policies, not a quote for any specific home; your own premium depends on your property's value, age, construction, claims history, coverage limits, and deductible. For decisions about buying or renewing a policy, request quotes from several licensed carriers or consult a licensed insurance professional. See our full appropriate-use disclaimer.