The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) announced Risk Rating 2.0, a new effort designed to improve how the NFIP determines flood risk and flood insurance premiums. It purports to leverage industry best practices and technology; however, by most accounts, Risk Rating 2.0 will increase premiums and decrease […]
The countdown is on, yet again, for NFIP Reauthorization, the renewal of the National Flood Insurance Program set to expire May 31, 2019. Both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate must pass legislation to continue the federal program and will consider changes, improvements, short-term or long-term renewal. Last month’s U.S. House Committee on […]
This is an excerpt of a commentary by Anita Byer, president of Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk in Plantation, FL. Read it in its entirety at Hill Country News. This year is the 50th anniversary of the National Flood Insurance Program, and this federally subsidized program has not aged well. In 2017, it had the […]
Elevation plays a critical role in determining flood risk and flood insurance rates. A couple of feet, a few documentation errors or significant omissions can make a considerable difference in the amount property owners pay for coverage or measures implemented to mitigate flood damage. In Charleston, SC, city officials consider raising elevation guidelines to reduce […]
(This excerpt was originally published at Inside Sources) Since September 2017, lawmakers had passed nine short-term extensions to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which covers more than 5.1 million flood policies throughout the country and provides vital assistance to disaster-stricken communities. On December 21, 2018, they did it again, voting to keep the program […]
This guest post by Jeff Ball of Visio Lending provides an overview of rental loans for single-family and vacation property investors and the role flood risk management plays when seeking the best financing possible. Historically, most investors have financed single-family rental properties in one of three ways: through a second home loan, through agency investor […]
In the following excerpts from a commentary for The Hill by ValuePenguin’s Maxime Rieman, one thing is clear, property owners across the United States are either shortchanged or shortsighted by flood insurance. Rieman’s perspective begs the question we’ve been posing for quite some time: Is the price homeowners forced to pay for flood insurance justified, […]
From the headlines to your bottom line, this edition of Flood Risk News & Notes includes another extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP); an increase in flood insurance premium rates; flood map changes in more than 70 communities around the country; and a reminder about elevation certificates. Below you will find a summary […]
FEMA’s release of revised flood insurance rate maps includes 42 communities in seven states: Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. Many flood map updates place homes and buildings in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), also known as a high-risk flood zone. A flood map reflects a geographic area -not individual property […]
The month of December is traditionally a busy month, and it appears that the FEMA elves have worked overtime to release revised flood insurance rate maps for more than 100 communities in 10 states: Colorado, North Dakota, Utah, New Jersey, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana. The new maps place many homes and […]