Episode 132: How the Foundation Type of a Home Saved a Customers $10,000

Imagine that you had been paying these high flood insurance rates like so many other people, only to find out you didn't have to.

You would probably be pretty upset about it I know I would.

Well that's exactly what happened to a property owner in Homewood Alabama.

In this episode of the podcast we are going to discuss

1. What happened
2. How the customer was able to get a refund
3. What you need to check for

When someone sets up flood insurance it's not uncommon for the property owner or insurance agent to just enter the information off the elevation certificate. However in many situations there could be a wrong foundation type or an enclosure could really be a garage.

These types of things could cost a property owner a lot of money on their flood insurance. This is exactly what happened to a property owner in Homewood Alabama. They just accepted the elevation certificate got it to FEMA and didn't think about it.

However what the property owner did not realize is that you can ask FEMA to take a deeper look to make sure things are correct.

So the property owner reached out to us in 2019 and we explained to them what the appeal process would be like.

We looked at the elevation certificate and something seemed off and it was. You see the property had been listed as a subgrade crawlspace instead of an elevated building for almost 5 years.

When this correction was made it ended up being a difference of $2500 a year for the client. However that was not the best part you see FEMA has whats called a 5 year look back period. So the customer ended up getting back over $10,000 from the incorrect FEMA policy.

This property owner had been trying to sell their home for almost 3 years. However what had stopped most buyers was the flood insurance being $3500 a year. Now with a flood insurance premium of less than a $1000 a year it was a different story. In late 2019 this property owner was able to transfer their flood policy to the new buyer and get closed on the home.

This was a happy ending to pretty rough flood insurance situation. However there are many property owners out there that have no idea that their flood insurance policy might be wrong. Not only can this impact the price but it could have an impact if a claim is filed.

So what do you need to do as a property owner?

Well its always recommended to get a flood analysis done your property by a flood insurance expert. This analysis normally includes

1. Verifying the elevations
2. Verifying the foundation
3. Verifying the flood zone

We are not saying that you are going to save thousands like this property owner did, but could you imagine being overcharged by $500 a year for the last 3 years. That could be a lot of money.

So if you have questions about reviewing these things or looking at different flood insurance options then make sure to visit our website. You can also check out our daily flood education videos on our YouTube channel or Facebook page.