Flood Map changes are happening everyday. Federal Emergency Management Agency and NFIP are updating flood maps as quick as possible. However not all areas get updated the same amount of time.

 

 

Before we look at some of these changes in Franklin Indiana let's start off with a little flood joke.

What do girlfriends, boyfriends, and flood map changes have in common? Not all change is bad!ha! ha!

The recent flood map change in Franklin Indiana took place on January 29, 2021. This was the first flood map change in the area by the National Flood Insurance Program since 2007.

Updating flood maps is no short process. Flood Insurance studies have to take place, then they have to be reviewed and changes have to be recommended. Then the community has to review these changes and get the communities feed back. We have seen some floodplain maps go 25 years without being updated.

When these changes occur it means that the base flood elevation is changing.

What is the base flood elevation?

 

It could be going up or it could be going down. Either way it can have a major impact on property owners like it has in the Franklin Indiana and Johnson county Indiana area.

When these flood plain maps are updated future flood risk is considered and so is the source for flood. Many times these changes can lower or increase the current flood risk.

So how does all this impact property owners and flood rate insurance? Well it can have a major impact on flood insurances rates and flood insurance requirements.

Franklin Indiana Flood Map Changes

If you are currently required to carry flood insurance in Franklin Indiana then you could see your current flood rate change.

When these changes occur in the Franklin community or other communities its important to understand the community floodplain map and digital flood insurance rate maps if there are any.

Today we are going to look at the good, bad, and ugly flood zone changes. It is important to understand that not all changes are bad for property values. 

Let's look at the good changes first. We are talking about properties that might be removed from the flood plain or from the special flood hazard area.

This generally means you are going from the 100 year flood zone to the 500 year flood zone. Some people refer to this as going from flood zone A or AE to flood zone X. When these changes occur historical flood events are reviewed as well as the degree of flood that occurred.

What is flood zone X?

 

These updates will normally show on the flood insurance rate maps also known as the FIRM. The good news is when this happens the flood insurance requirements on the property on normally removed. Does this mean you should not get flood insurance through the NFIP or federal flood insurance? Not all as recent flood damage has shown us flooding can happen anywhere and at anytime. The costs of floods have significantly increased over the last 10 years.

Even if you are not in the 100 year flood area on the current flood map you should still consider purchasing flood insurance.

There are a few flood insurance options which we will discuss later.

Franklin Indiana Flood Zones

Let's look at the bad flood zone changes at least on property value. We are talking about properties that have recently been placed in the special flood hazard area. These are properties that normally went from flood zone x to flood zone a or flood zone AE.

When this happens the flood insurance requirements will change here and NFIP will now require flood insurance if there is a mortgage on the property. These properties could hav also changed flood zones if the floodplain changed or if the base flood elevation changed.

Changing of the base flood elevation means the 100 year flood threat could have changed. This is the level FEMA or NFIP feels that flood waters could come to.

Now let's look at the ugly flood zone changes. These could be properties that are moving from flood zone A to flood zone AE or even flood zone AE to flood zone V.

What is Flood Zone AE?

 

When this occurs many times a new base flood elevation has been established.

Understanding where you are located on the floodplain maps can be very important especially when it comes to possibly getting a letter of map amendment.

Remember this is when you get a special exception to have the property removed from the special flood hazard area.

In doing this there are normally a few things that are required like a property deed, elevation certificate, and a copy of the tax plot.

This is also the process to fight these flood map changes.

Flood Insurance Options

Now let's look at the flood insurance options. We have discussed the NFIP or the National Flood Insurance Program. This is also known as the federal flood insurance program. It offers building coverage up to $250,000 on residential buildings and $100,000 in contents coverage. If you have a government loan like FHA or VA this might be the only option for flood insurance. Now let's look at private flood insurance.

Private flood insurance in the Franklin Indiana area has had a lot of changes over the last 10 years. Now there can be multiple options available that could offer a lower price and higher amounts of coverage on flood insurance policies.

If you are working with a Franklin Insurance Agency you want to make sure they have private flood insurance options available for you.

So if you have further questions about flood insurance, flood maps, or fight the flood zones in Franklin Indiana then make sure to click here.

You can also visit our YouTube channel where we do daily flood education videos.

Remember we have an educational background in flood mitigation, which means we are here to help you understand flood risks, flood insurance, and mitigating your property long term.

Will my NFIP or FEMA flood insurance pay out in Alabama?

It's a question we get from property owners in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, Anniston, and Huntsville Alabama everyday.

 

What is a Flood?

We are specifically looking at what the National Flood Insurance Program or NFIP and how they define a flood. In regards to private flood insurance in Alabama they normally follow the same guidelines for defining what is considered a flood.

According the NFIP manual a flood is defined as a normal dry area that is inundated with water. It specifically states that it must be 2 acres or 2 parcels.

When taking out a flood insurance policy many property owners are confused about coverages. They also are confused about what the real risk of flooding exist.

 

 

Alabama Flooding

Growing up in Birmingham Alabama I can tell you the flood threat exists across Alabama. I remember watching the Vestavia bowling alley parking lot flood every time it rains. Flood damage in these areas was very common but many times not filed as a flood insurance claims.

This occurred many times as flash flooding in the area. Many areas like South Shades Creek or the Cahaba River could rise quickly.

After the 2019 flooding in Alabama some people on Lake Logan Martin were surprised to find out they didn't have flood insurance coverage for things like docks.

Whether you live in a low risk, moderate risk, or high risk flood zone it's important to know if your flood insurance policy will actually pay out on a claim.

It's important to know that generally most homeowners insurance policies will not cover flood.

So what exactly does FEMA or NFIP consider a parcel? According to the NFIP manual a parcel can be considered a roadway if it touches another property. This is important to understand if your home is the only building flooded. You want to make sure flood coverage you pay for would actually pay out.

So if coverages do pay out after a flood in Alabama what does flood insurance cover? It depends if you have a private flood insurance policy or an NFIP policy. Coverages provided can be different. Let's look at coverages that can be provided on an NFIP flood insurance policy.

• Building coverage
• Contents coverage (Personal property)

Depending on what coverages you select flood insurance costs could range and you could end up with affordable flood insurance. NFIP offers up to $250,000 on residential buildings and up to $100,000 on contents coverage.

Just because policies have a certain amount of coverage does not mean you would receive that on a flood insurance claim.

NFIP has an 80% rule when paying out claims. This means in order to have replacement cost on the building in Alabama you have to insure for 80% of replacement cost or get the max amount of building coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program. Many private flood insurance companies also have this guideline.

 

We have actually seen some private flood insurance companies require 90% of the replacement cost and not look at the max amount of coverage available.

Contents coverage on flood insurance policies work a little bit differently in Alabama. If doing a flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program these are written on an actual cash value basis.

March first with awareness on these flood insurance rate map updates.

Palmetto

In the recent March 2021 Flood Map Update, Beaufort County, S.C. received the highest impact of 18.8% for this flood change. 104,942 properties that were studied had 32, 510 (In to In) and 1, 482 (Out to In) of them are in the SFHA. This means that even more properties are moving into Flood Zone A and AE.

Mossy Oaks for example, despite having projects to properly mitigate everyone's property from flood damage, should still look out since this percentage (just for this month) may increase moving forward. In 2017, news were filled of its flooding due to rainfall from Hurricane Irma. 

A year before Irma, Hurricane Matthew also brought devastating flood onto Hilton Head Island bringing devastating flood water to the island. Matthew started on September 28, but the only road access to Hilton Head Island was not reopened until October 11 of the same year.

Now we've looked at the lenses of history, let's look into the good, the bad, and the ugly changes for Hilton Head Island and see how much this will affect flood insurance rates as well as your flood insurance options.

The Good

In this latest Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) update, there's around 18,000 Hilton Head Island residents that were inside the Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) are now being moved out to preferred flood zones or lower risk flood zones compared to the SFHA. This movement is what we call "In to Out".

In to Out means that residents who are being moved into Flood Zone X will have their banks no longer require a flood insurance policy with their property. This is really helpful for those with multiple non-primary residence property or buildings since that costs more and generally has a separate flood insurance policy. Still, we do recommend that you maintain a flood insurance policy for your property as we've seen in latest news how much a small rainfall can create flood damage for days on end.

There might be cases as well that certain residents are being moved from a higher flood risk zone to a lower one, like Flood Zone AE to Flood Zone A or Flood Zone V to Flood Zone AE. This also means that the further way you get from the blue area which is the color of the SFHA, you'll get a decrease in your flood insurance premium.

Considering how the Risk Rating 2.0 updates have significantly increased the NFIP flood policy premium, this movement can really be helpful for these Hilton Head residents.

The Bad

Bad news for about 1,500 residents of Hilton Head though since they're moving "out to in" which means they were in preferred flood zones like Flood Zone X and now has been moved into high risk flood zones. This means that your bank and the National Flood Insurance Program will require you to get flood insurance for your property owners in these zones. You can learn more on these flood zones by checking our content below.

If your community is currently in the NFIP Participating Community then it's your best shot at reducing the higher flood insurance premiums as a Hilton Head Island resident. This is because the Community Rating System (CRS) can really be helpful in providing discounts from 5 to 40 percent for the government-backed flood insurance policies.

Participating community benefits are really helpful since you'll have access to the NFIP flood insurance policy, the government's disaster assistance and grants. You can always reach out to your elected officials over at the city hall or your flood plain management to check on your community's current standing when it comes to participating in the NFIP.

The Ugly

Even worse news for the 31% of the residents in the island though since the recent update moved them from "in to in". This is really ugly since you're already in a high risk flood zone and you're being moved to a higher risk flood zones. This generally means that residents are being moved from Flood Zone A to Flood Zone AE which is known as 100-year flood zone or even the coastal zones like Flood Zone V.

This definitely means that you're going to receive drastic increase in your premium with the National Flood Insurance Program policy. More than the threat storm surge for being moved into coastal flood zone, this is really something to look out for since these increases will really hurt your wallet.

Flood Insurance Options

Let's say you're in an area where there's only one annual chance flood for the every 100 years, you shouldn't be taking it easy as base-flood elevation seems to increase every year as well. This means that even if you're in a preferred zone, it's better to have flood insurance with your property regardless.

We've mentioned becoming a participating community with the National Flood Insurance Program which provides a flood insurance policy that can cover you for up to $250,000 for your property and $100,000 for your contents. However it's important to note that there'll be a strict waiting period for both your flood insurance purchase and flood insurance claims. The NFIP also doesn't provide "additional living expenses" for non-Presidentially declared disaster. When it comes to flood insurance premiums, this can go from $800 to $2000 depending on which flood zone your property is in.

The good thing about the NFIP is that they don't choose their risks and will provide flood insurance coverage regardless whereas private flood may choose to cancel or non-renew these policies they have due to the area having too much of a high risk in flooding.

On the other hand, there's also the private flood insurance market which can provide property/building insurance of up to $10,000,000 coverage. Their content coverage of up to $500,000 plus replacement costs and additional living expenses. Additional living expenses means that whatever the costs you're going to need as your property is being renovated or repaired is going to be covered by the private insurance company. The overall processing time for purchase and claim are significantly faster as well since private flood doesn't have to go through all the red tape that the government requires before giving out flood insurance claims.

At the end of the day, any owner should be prepared even before any flooding happens. Remember, if you have any questions on flood insurance, flood insurance rates or premiums, how to check your flood zone, how to cancel your NFIP policy, or anything about flood, please feel free to reach out to us through our links below: