Franklin Indiana Gets New Flood maps

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.