Georgia is getting a lot of new flood insurance rate maps just for this month. This type of change can really be impactful to your flood policy as a property owner.

In this article, we cover the third county that received a flood insurance study and is getting a new flood map for January 26th, 2023. We talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly changes coming to Hancock County and how you can fight these changes.

Hancock County & Floods

Although Hancock County doesn't become a headline when it comes to flooding, this does not mean that the community won't get flooded. Just last week, its neighboring Athens-Clarke County experienced what just might be one of the surprises at the start of the year.

This came in the form of 3 tornadoes that went past Georgia on the first week of January. The results? Well, you will be seeing multiple road closures as it became impassable due to flooding. This even came to a point where a sinkhole opened up and swallowed a whole car.

If this type of weather condition continues, this sinkhole is expected to get bigger according to Clarke County Public Works' Wayne Mead.

This type of event is one of the biggest examples of how flooding can really catch you off guard. So, what are the changes coming to flood zones in Hancock County?

Flood Map Update of January 2023

Before we jump into the actual Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) preliminary flood map update for Hancock, we first need to address a few things when it comes to the flood study in the county.

First, it's important that we note here that the effective flood map for the Hancock area was from almost 13 years ago. You can say that flood hazards might have changed in the last decade.

Another thing to mention here is that with Risk Rating 2.0, flood zones are no longer a basis for measuring your flood insurance premium. Instead, the new Risk Rating 2.0 program only uses flood zones as a means to determine whether or not a property will have flood insurance requirements.

Now, this is very important to keep in mind especially since there will be properties that where a flood policy will no longer be required. However, this doesn't guarantee that it will not get flooded. So, let's dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly changes with this new flood map for Hancock, Georgia.

The Good

In order to understand this change, first, you need to know why we call it a "good" change.

This is because this part involves what FEMA calls the "in to out" movement of properties. This generally indicates that a property is currently in the special flood hazard areas (SFHA) in the current flood map being used by the community, and it's now being moved into a lower-risk area. Some would call this moving to a flood zone X.

This good change will be impacting only 206 properties in Hancock. This means that if you're one of the property owners experiencing this change, you will no longer be required to carry a flood policy with your property.

Although this can really help in saving you a lot of money, it just might be a big risk financially long-term. In FEMA's report, at least 25% of the flood claims they receive come from these low-risk flood zones or what was historically called as the preferred flood zones.

This only goes to show that being in a low-risk flood zone doesn't mean that you're in a no-risk flood zone. There's still a good chance that your property might get flooded.

The Bad

Next up, is the bad change that some property owners will experience. In FEMA's new flood insurance rate map for Hancock, around 476 properties that are not in the SFHA will now be moved into the SFHA or a high-risk flood zone. You can see this moving to flood zone A or some people would say being mapped into a flood zone.

One of the big things that might change when it comes to your flood insurance is that being moved into the SFHA and experiencing this "out to in" movement also means that you will start to see a flood insurance requirement with your property.

In basic terms, in a few days, after this new flood map goes live on January 26th, you might start to see your mortgage company or bank requiring you to buy flood insurance for the property.

The Ugly

Lastly, we have the ugly change coming to Hancock, Georgia. This change involves properties that are going to experience the "in to in" movement.

The "in to in" movement is what we generally consider as the ugly change that new flood map updates bring as this means that a property is already in a high-risk area or high-risk flood zone (like flood zone A) and they are being moved deeper into the SFHA; into a higher-risk area.

Some would call this moving from flood zone A to flood zone AE.

Although this will no longer impact your flood insurance premiums or rates, this type of flood determination movement can still impact you negatively as mortgages will be stricter when it comes to mandatory flood insurance purchases for property owners experiencing this change.

In the case of Hancock residents, at least 2,006 properties will be experiencing this type of movement.

Now that we've covered the changes from this new Hancock flood map, let's talk about how you can fight these changes.

Fighting Flood Zone Changes

One of the first things to keep in mind when it comes to this is that this flood determination is not final. Generally, you can still have your flood zone changed if you feel like you are being mapped into an incorrect flood zone.

To do this, you need a letter of map amendment to help you out.

A Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) is an official document that's issued by FEMA to process the change of a flood zone designation for a property. A LOMA is achieved after a successful application for a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) thru FEMA's official website.

It helps to have the necessary information and documents when applying for a LOMA. One of the helpful supporting documents you can provide is an elevation certification. Although elevation certificates are no longer required — especially with the recent update to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Risk Rating 2.0 — this can really help a lot in proving the validity of your request to be mapped out of a high-risk area.

An elevation certificate will show a more accurate representation of your property such as its risks from flood water, base flood elevation, its exact distance from your lowest habitational floor, and other relevant information.

Once you get a LOMA secured for your property and have your property removed from the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), that's the time when the mandatory flood insurance purchase will also be removed.

Before You Cancel Your Flood Policy

Although having the option to remove your property from the SFHA can really help your case financially, it's still important to note that having a flood insurance policy intact can be more helpful for you in the long run.

Having the right flood protection from your home can help you bounce back from losses and damages of flood inundation, avoid bankruptcy, and be able to enjoy life to the fullest. 

You might be wondering about your flood insurance options by now. 

 

Flood Insurance Options for Georgia

You have two options when it comes to buying flood insurance: the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or also known as, federal flood insurance, and you also have Private Flood Insurance.

If you want to know the difference between these two options especially when it comes to building coverage, contents coverage or coverage for personal property, and more, WATCH THE VIDEO below.

GET FLOOD INSURANCE

Nowadays, flood insurance is a must because flood damage can happen anywhere. As we always say, all properties should have coverage from flooding since floods can happen anywhere even in places that aren't considered high-risk areas for flooding.

Getting the right flood coverage with your home can really help you reduce the impacts of flood risk and bounce back from a natural disaster like this.

So if you have additional questions that are related to flooding and flood insurance, make sure to visit our Flood Learning Center where we try to answer all your questions. Click below to start your flood learning with us!

Let's start simplifying your flood insurance. You only need to follow our three easy steps:

• Fill out this form — Get A Quote
• Talk with our flood education specialist.
• Get back to the important things in your life.

 

Georgia is about to see a lot of changes with their flood maps for different communities just this month. Let's talk about the good, bad, and ugly changes coming to Putnam County with its new flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs) on January 26th, 2023.

New Flood Maps for Georgia

As flooding constantly changes and floodplain devolvement increases, we can easily expect some changes to flood zones for property owners across the country. This is especially true for multiple counties in Georgia such as Morgan, Hancock, and Putnam County.

READ MORE: Morgan County Flood Map Update for January 2023.

 

We have seen how some cities in Georgia will easily get flooded with just 1 to 4 inches of rain. Just a few days ago, this was the case for some parts of the state after continuous bad weather dumped around 2 to 4 inches of rain in the course of 24 hours. This weather event alone caused multiple road closures and one road in Athens even opened up a sinkhole that swallowed a car whole.

This recent incident just shows how prone flooding the state can be. Such events can also impact how the government approaches flood risk and even flood zones. So let's talk about the changes to flood zones in Putnam County. 

The Good

First, let's look at the good impacts of this new flood insurance rate map (FIRM) for Putnam County. It's important to note here that the current flood map Putnam County is using was from 15 years ago. You can easily say that this update to understanding the risk of flooding for the county is long overdue.

To understand the good changes, we first need to talk about the movement involved in properties impacted by this change in this new flood hazard map. When we say "good", we talk about the "In To Out" movement. This means that properties impacted that are in the special flood hazard area (SFHA) or high-risk areas will be mapped into a lower-risk zone. Some would call this moving into flood zone X.

For Putnam County, around 1,312 properties are going to experience this "In To Out" type of movement. One of the biggest impacts of this is that flood insurance requirements will no longer apply to the property.

The Bad

Now, let's talk about the exact opposite of this movement which involves the "Out To In" movement in this preliminary flood map from FEMA.

We call this a bad change because this means that 607 properties in Putnam County will be moved from a low-risk area and mapped into a high-risk area like Flood Zone A. Properties in the special flood hazard area (SFHA) will start to see mandatory flood insurance requirements. This is generally set by your mortgage lender and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Although being in a high-risk flood zone won't really impact your premium rates, this can easily add up to your budget and expenses especially if you don't already have a flood insurance policy active with your home.

The Ugly

Lastly, we have what we call an ugly change. This is where properties will be moving "In To In" wherein property owners that are already in the SFHA will be moved into a higher-risk flood zone. For example, this could be the same as being in flood zone A and being mapped into a flood zone AE.

From FEMA's flood studies and this upcoming flood map, we can see that at least 5,055 properties out of 19,000 properties will be experiencing this change. That means that at least 26% of structures in Putnam County will be experiencing the "In To In" movement.

If we were to add up the bad and ugly changes, we see that around thirty percent of homes in Putnam communities will be required to carry flood insurance.

How To Fight Flood Map Changes

Changing Your Flood Zone

Let's just say you have a property that's mapped into a low-risk flood zone like flood zone X, this doesn't mean that that building will stay in that zone forever. This is especially true as flooding impacts how flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) work.

Sometimes, when a flood insurance rate map update comes to your community, this could mean that you might see your property get moved into a high-risk area like flood zone A or flood zone AE. Having your property or building mapped into a high-risk flood area generally results in a mandatory purchase of flood insurance.

To see your revisions to your community's flood maps, you can CLICK HERE to visit the official website for FEMA flood insurance rate map (FIRM) changes.

This requirement might come from your mortgage lender or the state law itself such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) standards. But, what if you know that your property shouldn't be in a high-risk flood zone? How do you fight these changes?

This is where what's called a Letter Of Map Amendment (LOMA) comes in to save the day.

Letter Of Map Amendment

A Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) is an official document that's issued by FEMA to process the change of a flood zone designation for a property.

An elevation certificate will show a more accurate representation of your property such as its risks from flood water, base flood elevation, its exact distance from your lowest habitational floor, and other relevant information. A LOMA is achieved after a successful application for a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) thru FEMA's official website.

It helps to have the necessary information and documents when applying for a LOMA. One of the helpful supporting documents you can provide is an elevation certification.

Although elevation certificates are no longer required — especially with the recent update to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Risk Rating 2.0 — this can really help a lot in proving the validity of your request to be mapped out of a high-risk area.

Flood REMINDER

So these are the good, the bad, and the ugly changes coming to Putnam. When it comes to actual flood risks, the reality is that even low-risk flood zones can be flooded too. This also means that getting a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) done won't guarantee that your home no longer has flood risks.

This is why we still encourage property owners to get flood insurance coverage for their property. A single flood policy will be able to provide building and contents coverage, so both the structure and your personal property inside it will have flood protection.

If you have questions regarding flood zones, flood insurance, or anything flood-related, click below to access our Flood Learning Center to get your answers.

Ready to start simplifying your flood insurance? Just follow these three simple steps:

• Fill out this form —
• Talk with our flood education specialist.
• Get back to the important things in your life.

Once upon a time, both flood zone and flood insurance rate map were the bases for flood risks and flood insurance rates. This recently changed, especially with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), with the Risk Rating 2.0 program. However, this doesn't mean that flood zones no longer matter when it comes to flood insurance in the United States.

If flood zones no longer matter when getting your premium rates, then what is it good for? In this blog, we will talk about the changing flood maps in Morgan County, Georgia, and discuss the good, bad, and ugly impacts of this new FEMA flood map coming to the county on January 26th, 2023.

Georgia Floods

Georgia is no stranger to flood damage. Last year, at the start of October 2022, the state faced a huge flood hurdle as rainfall amounts exceeded the average rainfall amounts every October. This was on October 4th, 2022. The National Weather Service (NWS) immediately issued flash flood warnings across the state they were expecting 2 to 5 inches of rain to get dumped on the state within that week. Central Georgia specifically is under close watch from the NWS during this weather pattern.

This is just one of the most recent battles that the state had when it comes to flood risks.

Just five days ago from the time of writing, on January 4th, 2023, multiple parts of Georgia faced flooding which cause a lot of road closures. At one point, this caused a sinkhole to be opened up and swallow a car whole in the Athens area. This happened overnight with rainfall ranging from 1 to 4 inches.

This type of weather can really give you an idea of an area's flood profile. So, what does this mean for flood zone designation in Morgan County, GA?

The Good

First, it's important to acknowledge that flood zones just don't determine the true flood risk of a property. This is the same reminder even for those who will be moving out of the special flood hazard area (SFHA) with this new FEMA flood map for Morgan County.

In FEMA's report, around 584 properties are expected to experience an "in to out" movement in this new floodplain map. This means that these property owners will no longer be required to carry a flood policy with their property. 

However, being moved out of the SFHA and into a low-risk flood zone like Flood Zone X doesn't really mean that you won't ever get flooded. This is why it's best to really maintain that flood insurance policy.

The Bad

If there are good changes, there will also be some bad ones. In this case, we will also see some bad impacts of this new FEMA flood insurance rate map on Morgan County residents.

This comes in the form of what's called an "out to in" movement which will impact around 178 properties in Morgan County. This means that properties with their previous locations outside of the SFHA will be moved into it. Some would call this moving into a flood zone or being mapped to a Flood Zone A. 

Although this won't really impact premium rates directly, this is where you will start seeing a mandatory flood insurance requirement for the properties impacted by this movement. This is because flood insurance is required for properties that are located in the SFHA.

So, if you're one of the property owners impacted by the bad change, you can expect your mortgage lender or FEMA to inform you that you're required to carry a flood policy with your home.

The Ugly

Lastly, we have the ugly changes. We call this ugly because this is where the "in to in" movement takes place.

"In to In" means that properties impacted will be moving deeper into the SFHA and into a higher-risk flood zone. This is generally concerning properties that are already in the SFHA, like Flood Zone A, and they are being moved to something like Flood Zone AE. With FEMA's new version of the flood map for Morgan County, this will be impacting at least 2,023 properties.

Same with the bad change, this means that mortgage lenders and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) themselves will be stricter when it comes to mandatory flood insurance for properties.

 

How To Fight Flood Map Changes

Changing Your Flood Zone

Let's just say you have a property that's mapped into a low-risk flood zone like flood zone X, this doesn't mean that that building will stay in that zone forever. This is especially true as flooding impacts how flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) work.

Sometimes, when a flood insurance rate map update comes to your community, this could mean that you might see your property get moved into a high-risk area like flood zone A or flood zone AE. Having your property or building mapped into a high-risk flood area generally results in a mandatory purchase of flood insurance.

To see your revisions to your community's flood maps, you can CLICK HERE to visit the official website for FEMA flood insurance rate map (FIRM) changes.

This requirement might come from your mortgage lender or the state law itself such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) standards. But, what if you know that your property shouldn't be in a high-risk flood zone? How do you fight these changes?

This is where what's called a Letter Of Map Amendment (LOMA) comes in to save the day.

Letter Of Map Amendment

A Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) is an official document that's issued by FEMA to process the change of a flood zone designation for a property.

An elevation certificate will show a more accurate representation of your property such as its risks from flood water, base flood elevation, its exact distance from your lowest habitational floor, and other relevant information. A LOMA is achieved after a successful application for a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) thru FEMA's official website.

It helps to have the necessary information and documents when applying for a LOMA. One of the helpful supporting documents you can provide is an elevation certification.

Although elevation certificates are no longer required — especially with the recent update to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Risk Rating 2.0 — this can really help a lot in proving the validity of your request to be mapped out of a high-risk area.

Flood REMINDER

So these are the good, the bad, and the ugly changes coming to Kaufman Co. When it comes to actual flood risks, the reality is that even low-risk flood zones can be flooded too. This also means that getting a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) done won't guarantee that your home no longer has flood risks.

This is why we still encourage property owners to get flood insurance coverage for their property. A single flood policy will be able to provide building and contents coverage, so both the structure and your personal property inside it will have flood protection.

If you have questions regarding flood zones, flood insurance, or anything flood-related, click below to access our Flood Learning Center to get your answers.

Ready to start simplifying your flood insurance? Just follow these three simple steps:

• Fill out this form —
• Talk with our flood education specialist.
• Get back to the important things in your life.

 

As we welcome the new year of 2023, we also welcome the changing flood industry. One of these changes coming this month is for flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) or simply known as flood maps.

In this blog, we talk about why it's important to know the changes to the communities in Kaufman County, the flood hazard determinations with these new maps, and the good, bad, and ugly changes that this new flood map may bring to residents of Kaufman County in Texas.

Texas and Floods

Texas is no stranger to floods. If we look back to 2022, we can easily see this ring true as areas like Dallas-Fort Worth experienced one of the deadliest floodings in the state. This was caused by continuous heavy rain that dumped around 15 inches of rain in the area which started on August 21st.

Dallas firefighters responded to 195 high-water incidents across the city of Dallas with 39 rescues being carried out. On the other hand, Fort Worth firefighters responded to 174 rescues and other high-water incidents. All of these in just mere 24 hours.

Kaufman County, on the other hand, had a similar experience in May of 2022 although not in the same severity. This is when drenching rain flooded Kaufman Co. which caused South Washington Street to be closed temporarily.

As one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas, seeing an 18% boost in population between 2019 and 2021, it's important to be aware of how these events could impact the area and how it changes flood risks for residents.

So, let's talk about the new flood maps coming to Kaufman Co. and what it means for your flood insurance moving forward. It's important to note that these reports coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be based on their flood insurance study.

The Good

Let's start off with the good things that we're seeing with this new flood map. We're seeing around 60 properties that will be experiencing an "in to out" movement.

This means that there are around 60 properties that are currently mapped into the special flood hazard areas (SFHA) and they are getting mapped out of it. In simpler terms, this could also mean that these properties are moving out of a high-risk flood zone or some would call this moving into flood zone X.

Now, why is this a good thing? For one, this means that mandatory flood insurance purchases will no longer be required for these properties as low-risk flood zones like flood zone X aren't required to have flood insurance with the property.

Although flood zones no longer impact flood insurance costs especially when it comes to premium rates, you should still have a flood policy ready to cover you from flood damage even if you're in a low-risk zone. This is important to remember especially since at least 25% of flood claims with FEMA come from these low-risk areas.

Simply put, even low-risk flood zones like flood zone X will still get flooded at some point in time or given the right conditions.

The Bad

Now, let's move to the bad changes which are indicated by an "out to in" movement. As the direct opposite of the good,  this means that we're looking at properties that are going to be moved into a high-risk flood zone when originally they were in a low-risk flood zone. Some would call this "moving into a flood zone" or being mapped into flood zone A.

According to FEMA's new flood map, only 12 properties will be experiencing this movement. This also means that if you experience this out to in movement, you'll be required by the state and your mortgage or bank to get a flood insurance policy with the property as it's moved to a special flood hazard area (SFHA).

Historically, this type of change can mean that you will see an increase in your flood insurance risk and an increase in your premium rates. This is because, with National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) before, flood zones are one of the main basis for premium rates. 

The Ugly

Lastly, we have the "in to in" movement. This generally indicates that a property that's already in the SFHA will be moved deeper into it. This could mean that you're currently in flood zone A and now you're being moved into flood zone AE. This is expected to impact 1830 properties in Kaufman County when the flood map of January 12th kicks in.

This movement generally also indicates an increase in your risk of flooding the property. This can also mean that you may see some stricter flood insurance requirements and a change in your overall flood risk as well. 

How To Fight Flood Map Changes

Changing Your Flood Zone

Let's just say you have a property that's mapped into a low-risk flood zone like flood zone X, this doesn't mean that that building will stay in that zone forever. This is especially true as flooding impacts how flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) work.

Sometimes, when a flood insurance rate map update comes to your community, this could mean that you might see your property get moved into a high-risk area like flood zone A or flood zone AE. Having your property or building mapped into a high-risk flood area generally results in a mandatory purchase of flood insurance.

To see your revisions to your community's flood maps, you can CLICK HERE to visit the official website for FEMA flood insurance rate map (FIRM) changes.

This requirement might come from your mortgage lender or the state law itself such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) standards. But, what if you know that your property shouldn't be in a high-risk flood zone? How do you fight these changes?

This is where what's called a Letter Of Map Amendment (LOMA) comes in to save the day.

Letter Of Map Amendment

A Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) is an official document that's issued by FEMA to process the change of a flood zone designation for a property.

An elevation certificate will show a more accurate representation of your property such as its risks from flood water, base flood elevation, its exact distance from your lowest habitational floor, and other relevant information. A LOMA is achieved after a successful application for a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) thru FEMA's official website.

It helps to have the necessary information and documents when applying for a LOMA. One of the helpful supporting documents you can provide is an elevation certification.

Although elevation certificates are no longer required — especially with the recent update to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Risk Rating 2.0 — this can really help a lot in proving the validity of your request to be mapped out of a high-risk area.

 

Flood REMINDER

So these are the good, the bad, and the ugly changes coming to Kaufman Co. When it comes to actual flood risks, the reality is that even low-risk flood zones can be flooded too. This also means that getting a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) done won't guarantee that your home no longer has flood risks.

This is why we still encourage property owners to get flood insurance coverage for their property. A single flood policy will be able to provide building and contents coverage, so both the structure and your personal property inside it will have flood protection.

If you have questions regarding flood zones, flood insurance, or anything flood-related, click below to access our Flood Learning Center to get your answers.

Ready to start simplifying your flood insurance? Just follow these three simple steps:

• Fill out this form —
• Talk with our flood education specialist.
• Get back to the important things in your life.

Risk Rating 2.0 is a new tool developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to determine whether communities are at risk from flooding.

This tool uses a combination of data sources to identify areas where flooding is likely to occur and the same data will also be the basis for your premium rate.

One of the biggest things that this new rating system won't take into account when it comes to premium rates is flood zones. How will this impact these new flood map updates?

Walworth, Wisconsin

Walworth, Wisconsin experienced significant flooding in 2018 and 2019. The floods were caused by a combination of heavy rains and melting snow. The 2018 floods damaged homes, businesses, and infrastructure, and forced many residents to evacuate.

The 2019 floods were even more destructive, causing nearly $2 billion in damage and resulting in the death of one person. In response to the floods, the State of Wisconsin has implemented a number of flood mitigation measures. These measures include constructing levees and floodwalls, dredging rivers and streams, and creating wetlands.

However, it is unclear whether these measures will be sufficient to protect against future floods. In 2022, Wisconsin experienced another series of devastating floods. These floods caused $4.5 billion in damage and resulted in the death

This type of history with flooding is only bound to expect to see major flood map changes. Today, we want to talk about the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly changes coming to flood maps of Walworth County, Wisconsin this April 6th, 2022.

The Good

When it comes to the good changes in flood map updates, this generally falls into the "in to out movement". It's called this way because a property that's in a high-risk flood zone will be moved out to a low-risk flood zone like Flood Zone X.

This is a good thing for 151 property owners impacted by this movement in Walworth County. This simply means that your property is being removed from the special flood hazard area (SFHA). This is a significant number because generally, we see fewer properties moving out from a high-risk zone whenever there are new flood insurance rate maps.

This also means that due to the lower risks, your mortgage company will no longer require you to carry flood insurance on your property.

Although we'd love to tell you to cancel that policy, get your refund, and save more money by removing flood insurance from your expenses, it's still a bad idea to not have flood insurance.

The Bad

Now, let's move into the bad changes which are coming in form of the aforementioned "out to in movement". This change is expected to impact only 75 properties in Walworth, Wisconsin. Think of it as getting mapped to a Flood Zone A when you were previously in a Flood Zone X.

Although this doesn't really impact premium rates directly, it's important to note that Flood Zone A generally means that the area doesn't have a base flood elevation.

Being part of this change can still hurt your premium rates regardless of whether you're doing a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy or a private flood insurance one.

Properties in Flood Zone A, SFHA, or any high-risk zone are also required to carry flood insurance always.

The Ugly

Lastly, we have the ugly change or "in to in movement" which covers the largest impact on this flood map update for the county. At least 2,063 properties will retain their flood zone. This means that if you're in Flood Zone AE, you will stay there until the next flood map update. Think of it as moving from a Flood Zone A to a Flood Zone AE. 

If you're staying in your flood zone this means that you will also retain the same flood insurance rates since your risks stay the same. On the other hand, if you fall into being moved deeper into the SFHA, which indicates that you're facing a higher risk for flooding, you will also see your premium rates increase significantly.

Now, let's talk about your flood insurance options in Walworth County. Watch the video below to know the difference between the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Private Flood Insurance market.

Flood insurance is important now more than ever as we face higher risks for floods. You don't want to be blindsided by all that floodwater and find yourself in a lot of losses.

If you want to learn more about flood insurance in Wisconsin, flood mitigation, or anything related to flood insurance, click below to go to our Flood Learning Center:

You can also click below to call us:

Risk Rating 2.0 is a new tool developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to determine whether communities are at risk from flooding.

This tool uses a combination of data sources to identify areas where flooding is likely to occur and the same data will also be the basis for your premium rate.

One of the biggest things that this new rating system won't take into account when it comes to premium rates is flood zones. However, it is still important to be aware of new flood maps updates as this represents both where flooding can happen and where flood insurance is required.

Surry County

Surry County, Virginia has a long history of flooding. The county is located in the southeastern part of the state, on the Virginia-North Carolina border. The county is home to the Great Dismal Swamp, which is a large wetland that is prone to flooding. The area has also been hit by several hurricanes over the years, which have caused significant flooding.

In recent years, Surry County has been hit by two major floods: one in 2003 and one in 2016. Both of these floods caused significant damage to homes and businesses in the county.

This type of history with flooding is only bound to expect to see major flood map changes. Today, we want to talk about the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly changes coming to flood maps of Surry County, Virginia this April 6th, 2022.

The Good

When it comes to the good changes in flood map updates, this generally falls into the "in to out movement". It's called this way because a property that's in a high-risk flood zone will be moved out to a low-risk flood zone like Flood Zone X.

This is a good thing for only 31 property owners impacted by this movement in Surry County. This simply means that your property is being removed from the special flood hazard area (SFHA).

This also means that due to the lower risks, your mortgage company will no longer require you to carry flood insurance on your property.

Although we'd love to tell you to cancel that policy, get your refund, and save more money by removing flood insurance from your expenses, it's still a bad idea to not have flood insurance.

The Bad

Now, let's move into the bad changes which are coming in form of the aforementioned "out to in movement". This change is expected to impact about 293 properties in Surry County, Virginia. Think of it as getting mapped to a Flood Zone A when you were previously in a Flood Zone X.

Although this doesn't really impact premium rates directly, it's important to note that Flood Zone A generally means that the area doesn't have a base flood elevation.

Being part of this change can still hurt your premium rates regardless of whether you're doing a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy or a private flood insurance one.

Properties in Flood Zone A, SFHA, or any high-risk zone are also required to carry flood insurance always.

The Ugly

Lastly, we have the ugly change or "in to in movement" which covers the largest impact on this flood map update for the county. At least 968 properties will retain their flood zone. This means that if you're in Flood Zone AE, you will stay there until the next flood map update. Think of it as moving from a Flood Zone A to a Flood Zone AE. 

If you're staying in your flood zone this means that you will also retain the same flood insurance rates since your risks stay the same. On the other hand, if you fall into being moved deeper into the SFHA, which indicates that you're facing a higher risk for flooding, you will also see your premium rates increase significantly.

Now, let's talk about your flood insurance options in Surry County. Watch the video below to know the difference between the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Private Flood Insurance market.

Flood insurance is important now more than ever as we face higher risks for floods. You don't want to be blindsided by all that floodwater and find yourself in a lot of losses.

If you want to learn more about flood insurance in Virginia, flood mitigation, or anything related to flood insurance, click below to go to our Flood Learning Center:

You can also click below to call us:

As the storms keep coming, the changes to federal flood insurance come with it as well. Today, we want to unpack the upcoming changes to Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) to one of the cities with a rich agricultural history, Saint Petersburg, Florida.

We will understand the good, the bad, and the ugly changes coming to this town and what it means for flood insurance for its locals.

Saint Petersburg, Florida

When talking about the Sunshine State and floods, the first thing you might think about is how it has become a hotbed for storms and tornadoes due to its coastal nature. At the time of writing this blog, Florida is being devastated by floods due to severe storms moving in Southern areas of Florida.

Today, we want to unpack the upcoming flood map changes to Saint Petersburg (FL) and although zone designation Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) won't really impact your flood insurance rates with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), it's important to always keep in mind that this will be used for a regulatory standpoint.

Generally, this still means that if you're in a high-risk flood zone, also known as the special flood hazard areas (SFHA), you're still expected to carry mandatory flood insurance for your property.

You can watch our video on Saint Petersburg flood insurance rate maps update below while reading:

So what are the upcoming changes to Saint Petersburg on August 24th, 2021?

The Good

When it comes to good changes with this new flood map update, we'll be talking about the movement of properties impacted in the city. The good change generally means that buildings and houses that will be getting the best deal out of the floodplain mapping that FEMA is producing.

To be more specific, about 8,216 property owners will have their properties move out of a high-risk flood zone and into the low-risk flood zones. This is what FEMA calls the "in to out" movement. Some would call this moving to a Flood Zone X.

Low-risk flood zones are also known as the preferred flood zone or non-mandatory zones since this is where mortgage companies and the federal government would stop requiring homeowners to purchase flood insurance.

Yes, this means that 8,216 property owners can choose not to purchase flood insurance for their property however, fair warning to everyone, FEMA had constantly reported that 30% of the flood insurance claims come from these low-risk flood areas.

Simply put, this means that you're not really exempted from experiencing floods at all. We've covered this in our previous episode when we talked about the reasons why you might be flooded in a low-risk zone.

The Bad

Now, if there's good news, there's also bad news. This comes in the form of the opposite with the good movement that we're seeing which is what FEMA calls the "out to in" movement. This is generally because your property that wasn't in a high-risk zone or special flood hazard area (SFHA) will be moved into the SFHA and high-risk zones. Some would call this moving from Flood Zone X to Flood Zone A.

Only 4,164 properties will be impacted by this change in FEMA Flood Maps to Saint Petersburg. This is bad for a couple of reasons. One, since FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) runs through a lot of flood data, they are seeing that your property or the general area that it's in has received an increase in current flood risk as well future flood risk.

Another bad thing about this is that you will be required to start carrying a mandatory flood insurance purchase for your property because of the higher risks it's presenting. Let's be honest, being in a high-risk flood zone or the SFHA can be very expensive when it comes to flood insurance premiums in our current NFIP setup especially if you have a relatively bigger or more expensive property.

The Ugly

Lastly, we still have to discuss the biggest change and the ugliest among these three. The ugly change represents the "in to in" movement. This means that a property that's already in a high-risk flood zone will be mapped into a higher-risk flood zone. You can call this "moving from Flood Zone A to Flood Zone AE".

This will impact about 152,572 properties in Saint Petersburg which is a very huge number. In fact, we rarely see an "in to in" movement that comprises the biggest chunk within these three changes.

However, instead of worrying about a possible flood insurance rate increase (which will disappear by the time NFIP Risk Rating 2.0 kicks in), this simply means that when something like Tropical Storm Elsa happens again, you might face a bigger and more severe flood damage to your property.

Like the bad change, this also means that you have to carry a flood insurance policy on your property to make sure that it's protected at all times. This can also mean higher flood premiums in the current version of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for when you insure your property and since this will be a mandatory flood insurance purchase, you definitely have to prepare your wallet for it.

There are ways to make these bad and ugly changes easier to manage, however. This starts with your preferred flood insurance option: the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or the Private Flood market. Let's talk more about these two.

The NFIP

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is purely managed by the federal government since this is FEMA's answer to flood insurance. An NFIP flood policy can get you flood coverage on both your dwelling and the contents within it. When we say dwelling, this simply pertains to either the residential property or commercial building that you're trying to insure with NFIP and FEMA; contents will be more about the personal property and items you have inside the insured building.

There is a coverage limit when it comes to federal flood policies. Flood damage to buildings will be covered to a maximum of $250,000 for residential policies and can only go up to $500,000 maximum if it's for a commercial property. Regardless of the type of property you have written, you can expect to get a $100,000 maximum contents coverage from an NFIP policy.

There's also what's called the Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage. This is a $30,000 additional coverage for your property in order to make sure that there are flood mitigation efforts made on the property according to the federal government's standards.

Generally, this can include sandbagging your property, installing floodproofing walls, raising your lowest floor from the base flood elevation levels, and putting flood openings. The labor that goes into making these mitigation efforts happen will also be covered under the ICC.

The good thing about the NFIP and FEMA is that they won't really push you immediately to the waters. Instead, they will allow you to ease into the possible flood insurance rate changes you'll be getting with your new flood zone. This is what's called newly mapped rates where FEMA will have you pay a lower flood rate or premium on your first year after the flood map update. This is also known as the Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) and will slowly start to increase until you meet the actual flood insurance premium expected to be paid for in your new flood zone.

There are also perks with your participating community in Saint Petersburg. A participating community gets access to federal flood insurance and disaster assistance, but more importantly, you also get to work with your community on raising your Community Rating System (CRS) score. The CRS measures and rewards the overall flood mitigation efforts done by the community according to FEMA's standards on floodplain management. Simply put, the higher your CRS score is, the bigger the flood insurance discount you'll get from FEMA and the NFIP.

You can start enjoying your NFIP policy after a 30-day waiting period from the flood insurance purchase.

The Private Flood

If the federal flood insurance option doesn't really work for you then you can manage this new floodplain mapping through the private flood insurance market. It's important to note that this market will solely be managed and provided by private insurance companies which generally means that the red tapes FEMA and NFIP has to go through won't be there.

The first thing you'll immediately see with the private flood market is that there are significantly shorter waiting periods for your flood policy. Once you have everything settled and paid for, a private flood insurance policy can take effect on 7 or up to 14 days maximum. 

Another good thing coming out of private flood insurance is that there are no coverage limits. This means that you won't really need to stress over how to get covered for a $500,000 home since it will be fully covered by your policy. This is the same with contents coverage and you'll also get additional coverages like replacement costs, additional living expenses, and loss of use.

Fair warning, it's a known issue in the private insurance market in general that they will do moratoriums when there are risks that are too high for their comforts. This simply means that they will either put a stop or take a break from providing flood insurance policies to a certain area that has higher risks. There's also a chance that you might not get to buy flood insurance from them once they decide to non-renew your policy.

At the end of the day, the choice of where you'll be getting flood insurance depends on you. What's really important is that you know your flood risks and have enough protection from all possible outcomes of a flood event such as flood loss and flood damage.

If you have questions on these new FEMA flood maps, maybe you want to determine your flood zone, knowing your area's average flood depths and flood data, or anything about flood, reach out to us by clicking below.

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation and we want to help you understand flood risks, your flood insurance, and mitigating your property long-term. 

As the storms keep coming, the changes to federal flood insurance come with it as well. Today, we want to unpack the upcoming changes to Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) to one of the cities with a rich agricultural history, Hart, Michigan.

We will understand the good, the bad, and the ugly changes coming to this town and what it means for flood insurance for its locals.

Hart, Michigan

One of the most resounding memory, when you talk about floods and Hart, was what happened in 2017 when the Tuolumne River rose and inundated most of the areas in the city. Just recently this year, we also saw flooding due to storms that also knocked down trees.

Today, we want to unpack the upcoming flood map changes to Hart (MI) and although zone designation Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) won't really impact your flood insurance rates with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), it's important to always keep in mind that this will be used for a regulatory standpoint.

Generally, this still means that if you're in a high-risk flood zone, also known as the special flood hazard areas (SFHA), you're still expected to carry mandatory flood insurance for your property.

You can watch our video on Hart flood insurance rate maps update below while reading:

 

So what are the upcoming changes to Hart City on August 24th, 2021?

The Good

When it comes to good changes with this new flood map update, we'll be talking about the movement of properties impacted in the city. The good change generally means that buildings and houses that will be getting the best deal out of the floodplain mapping that FEMA is producing.

To be more specific, about 28 property owners will have their properties move out of a high-risk flood zone and into the low-risk flood zones. This is what FEMA calls the "in to out" movement. Some would call this moving to a Flood Zone X.

Low-risk flood zones are also known as the preferred flood zone or non-mandatory zones since this is where mortgage companies and the federal government would stop requiring homeowners to purchase flood insurance.

Yes, this means that 28 property owners can choose not to purchase flood insurance for their property however, fair warning to everyone, FEMA had constantly reported that 30% of the flood insurance claims come from these low-risk flood areas.

Simply put, this means that you're not really exempted from experiencing floods at all. We've covered this in our previous episode when we talked about the reasons why you might be flooded in a low-risk zone.

The Bad

Now, if there's good news, there's also bad news. This comes in the form of the opposite with the good movement that we're seeing which is what FEMA calls the "out to in" movement. This is generally because your property that wasn't in a high-risk zone or special flood hazard area (SFHA) will be moved into the SFHA and high-risk zones. Some would call this moving from Flood Zone X to Flood Zone A.

Only 289 properties will be impacted by this change in FEMA Flood Maps to Hart. This is bad for a couple of reasons. One, since FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) runs through a lot of flood data, they are seeing that your property or the general area that it's in has received an increase in current flood risk as well future flood risk.

Another bad thing about this is that you will be required to start carrying a mandatory flood insurance purchase for your property because of the higher risks it's presenting. Let's be honest, being in a high-risk flood zone or the SFHA can be very expensive when it comes to flood insurance premiums in our current NFIP setup especially if you have a relatively bigger or more expensive property.

The Ugly

Lastly, we still have to discuss the biggest change and the ugliest among these three. The ugly change represents the "in to in" movement. This means that a property that's already in a high-risk flood zone will be mapped into a higher-risk flood zone. You can call this "moving from Flood Zone A to Flood Zone AE".

This will impact about 1,813 properties in Hart which is a very huge number. In fact, we rarely see an "in to in" movement that comprises the biggest chunk within these three changes. However, instead of worrying about a possible flood insurance rate increase (which will disappear by the time NFIP Risk Rating 2.0 kicks in), this simply means that when something like Tropical Storm Elsa happens again, you might face a bigger and more severe flood damage to your property.

Like the bad change, this also means that you have to carry a flood insurance policy on your property to make sure that it's protected at all times. This can also mean higher flood premiums in the current version of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for when you insure your property and since this will be a mandatory flood insurance purchase, you definitely have to prepare your wallet for it.

There are ways to make these bad and ugly changes easier to manage, however. This starts with your preferred flood insurance option: the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or the Private Flood market. Let's talk more about these two.

The NFIP

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is purely managed by the federal government since this is FEMA's answer to flood insurance. An NFIP flood policy can get you flood coverage on both your dwelling and the contents within it. When we say dwelling, this simply pertains to either the residential property or commercial building that you're trying to insure with NFIP and FEMA; contents will be more about the personal property and items you have inside the insured building.

There is a coverage limit when it comes to federal flood policies. Flood damage to buildings will be covered to a maximum of $250,000 for residential policies and can only go up to $500,000 maximum if it's for a commercial property. Regardless of the type of property you have written, you can expect to get a $100,000 maximum contents coverage from an NFIP policy.

There's also what's called the Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage. This is a $30,000 additional coverage for your property in order to make sure that there are flood mitigation efforts made on the property according to the federal government's standards.

Generally, this can include sandbagging your property, installing floodproofing walls, raising your lowest floor from the base flood elevation levels, and putting flood openings. The labor that goes into making these mitigation efforts happen will also be covered under the ICC.

The good thing about the NFIP and FEMA is that they won't really push you immediately to the waters. Instead, they will allow you to ease into the possible flood insurance rate changes you'll be getting with your new flood zone. This is what's called newly mapped rates where FEMA will have you pay a lower flood rate or premium on your first year after the flood map update. This is also known as the Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) and will slowly start to increase until you meet the actual flood insurance premium expected to be paid for in your new flood zone.

There are also perks with your participating community in Hart. A participating community gets access to federal flood insurance and disaster assistance, but more importantly, you also get to work with your community on raising your Community Rating System (CRS) score. The CRS measures and rewards the overall flood mitigation efforts done by the community according to FEMA's standards on floodplain management. Simply put, the higher your CRS score is, the bigger the flood insurance discount you'll get from FEMA and the NFIP.

You can start enjoying your NFIP policy after a 30-day waiting period from the flood insurance purchase.

The Private Flood

If the federal flood insurance option doesn't really work for you then you can manage this new floodplain mapping through the private flood insurance market. It's important to note that this market will solely be managed and provided by private insurance companies which generally means that the red tapes FEMA and NFIP has to go through won't be there.

The first thing you'll immediately see with the private flood market is that there are significantly shorter waiting periods for your flood policy. Once you have everything settled and paid for, a private flood insurance policy can take effect on the same day or up to 14 days maximum. 

Another good thing coming out of private flood insurance is that there are no coverage limits. This means that you won't really need to stress over how to get covered for a $500,000 home since it will be fully covered by your policy. This is the same with contents coverage and you'll also get additional coverages like replacement costs, additional living expenses, and loss of use.

Fair warning, it's a known issue in the private insurance market in general that they will do moratoriums when there are risks that are too high for their comforts. This simply means that they will either put a stop or take a break from providing flood insurance policies to a certain area that has higher risks. There's also a chance that you might not get to buy flood insurance from them once they decide to non-renew your policy.

At the end of the day, the choice of where you'll be getting flood insurance depends on you. What's really important is that you know your flood risks and have enough protection from all possible outcomes of a flood event such as flood loss and flood damage.

If you have questions on these new FEMA flood maps, maybe you want to determine your flood zone, knowing your area's average flood depths and flood data, or anything about flood, reach out to us by clicking below.

Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation and we want to help you understand flood risks, your flood insurance, and mitigating your property long-term.