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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Flood Insurance Guru - Flood Risk Verification Tool

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.

Get Elevation Certificate

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.

Get A Quote

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.

Flood Insurance Guru - Flood Risk Verification Tool

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!

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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.

 

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.

April 2022 Flood Map Updates: Walworth, Wisconsin

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.

April 2022 Flood Map Updates: Walworth, Wisconsin

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:

Flood Insurance Guru | Service | Knowledge Base

You can also click below to call us:

a person wearing a hat

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.

April 2022 Flood Map Updates: Surry County, Virginia

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.

April 2022 Flood Map Updates: Surry County, Virginia

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.

April 2022 Flood Map Updates: Surry County, Virginia

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:

Flood Insurance Guru | Service | Knowledge Base

You can also click below to call us:

a person wearing a hat

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.

April 2022 Flood Map Update: Harney, Oregon

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.

Harney, Oregon

Oregon may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of floods, but the state has a long and storied history with this natural disaster. From the massive flood of 1862 that destroyed much of downtown Portland to the devastating floods that have struck in recent years, Oregonians know all too well how destructive flooding can be.

April 2022 Flood Map Update: Harney, Oregon

If you're concerned about your home's risk of flooding, it's important to understand your area's history and what steps you can take to protect your property.

Today, we want to talk about the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly changes coming to flood maps of Harney County, Oregon this April 20th, 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 486 property owners impacted by this movement in Harney County. This simply means that your property is being removed from the special flood hazard area (SFHA). This is somewhat unexpected 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 320 properties in Harney, Oregon. 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 3,052 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.

April 2022 Flood Map Update: Harney, Oregon

Now, let's talk about your flood insurance options in Harney 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 Oregon, flood mitigation, or anything related to flood insurance, click below to go to our Flood Learning Center:

Flood Insurance Guru | Service | Knowledge Base

You can also click below to call us:

a person wearing a hat

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.

April 2022 Flood Map Updates: Charles City, Virginia

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.

Charles City, Virginia

Floods in Charles City Virginia are a common occurrence. The city is situated on the banks of the James River, which is prone to flooding. In recent years, the city has experienced several floods, including one in 2018 that caused significant damage to homes and businesses.

flooding can occur at any time of year but is most common during the spring and summer months when the river is swollen from melting snow and heavy rains. Flooding can also occur during hurricanes and other severe weather events.

April 2022 Flood Map Updates: Charles City, Virginia

When floods do occur, they can cause extensive damage to property and infrastructure. In some cases, people have had to be evacuated from their homes. If you live in or around Charles City, it's important to be prepared for floods.

Today, we want to talk about the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly changes coming to flood maps of Charles City County, Virginia this April 20th, 2022.

April 2022 Flood Map Updates: Charles City, Virginia

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 14 property owners impacted by this movement in Charles City 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 only 430 properties in Charles City, 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 648 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 Charles City 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:

Flood Insurance Guru | Service | Knowledge Base

You can also click below to call us:

a person wearing a hat

A lot of things are changing with the federal side of flood protection as the new Risk Rating 2.0 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Today, we want to talk about something that's always been changing in the flood insurance industry and how these flood insurance rate maps will impact your flood insurance.

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Flood Zones in Risk Rating 2.0

In our current time, a lot of things are changing and will continue to change. One of the things that are long overdue and was in dire need of an update, if not overhaul, was the federal flood insurance. In the legacy program or the NFIP 1.0, there are significant things that are supposed to be addressed when it comes to flood risks and the system falls flat on its face when it comes to these.

It's well-known that the legacy did its part in protecting people from flood loss and devastating flood damage, but the thing is flood insurance — like any other insurance policy — are cautious proactive means. Protecting the insured was never reactive when it comes to very uncontrollable and volatile situations like a flood event, and this is something that the Risk Rating 2.0 greatly improves on.

The new Risk Rating 2.0 program addresses flood insurance based on the unique flood risks your property is facing. This means that they will look at flood risk variables such as elevation, frequency of flooding, construction, claims history, and replacement costs, to name a few, in understanding your property's flood risk and thus flood insurance premium.

This is what we call "your fingerprint of flood risk" since every house or building will have a unique risk rating score with the new flood insurance program.

READ: NFIP Risk Rating 2.0 Update

It's important to keep in mind that Risk Rating 2.0 will only look at flood zones for regulatory purposes. This means flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) and the flood zone changes happening with it will only be used to determine whether or not a property is required to carry flood insurance or not.

We'll move past being concerned with your property's location when it comes to your flood insurance rates. Basically, the rating flood maps of old are out and the regulatory flood maps of Risk Rating 2.0 is the new standard.

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Today, we discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly changes with the flood map updates to the Golden Valley County, Ryegate, and its respective communities that will start to take effect this November 5th, 2021. We want to focus on how many properties will be impacted by this new floodplain mapping, how many properties are moving into high-risk flood zones, how many are being removed from it, and how many are going deeper into the special flood hazard areas (SFHA).

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The Good

The first flood zone movement we'll discuss is what's called an "in to out" movement.

In the NFIP legacy program, this change meant that these properties will get lower flood insurance rates due to the lower flood hazards that your property faces. This also meant that you'll no longer be required by your mortgage or the government to carry flood insurance on your insured property. Since flood zones in the new Risk Rating 2.0 program will no longer impact your rates, this only means that you will no longer be required to carry flood insurance.

This movement will impact only 12 properties in Golden Valley County and Ryegate City. Generally, we call this a good change even before Risk Rating 2.0 came into the picture because this meant that the property is being removed from a high-risk flood zone and moved into a low-risk flood zone.

Is this good enough of a reason to NOT carry flood insurance?

At the surface, this may look like a good deal to no longer be required to carry flood insurance however at its core, not having flood insurance is generally a bad idea even if you're being moved to a low-risk area like Flood Zone X. This is because it's only a low-risk zone that you're moving in, not a no-risk flood zone. Simply put, you're still not exempted from being flooded even if your property sitting in a low-risk flood zone.

The Bad

Now, let's move to the bad changes coming with this new flood map update. FEMA calls this an "out to in" movement since the flood insurance rate map will take properties that are in the low-risk zones and place them into high-risk zones.

There are 115 property owners that will experience this movement in the upcoming floodplain map. This means that if you're impacted by this bad change, the regulatory standpoint of Risk Rating 2.0 when it comes to flood zones will kick in due. Property owners that are included in the out-to-in movement will now be required to carry flood insurance regardless if they insured residential properties or commercial ones.

High-risk areas like flood zone A or 100-year floodplain generally mean that the properties in this area will have a 26% chance of floodwater inundating during a 30-year mortgage. 

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The Ugly

Lastly, we have the ugly changes coming to Golden Valley County and its cities like Ryegate City. The ugly change is something that FEMA calls an "in to in" movement. Generally, this indicates that the impacted properties are very likely to get inundated by any flood event. Unlike low-risk flood zones, these flood zones experience more devastating floods due to their proximity to a water source.

This is because this will impact properties that are already in the SFHA and will be mapped into a higher-risk flood zone. We could also say that this is like moving your insured property from a flood zone A to a flood zone AE.

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About 80 properties are expected to experience this in-to-in movement on the flood maps. Just like the bad change or out to in, this also means that you will be required to carry a flood insurance policy for your property. This number may be due to the base flood depths getting worse due to multiple factors.

Now that we have covered the good, bad, ugly changes, and how this can impact your flood insurance purchase, let's talk about your flood insurance options in Ryegate, Montana.

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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.

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There are also perks with your participating community in Sibley. 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, the wait period for the private flood carriers will follow a much shorter timeframe compared to NFIP. A private flood insurance policy can take effect on 7 or up to 14 days maximum. 

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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 costsadditional 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.

Click the link below to access our Flood Learning Center where we try to answer your questions on flood insurance and beyond.

Flood Insurance Guru | Service | Knowledge Base

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. 

Buy Flood Insurance Now!

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.

Florida Flood Insurance: St. Petersburg Flood Maps of August 2021

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?

Florida Flood Insurance: St. Petersburg Flood Maps of August 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.

Florida Flood Insurance: St. Petersburg Flood Maps of August 2021

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.

Florida Flood Insurance: St. Petersburg Flood Maps of August 2021

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.

Florida Flood Insurance: St. Petersburg Flood Maps of August 2021

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.

Get a quote from the Flood Insurance Guru!

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.

Get Your Flood Risk Score Here!

Contact Us

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. 

Buy Flood Insurance Now!

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.

Michigan Flood Insurance: Hart Flood Map Updates for August 2021

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?

Michigan Flood Insurance: Hart Flood Map Updates for August 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.

Michigan Flood Insurance: Hart Flood Map Updates for August 2021

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.

Michigan Flood Insurance: Hart Flood Map Updates for August 2021

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.

Michigan Flood Insurance: Hart Flood Map Updates for August 2021

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.

Get a quote from the Flood Insurance Guru!

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.

Get Your Flood Risk Score Here!

Contact Us

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. 

Buy Flood Insurance Now!

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, Modest, California.

California Flood Insurance: Modesto Flood Map Updates for August 2021

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.

Modesto, CA

One of the most resounding memory, when you talk about floods and Modesto, 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 Modesto (CA) 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 Modesto flood insurance rate maps update below while reading:

 

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

Arizona Flood Insurance: Prescott Flood Map Updates for August 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 100 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 100 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 333 properties will be impacted by this change in FEMA Flood Maps to Modesto. 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 2,357 properties in Modesto 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.

Arizona Flood Insurance: Prescott Flood Map Updates for August 2021.

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.

Arizona Flood Insurance: Prescott Flood Map Updates for August 2021.

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 Modesto. 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.

Arizona Flood Insurance: Prescott Flood Map Updates for August 2021.

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.

Get a quote from the Flood Insurance Guru!

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.

Get Your Flood Risk Score Here!

Contact Us

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. 

Buy Flood Insurance Now!

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) in Everybody's Home Town, Prescott, Arizona. 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.

Arizona Flood Insurance: Prescott Flood Map Updates for August 2021.

Prescott, AZ

Prescott is no stranger to flooding especially when we talk about more pluvial ones like flash flooding due to rainfall. Earlier this month, Yavapai County and the Prescott Valley faced heavy rainfall that immediately caused flooding to these two areas.

At the time of writing, multiple areas of Arizona like Phoenix and Prescott itself are under a flood watch warning due to the expected continuous rainfall from Hurricane Ida.

Today, we want to unpack the upcoming flood map changes to Prescott Arizona 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.

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

Arizona Flood Insurance: Prescott Flood Map Updates for August 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 107 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 107 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 11 properties will be impacted by this change in FEMA Flood Maps to Prescott. 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 2,899 properties in Prescott 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.

Arizona Flood Insurance: Prescott Flood Map Updates for August 2021.

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.

Arizona Flood Insurance: Prescott Flood Map Updates for August 2021.

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 Prescott. 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.

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