FEMA Flood Insurance "Risk Rating 2.0"

IMPORTANT INSURANCE TIPS

The FEMA National Flood Insurance Program has recently implemented a new flood insurance rating system. This will enable FEMA to charge rates that are equitable, easier to understand and better reflect a specific property’s flood risk.

Flood insurance rates will not be based on the following set of factors for each individual home:

1. The home’s replacement or re-construction cost in today’s market.

2. The susceptibility of flooding from a water source such as oceans, rivers, bays and heavy rainfall.

3. Proximity to a potential flood source.

4. The flood zone and elevation of the home.

5. How the home is used by the owner (primary or secondary residence).

Each of these factors differ from one home to the next, so it’s difficult to predict how the rate will change for any one residence. While we expect some flood policies to increase, others will see a decrease in premium. FEMA has capped the annual rate increase on renewal policies to 18%.

The new flood rating went into effective on October 1st for all new flood policies and will go into effect on April 1st, 2022 for renewal policies.