Thousands of people are going to be affected by the changes in the NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM. New national government policies went into effect on October 1, 2013. Essentially, the premiums on many of the exisiting flood policies receiving a "prefirm rate" (previously grandfathered rate) will go up 25% annually until it reaches the proper non-subsidized rate (what ever that is)! For current flood policies that are affected by a flood zone change starting in 2014, their premiums will go up 20% per year until it reaches the "proper non-subsidized rate".
All required flood insurance now must be escrowed if you have a mortgage. Flood policies can no longer be transferred to new homeowners (no grandfather clause). Lapsed flood policies will be reinstated at the new rate. Elevation Certificates (only obtainable from a surveyor or if the current owner has a recent certificate - not a survey- this is a separate certificate) are now required on all A and V flood zones.
If you are planning to buy an oceanfront home, intracoastal waterway, riverfront, lakefront or any other waterfront, have your insurance agent run a flood zone check on any property you are interested in purchasing BEFORE you even write a contract. For current prefirm rated policies, get a flood elevation certificate to determine if you are eligible for a premium savings if you do not already have one when you bought the house. For planned flood map changes please see http://www.floodsmart.gov to see if a flood zone change is planned for your zip code or has already occured.
Look for the DFIRM (Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map) effective date for your zip code. According to the FloodSmart website "The affected properties are among those built before the community joined the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and adopted its first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). Communities began joining the NFIP in the late 1960s. To find out when your community joined, contact your local floodplain manager. Properties built before that date and not improved since are known as "pre-FIRM."
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