Post by Stingyshark on Aug 22, 2013 17:31:20 GMT -5
$373/yr .. It's mandatory. I live in the V zone.
Some (here) recently told me its cheaper if its mandatory vs. not mandatory.
ETA: I think it was on this board.
A friend of mine recently bought a house and USDA required flood insurance, and she said it is more than her mtg pymt per year. I'm not sure if that's because it's required by USDA & not the state.
Flood is the #1 highest property risk in terms of monetary loss. Seriously, it costs more than any other natural disaster ever year. If you are in a zone A, you have a 1 in 100 chance of property damaging flood every single year. If you in a zone B, it's 1 in 500. That is stupid high risk in insurance terms (for example underwriters often will go out to 10,000 year loss cost ratios for earthquake).
I know no one likes to pay for insurance, but as someone has already mentioned, flood insurance rates in flood zones are set and aren't underwritten privately at all. It's all through FEMA (unless you have zero exposure, then the private market will sell you flood or DIC, which is what I wrote). The reason is because only people with exposure buy flood, so no individual company would be able to get a spread of risk. Also, it is heavily subsidized. The amount you're paying FEMA is nowhere near the actual loss cost for the exposure. You're getting a great deal.
If you're in a zone, or close to a zone without a noticeable change in elevation, but flood insurance and be happy about it. Also, flood is defined as the rise in an existing body of water. So that dried up creek bed in the backyard counts.
Post by Stingyshark on Aug 22, 2013 19:11:10 GMT -5
The dried up pond is what made USDA require our friends to buy flood.
I just googled my county to look at our flood map and google came up with flood warning.. Heh. It's been raining for days.
My mistake; earlier I said we were in zone V. We are in AE - Areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding and a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage.
Here is what annoys me about having to pay for flood insurance; My house is required to be 14 feet off the ground. Flood won't cover anything that is in my garage, so what exactly, is the point? The chances are slim to none that the water would actually get into our living space. I suppose there is a chance; In 1993 there was a freak storm that left people with 2-8 feet of water in their homes.
Post by whitemerlot on Aug 22, 2013 19:15:45 GMT -5
We were not required to buy it but part of our property was zoned AE. We got a quote and it was $400 a year. We didn't get it after discussing with neighbors.
There was a gorgeous house on the market when we were looking that was in one of the very high risk areas. It was raised so the first story was empty (living space on second and third floors) and the cost was still around $6K per year.
Do you mind if I ask a few questions about residential flood insurance? If you dont want to answer that's cool. I do not live in a flood zone and I dont have flood insurance, but my cellar has flooded three times since 1996 (the first time while I was in the hospital giving birth to my first child) to the tune of 5 inches (96) 30 inches ('01) and 53 inches ('10). I think about getting it, buy my neighbor has flood insurance, and during the '10 flood she received no FEMA relief, while I received $6k, which was probably half of my total losses. Is it true that FEMA does not compensate you if you have flood insurance? She claims that insurance didnt pay out because FEMA was awarding grants in our federally-declared disaster, but FEMA didnt pay because she had the insurance. So she was screwed.
Also, what is flooding with regard to flood insurance? If my cellar overflows because the sewage system backs into my cellar through the cellar sink is that covered? If the creek in back of me overflows and fills the cellar? If the creek doesnt overflow, but groundwater bubbles up through the cellar floor?
The dried up pond is what made USDA require our friends to buy flood.
I just googled my county to look at our flood map and google came up with flood warning.. Heh. It's been raining for days.
My mistake; earlier I said we were in zone V. We are in AE - Areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding and a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage.
Here is what annoys me about having to pay for flood insurance; My house is required to be 14 feet off the ground. Flood won't cover anything that is in my garage, so what exactly, is the point? The chances are slim to none that the water would actually get into our living space. I suppose there is a chance; In 1993 there was a freak storm that left people with 2-8 feet of water in their homes.
The thing is, that storm in 1993 wasn't a freak storm. Actuaries have determined that a storm like that will happen at least once every one hundred years where your house sits. That's what it means to be in a zone A. A is the worst zone. The key phrase is at least once every one hundred years. It could be multiple times in a one hundred year span.
We were not required to buy it but part of our property was zoned AE. We got a quote and it was $400 a year. We didn't get it after discussing with neighbors.
Do you mind if I ask a few questions about residential flood insurance? If you dont want to answer that's cool. I do not live in a flood zone and I dont have flood insurance, but my cellar has flooded three times since 1996 (the first time while I was in the hospital giving birth to my first child) to the tune of 5 inches (96) 30 inches ('01) and 53 inches ('10). I think about getting it, buy my neighbor has flood insurance, and during the '10 flood she received no FEMA relief, while I received $6k, which was probably half of my total losses. Is it true that FEMA does not compensate you if you have flood insurance? She claims that insurance didnt pay out because FEMA was awarding grants in our federally-declared disaster, but FEMA didnt pay because she had the insurance. So she was screwed.
Also, what is flooding with regard to flood insurance? If my cellar overflows because the sewage system backs into my cellar through the cellar sink is that covered? If the creek in back of me overflows and fills the cellar? If the creek doesnt overflow, but groundwater bubbles up through the cellar floor?
I have no idea about the FEMA thing but that makes no sense. Most of the time people aren't penalized by being prepared? I'd ask an agent licensed to write FEMA policies. But if you aren't in a flood zone (so, zone c or x) you should be able to get your homeowners policy to add flood on to your account for a minimal charge. Lots of the flood maps are really out of date so many properties have exposure even outside of the flood planes. If you've have that many instances, I'd definitely look into getting coverage!
Flood, by definition, is the rise of an existing body of water. If the creek behind you overflows, that is a flood.
Sewer backup is a different peril (not flood) and in most cases, isn't automatically covered under a basic property policy. If you want it, most of the time, it can be added for an increase in premium. Sometimes you can get it thrown in for free by just asking.
The groundwater thing is probably excluded by your policy, but again, can be added on. Who do you have your homeowners with? If you aren't already working with an independent agent, I would highly suggest doing so. They will be able to answer all your specific questions and get you the coverage you need.
We were not required to buy it but part of our property was zoned AE. We got a quote and it was $400 a year. We didn't get it after discussing with neighbors.
And not to harp on you, but this is similar to asking your neighbors where to put all of your investments and just doing that instead of trusting a professional or doing research. Please work with your insurance agent to determine your exposure and risk tolerance.
As I mentioned in another response, zone A is the worst flood zone. Actuaries have determined that the land where your house sits will flood AT LEAST one out of one hundred years.
Ugh, flood insurance. We just bought a house and we were required to get flood insurance because we're in a 100-year floodplain (as in it has flooded in the past 100 years, 2009 in this case). I guess that's Zone A? Anyway, we're paying around $2670/year for insurance, though it would be significantly cheaper if we'd gone with a higher deductible. We went for the lowest deductible since we don't have a huge amount of savings after buying the house. I think it's kind of crazy expensive, since they made us get insurance for the value of the mortgage, which is significantly more than the replacement cost of the house (we're on 5 acres, so land is a big chunk of the value) - that cost us an extra $400/year.
Post by sillygoosegirl on Aug 22, 2013 22:29:09 GMT -5
We don't have flood insurance, but were thinking about it and got a quote when we bought. Our house is just outside the 100 year flood zone, so it would be nice to have. It would be $3000/year and only cover up to $50K of damage. We figured at that price we were better off saving an extra $3K/year and paying for any flood damage out of pocket.
We were not required to buy it but part of our property was zoned AE. We got a quote and it was $400 a year. We didn't get it after discussing with neighbors.
And not to harp on you, but this is similar to asking your neighbors where to put all of your investments and just doing that instead of trusting a professional or doing research. Please work with your insurance agent to determine your exposure and risk tolerance.
As I mentioned in another response, zone A is the worst flood zone. Actuaries have determined that the land where your house sits will flood AT LEAST one out of one hundred years.
I should have said that the 25 feet at the back of our property is in the flood zone. It is at the back of our large lot, and the land around the house is not in the flood zone.
Do you mind if I ask a few questions about residential flood insurance? If you dont want to answer that's cool. I do not live in a flood zone and I dont have flood insurance, but my cellar has flooded three times since 1996 (the first time while I was in the hospital giving birth to my first child) to the tune of 5 inches (96) 30 inches ('01) and 53 inches ('10). I think about getting it, buy my neighbor has flood insurance, and during the '10 flood she received no FEMA relief, while I received $6k, which was probably half of my total losses. Is it true that FEMA does not compensate you if you have flood insurance? She claims that insurance didnt pay out because FEMA was awarding grants in our federally-declared disaster, but FEMA didnt pay because she had the insurance. So she was screwed.
Also, what is flooding with regard to flood insurance? If my cellar overflows because the sewage system backs into my cellar through the cellar sink is that covered? If the creek in back of me overflows and fills the cellar? If the creek doesnt overflow, but groundwater bubbles up through the cellar floor?
Sewer back up is not covered by flood or regular homeowner's insurance. If you have sinks/bathroom in your cellar talk to a plumber about installing backflow valves. It isn't expensive and prevents a sewer backup. The situation you described with flood insurance and fema is exactly what happened to the people we know affected by Sandy. If you had insurance, FEMA was out. And the insurance companies paid either very little, nothing or are still dragging their feet. The first question FEMA asks is "do you have flood insurance".
(I don't work in insurance or anything, just first hand experience with Sandy)
Do you mind if I ask a few questions about residential flood insurance? If you dont want to answer that's cool. I do not live in a flood zone and I dont have flood insurance, but my cellar has flooded three times since 1996 (the first time while I was in the hospital giving birth to my first child) to the tune of 5 inches (96) 30 inches ('01) and 53 inches ('10). I think about getting it, buy my neighbor has flood insurance, and during the '10 flood she received no FEMA relief, while I received $6k, which was probably half of my total losses. Is it true that FEMA does not compensate you if you have flood insurance? She claims that insurance didnt pay out because FEMA was awarding grants in our federally-declared disaster, but FEMA didnt pay because she had the insurance. So she was screwed.
Also, what is flooding with regard to flood insurance? If my cellar overflows because the sewage system backs into my cellar through the cellar sink is that covered? If the creek in back of me overflows and fills the cellar? If the creek doesnt overflow, but groundwater bubbles up through the cellar floor?
Sewer back up is not covered by flood or regular homeowner's insurance. If you have sinks/bathroom in your cellar talk to a plumber about installing backflow valves. It isn't expensive and prevents a sewer backup. The situation you described with flood insurance and fema is exactly what happened to the people we know affected by Sandy. If you had insurance, FEMA was out. And the insurance companies paid either very little, nothing or are still dragging their feet. The first question FEMA asks is "do you have flood insurance".
(I don't work in insurance or anything, just first hand experience with Sandy)
Coverages like sewer backup are very company specific. When I wrote commercial property, our basic boilerplate form included coverage for sewer backup and it was a selling point to separate us from the competition. There is no one answer. Every company is a little different with what they offer standard and what they can endorse on and this is why I always suggest that people find an independent agent instead of buying their insurance online. Unless you have the time to sit down and really understand every line of your policy and the competitor's policy you're doing it wrong. You're more than likely paying too much for things you don't need and leaving yourself exposed in other areas.
I would never skip any coverage where I had exposure and just assume the government will step in and financially save me in the case of a disaster because I heard it on a message board. There are varying levels of flood insurance. If you have exposure, talk with a local independent agent. If the government really is best at stepping in in specific instances, your agent will know where that line is.
I am in no way advocating skipping coverage in the hopes that the government will do something. Nor would I ever trust again that just because someone sold me an insurance policy it means that I am covered for everything they claim I am. A question was asked and I answered according to what happened to me, my friends and my neighbors when mass flooding occurred. Finding an independent agent is the best way to go. Not easy to find a good one who knows what they're talking about. It's like finding a financial adviser - passing the test doesn't mean you're good at it. Personal recs are definitely the way to go.
I pay $400/year for voluntary coverage (I'm in an X zone but I live in a low lying area near the coast so I'm not taking any chances. The streets 1 block to the north, east and south of me are in a flood zone). I previously lived in AE and paid $1000/year.
I've lived through some nasty hurricanes and will never forego flood insurance.
Total lurker (I post on H&F), but jumping in because I work in floodplain management:)
You may want to check out this link for some more information on how recently passed legislation will impact flood insurance rates in the near future: www.fema.gov/flood-insurance-reform-act-2012
Depending on whether or not the home you're looking at purchasing is compliant with current or soon-to-be-adopted flood maps, this may have a big impact on the rates you will pay in the future.
Is yours based on the taxable value of your house, or your loan amount? This would be about a $1200/yr difference for us.
Why is it stupid? You can't opt out of homeowners insurance because you don't want to pay for it - assuming you have a mortgage. The bank needs to protect itself and if you want to live in a flood zone you just might actually get flooded. It's no fun!